EFFECT OF PERSONALITY-DISORDERS ON THE TREATMENT OUTCOME OF AXIS-I CONDITIONS - AN UPDATE

The authors review recent studies that assess the impact of personalit y pathology on the treatment outcomes of axis I disorders. Studies rep orted include both structured treatment trials and surveys of the outc ome of naturalistic treatment. Personality diagnosis in each of the st udies reviewed was established by a structured diagnostic instrument. In some of the studies examined, personality traits, not categorical p ersonality diagnoses, are reported in relation to treatment outcome. T he authors describe 17 studies published within the past 3 years, and discuss them in relation to a previous review that covered 21 earlier studies. Consistent with previous investigations, recent studies conti nue to describe an adverse impact of personality pathology on the trea tment outcome of a wide range of axis I disorders. The authors examine new studies that describe the effect of specific aspects of personali ty dysfunction on outcome measures of axis I disorders. New developmen ts in this area include the predictive importance of both personality traits and disorders as well as possible specificity of traits in pred icting outcome in some circumstances.