Prevalence of Personality Disorders in a General Population Among Men and Women

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to establish the prevalence of personality disorders (PDs) in a healthy (nonclinical) Polish population, to examine sex difference in PDs, and to show the structure of clusters which PDs form with regard to men and women. A large sample of 1460 individuals of age between 18 and 65 years was examined. The Structured Clinical Interview for Axis II was used to obtain information on PDs, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview to obtain information on other disorders, and an interview to record demographic data. Results show that approximately 9% of the sample had at least one PD (the overall rate is 8.9%) and rates on sex differences in PDs are similar to other European and North American countries. The most prevalent PDs are obsessive-compulsive (9.6%), narcissistic (7%), and borderline (7%). Results show the considerable comorbidity of PDs which means that about 9% of the adult population have at least one PD and in fact they display features of many specific PDs. A factor analysis revealed that 12 PDs form different clusters in men and women.