The aim of this study was to examine patterns of comorbidity among personality disorders (PDs) in a sample of 156 psychiatric inpatients. PDs were assessed with Semistructured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders. To determine significant co-occurrence among axis II diagnoses, odds ratio and the percent of co-occurrence of pairs of disorders were calculated. Both statistical methods revealed high rates of comorbidity: significance association was found for 36 pairs of disorders using the percent of co-occurrence, and for 22 pairs of disorders using the odds ratio. These results support the concept of ‘apparent comorbidity’ for most PDs, deriving from conceptual and definitional artifacts or from a ‘state-biasing effect’. In light of these observations, a categorical approach to PDs, resulting in a list of diagnoses, appears useless in psychiatric practice. A dimensional classification is probably better suited for PDs, improving the understanding of personality psychopathology and its clinical implications.
RIASSUNTOScopo - Il presente studio ha lo scopo di verificare la validità di costrutto della versione italiana del questionario Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) che misura lo stile genitoriale come ricordato dal figlio. Materiali e metodi - Il questionario è stato somministrato ad un gruppo di 102 studenti dell'Università degli Studi de L'Aquila (62 maschi e 40 femmine) ed a 128 pazienti (76 maschi e 52 femmine) consecutivamente ricoverati in un reparto di psichiatria per un episodio indice. Nel gruppo dei pazienti ed in quello degli studenti sono state confrontate le medie dei valori delle due dimensioni («cura» e «protezione») per ciascun genitore in ogni gruppo, con un t-test per campioni indipendenti. Dopo la verifica della consistenza interna degli item del questionario calcolando il valore dell'alfa di Cronbach, è stata effettuata un'analisi fattoriale esplorativa per studenti e pazienti separatamente per individuare i fattori latenti del questionario e un'analisi fattoriale confermatoria nel gruppo di studenti per valutare l'adeguatezza dei dati reali rispetto ai modelli proposti in letteratura. Risultati - La versione italiana del PBI, ha dimostrato di differenziare i 2 gruppi e di possedere una buona consistenza interna degli item. L'analisi fattoriale esplorativa condotta nel gruppo degli studenti identificava due fattori che spiegavano il 44.6% ed il 44.3% della varianza per le scale del PBI della madre e del padre rispettivamente, mentre nel gruppo dei pazienti identificava due fattori che spiegavano il 49.3% ed il 46.6% della varianza per le scale del PBI rispettivamente della madre e del padre. Conclusioni - I pazienti affetti da patologie psichiatriche evidenziano una bassa «cura»/alta «protezione» rispetto agli studenti, confermando l'associazione tra un pattern affettivo di affectionless control e la presenza di un disturbo psichiatrico.
ObjectiveTo measure the effectiveness of manualized cognitive-behavioural group therapy (CBGT) when it is integrated into the routine care on a general hospital psychiatric inpatient unit.MethodsA pre-post design is used to measure the "process", "results" and "outcome" indicators in the year before CBGT was introduced (2001) in contrast to the subsequent two years (2002, 2003). Readmission to hospital, compulsory admissions, ward atmosphere (i.e. the use of physical restraint, episodes of violent behaviour) and patients' satisfaction were assessed.Results90% of all inpatients in the years 2002–2003 attended the group therapy. In the years after CBGT was introduced the rate of readmission declined from 38% to 27% and 24% (p < .04), compulsory admissions were reduced from 17% to 4% (p < .03), the ward atmosphere and patients' satisfaction were both excellent (p < .01).ConclusionIt is probable that the improvements observed were attributable to the group therapy. These results and those observed in an earlier study are promising and further investigations of this approach are indicated.
Our study confirms the high prevalence of PDs in psychiatric inpatients and showe some interesting associations between Axis I and Axis II disorders. These results can't be generalized to outpatients because our clinical sample involved mainly severely ill inpatients, but they raise questions about the exact nature of PDs and of the relationship with Axis I disorders. Further research involving outpatients and general population is needed to examine factors that could affect development and course of Personality Disorders.
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