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. 2003 Oct;2(3):131-5.

Personality disorder diagnosis

Thomas A Widiger

Personality disorder diagnosis

Thomas A Widiger. World Psychiatry. 2003 Oct.

Abstract

Every person has a characteristic manner of thinking, feeling, and relating to others. Some of these personality traits can be so dysfunctional as to warrant a diagnosis of personality disorder. The World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD- 10) includes ten personality disorder diagnoses. Three issues of particular importance for the diagnosis of personality disorders are their differentiation from other mental disorders, from general personality functioning, and from each other. Each of these issues is discussed in turn, and it is suggested that personality disorders are more accurately and effectively diagnosed as maladaptive variants of common personality traits.

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References

    1. Pervin L, John O, editors. Handbook of personality. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford; 1999.
    1. World Health Organization. The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders. Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1992.
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    1. Widiger TA. Official classification systems. In: Livesley, editor. Handbook of personality disorders. Theory, research, and treatment. New York: Guilford; 2001. pp. 60–83.
    1. Dolan-Sewell RG. Krueger RF. Shea MT. Co-occurrence with syndrome disorders. In: Livesley WJ, editor. Handbook of personality disorders. New York: Guilford; 2001. pp. 88–104.

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