Ethnicity and four personality disorders

Chavira, Denise A; Grilo, Carlos M; Shea, M.Tracie; Yen, Shirley; Gunderson, John G; Morey, Leslie C; Skodol, Andrew E; Stout, Robert L; Zanarini, Mary C; Mcglashan, Thomas H

doi:10.1016/S0010-440X(03)00104-4

« Previous Next »Comprehensive Psychiatry
Volume 44, Issue 6 , Pages 483-491, November 2003

Ethnicity and four personality disorders

Denise A Chavira
- Address reprint requests to Denise A. Chavira, Ph.D., University of California San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, 8950 Villa La Jolla Dr, #2243, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Carlos M Grilo
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
M.Tracie Shea
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Shirley Yen
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
John G Gunderson
- Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Leslie C Morey
- Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, USA
Andrew E Skodol
- Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
Robert L Stout
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Mary C Zanarini
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Thomas H Mcglashan
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between ethnicity and DSM-IV personality disorders. The distribution of four personality disorders—borderline (BPD), schizotypal (STPD), avoidant (AVPD), and obsessive-compulsive (OCPD)—along with their criteria sets, were compared across three ethnic groups (Caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanics) using both a clinician-administered diagnostic interview and a self-report instrument. Participants were 554 patients drawn from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (CLPS) who comprised these three ethnic groups and met personality disorder criteria based on reliably administered semistructured interviews. Chi-square analyses revealed disproportionately higher rates of BPD in Hispanic than in Caucasian and African American participants and higher rates of STPD among African Americans when compared to Caucasians. Self-report data reflected similar patterns. The findings suggest that in treatment-seeking samples, Caucasians, Hispanics, and African Americans may present with different patterns of personality pathology. The factors contributing to these differences warrant further investigation.