Adolescent personality disorders associated with violence and criminal behavior during adolescence and early adulthood

Objective: A community-based, longitudinal prospective study was conducted to investigate whether personality disorders during adolescence are associa ted with elevated risk for violent behavior during adolescence and early ad ulthood. Method: A community-based sample of 717 youths from upstate New York and th eir mothers were interviewed in 1983, 1985-1986, and 1991-1993. Axis I and II disorders were assessed in 1983 and 1985-1986. Antisocial personality di sorder was not assessed because most participants were less than 18 years o f age in 1983 and 1985-1986. Violent behavior was assessed in 1985-1986 and 1991-1993. Results: Adolescents with a greater number of DSM-IV cluster A or cluster B personality disorder symptoms were more likely than other adolescents in t he community to commit violent acts during adolescence and early adulthood, including arson, assault, breaking and entering, initiating physical fight s, robbery, and threats to injure others. These associations remained signi ficant after controlling for the youths' age and sex, for parental psychopa thology and socioeconomic status, and for co-occurring psychiatric disorder s during adolescence. Paranoid, narcissistic, and passive-aggressive person ality disorder symptoms during adolescence were independently associated wi th risk for violent acts and criminal behavior during adolescence and early adulthood after the covariates were controlled. Conclusions: Cluster A and cluster B personality disorders and paranoid, na rcissistic, and passive-aggressive personality disorder symptoms during ado lescence may increase risk for violent behavior that persists into early ad ulthood.