SEX-DIFFERENCES IN DSM-III-R, AXIS-II PERSONALITY-DISORDERS

In the present study, an attempt has been made to elucidate sex differ ences present in the Axis II, personality disorders, in the DSM-III-R. Five-hundred and thirty-one subjects, 176 healthy volunteers and 355 psychiatric patients, 231 males and 300 females, were investigated by means of the SCID screen questionnaire. There were significant sex dif ferences as concerns 31 out of total 103 Axis II criteria. The most pr onounced sex differences were seen in narcissistic, borderline and ant isocial personality disorders. As a previous study demonstrated that p ersonality disorders are in fact dimensional traits where the cut off points are placed within a normal rather than a bimodal distribution, it was of interest to elucidate the number of criteria fulfilled for e ach separate personality disorder. Significant sex differences in this dimensional perspective were seen in self-defeating and borderline pe rsonality disorders (females predominating). Antisocial personality tr aits were more common among males.It has also been demonstrated in an earlier study that if an adjusted cut-off is used, the presence or abs ence of personality disorders can be determined by means of the SCID s creen questionnaire with an accuracy of a kappa coefficient = 0.78. If such a method is used, males had a higher prevalence of obsessive-com pulsive and schizoid personality disorder. The opposite was true for b orderline personality disorder.