PERSONALITY AND PERSONALITY-DISORDERS AMONG PATIENTS WITH VARIOUS AFFECTIVE-DISORDERS

Personality traits and personality disorders in 298 consecutive psychiatric outpatients with bipolar disorder, major depression, cyclothymic disorder, dysthymic disorder, and a remaining group of other disorders were investigated. The cyclothymic group seems most deviant compared to the other affective disorders, with high oral and hysterical factor scores, and a low obsessive score on the BCI. The dysthymic disorder is opposite, with a high obsessive score and a low hysterical score; whereas the most typical for the bipolar disorder is the low oral score. Patients in the bipolar group are more sociable. The major depressive group falls between these two groups. Patients in the different affective categories have more than one personality disorder. Cases with cyclothymic disorder often have histrionic, antisocial, and borderline personality disorder; dysthymic patients often have schizoid and schizotypal personality disorder; and cases with bipolar disorder, often a narcissistic personality disorder and seldom an avoidant personality disorder. Also the major depressive disorder includes a high number of borderlines. Histrionic and dependent personality disorders are globally increased in all affective subgroups relative to the control group.