PERSONALITY-CHARACTERISTICS IN 60 SUBJECTS WITH PSYCHOSEXUAL DYSFUNCTION - A NONPATIENT SAMPLE

The authors report on 60 persons with lifetime psychosexual dysfunctio n from a non-patient sample. The subjects were first-degree relatives of either healthy controls or patients with obsessive-compulsive disor der, The diagnosis of psychosexual dysfunction was based on Diagnostic Interview Schedule results. Of the 60 subjects, 34 (56.7%) were femal e; the mean (SD) age of subjects was 38.1 (14.6) years. Subjects with psychosexual dysfunction were significantly less likely than those wit hout psychosexual dysfunction to be married. After correcting for mari tal status, there were few differences between groups. One of the few differences was that the mean personality disorder criteria endorsed ( using the Structured Interview for DSM-III Personality Disorders-SIDP) was significantly greater among relatives with psychosexual dysfuncti on (p < .03). Subjects with psychosexual dysfunction (mostly lack of i nterest) were more likely to endorse individual items from the SIDP an d the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire that indicate a problem wit h social uneasiness, avoidance, lack of self-confidence, and boredom. They also had significantly higher measures of orality, as assessed by the Lazare-Klerman-Armor Inventory. The authors explore the clinical significance of the findings.