title: Personality disorders in older adults: emerging research issues.
abstract: Empirical research focusing on personality disorders (PDs) among older adults is mainly limited to studies on psychometric properties of age-specific personality tests, the age neutrality of specific items/scales, and validation of personality inventories for older adults. We identified only two treatment studies-one on dialectical behavior therapy and one on schema therapy-both with promising results among older patients despite small and heterogeneous populations. More rigorous studies incorporating age-specific adaptations are needed. Furthermore, in contrast to increasing numbers of psychometric studies, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 pays little attention to the characteristics of older adults with PDs. Moreover, the constructs "personality change due to another medical condition" and "late-onset personality disorder" warrant further research among older adults. These needs will become even more pressing given the aging society worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Life Span Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium, spj.vanalphen@planet.nl.
authors.forename: S P J
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: van Alphen
authors.forename: S D M
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Videler
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dierckx
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bouckaert
authors.forename: R C Oude
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Voshaar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*