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.

Cross-cultural studies on the prevalence of personality disorders

“…This is in line with another study which showed that the average score for covert narcissism was higher in the Polish sample in comparison to the Dutch sample (Zondag, Van Halen, & Wojtkowiak, 2009). Furthermore, these results showed greater comorbidity of PD traits than that which has been reported in the literature (Gawda & Czubak, 2017).…”

“…The most frequent PDs were schizotypal (8.60%), paranoid (6.10%) and histrionic (6.10%) (Trzebińska & Gabińska, 2014). Then, a study on the prevalence of PD traits using the DSM-IV technique (the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV Axis II Disorders -SCID-II by First et al, 2010) was conducted by Gawda and Czubak (2017). A large community sample between 18 and 65 years old was randomly selected and interviewed.…”

Personality disorders of drivers killed in fatal motor vehicle accidents in Finland during 1990–2011

“…Clinically significant PDs manifest as disturbances in cognition, affects, impulse control and interpersonal relationships . The prevalence of PDs has been established as varying from 6% to 10% in population samples to 24–60% in psychiatric patient samples . PDs are found to have psychiatric comorbidity as well as an increased risk for suicide .…”

Personality disorders

“…A recent study conducted by Gawda and Czuback (2017) estimated the prevalence of personality disorders within the Polish population. Their sample of 1460 participants, aged between 18 and 65 years, completed the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and subsequently further demographic data was collected.…”