Personality disorders in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a comparative study versus other anxiety disorders

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence for the relationship between personality disorders (PDs), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and other anxiety disorders different from OCD (non-OCD) symptomatology.

Method: The sample consisted of a group of 122 individuals divided into three groups (41 OCD; 40 non-OCD, and 41 controls) matched by sex, age, and educational level. All the individuals answered the IPDE questionnaire and were evaluated by means of the SCID-I and SCID-II interviews.

Results: Patients with OCD and non-OCD present a higher presence of PD. There was an increase in cluster C diagnoses in both groups, with no statistically significant differences between them.

Conclusions: Presenting anxiety disorder seems to cause a specific vulnerability for PD. Most of the PDs that were presented belonged to cluster C. Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) is the most common among OCD. However, it does not occur more frequently among OCD patients than among other anxious patients, which does not confirm the continuum between obsessive personality and OCD. Implications for categorical and dimensional diagnoses are discussed.