Citation

Malta LS, Blanchard EB, Taylor AE, Hickling EJ, Freidenberg BM. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2002; 190(11): 767-774.

Affiliation

Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders, University of Albany, State University of New York, 1535 Western Ave., Albany, New York 12203, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/01.NMD.0000038172.34797.E9

PMID

12436017

Abstract

This study examined the impact of a co-occurring personality disorder on the development and remission of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 158 motor vehicle accident (MVA) survivors followed prospectively for 1 year. Participants were assessed 1 to 4 months after trauma and at 6-month and 1-year follow-up evaluations during 1991 through 1993. These archival data were analyzed in the present study. The prevalence of at least one personality disorder was 13.3%, with the majority (52.4%) presenting with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Persons with a personality disorder were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD at 1-year follow-up evaluation. For persons diagnosed with PTSD at the initial assessment, those with a personality disorder were significantly less likely to remit by 1 year. The presence of a preexisting personality disorder may increase the risk of chronic PTSD and impede remission.

Language: en