Chapter 26. Personality Pathology and Personality Disorders

Personality pathology is associated with significant problems in self-appraisal and self-regulation as well as with impaired interpersonal relationships. Clinicians frequently encounter patients with personality pathology in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Studies indicate that at least 50% of patients evaluated in clinical settings have a personality disorder (Zimmerman et al. 2005), often co-occurring with other mental disorders, and many more patients have significant personality problems that do not meet criteria for a personality disorder diagnosis, making personality pathology one of the most common psychopathologies encountered by mental health professionals. Personality disorders are also common in the general population, with an estimated prevalence of about 11% (Torgersen 2014). Personality pathology can be complex and challenging to assess and to treat, and it affects many of the symptom disorders (e.g., depressive or anxiety disorders) that are targeted in treatment, often without attention to the possibility of underlying personality factors.