Change processes in psychotherapy for patients presenting with histrionic personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) with a lifetime prevalence rate of 1.8% is an under-researched psychiatric diagnosis. The present study therefore aimed to investigate both the processes and outcomes of psychotherapy for HPD in a non-controlled study. METHODS: A total of 159 patients diagnosed with HPD were recruited and received clarification-oriented psychotherapy. Sessions 15, 20, and 25 were video-recorded and analysed using the Process-Content-Relationship Scale. Therapy outcome was assessed with symptom measures at intake and discharge. Hierarchical linear modelling was applied to estimate the changes in the psychotherapeutic outcome and associations with patient and therapist process developments. RESULTS: Improvements in relationship processes of patients and therapists were systematically related to outcome while only partial relationships were found on the levels of process and content. CONCLUSION: The present study represents the first systematic insight into core changes in patients with HPD undergoing psychotherapy.

An Empirical Evaluation of the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders in Later Life.

Personality disorders (PDs) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) are conceptualized as distinct clinical syndromes. However, debate persists about the clinical utility of this categorical model, with many researchers supporting a dimensional model that focuses on pathological personality traits and personality dysfunction. This model was published in Section III of DSM-5 and named the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD). This study evaluated the AMPD by examining relationships between traits and dysfunction with traditional categorical PD constructs among older adults. Older adults (N = 202) completed the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, Levels of Personality Functioning Scale-Self-Report, and Coolidge Axis II Inventory. Results indicated that pathological personality traits do not relate to categorical PDs in directions predicted by the AMPD. Personality functioning related to categorical PDs in expected theoretical patterns according to the AMPD but lacked incremental validity above pathological personality traits. An implication of these findings is that the AMPD does not fully resolve the age-related issues with the traditional categorical PD model.

Coexistence between personality disorders and substance use disorder. Madrid study about prevalence of dual pathology.

INTRODUCTION: Personality disorders (PD) and substance use disorders (SUD) have a high prevalence and an important health and socioeconomic impact so, it is interesting to study the relationship between them. The objectives of the study are: to compare the prevalence of SUD between patients with and without diagnosis of PD, to analyze if any PD is related to the SUD, and if a specific PD is associated with a specific SUD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study in 837 patients from centers of attention to drug addiction and mental health in Madrid, Spain. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+ (PDQ4+) are used to detect mental disorder and PD, respectively. RESULTS: SUD is significantly higher in antisocial PD (p<0.01); sedative (p<0.01) and alcohol (p<0.05) use disorder in borderline PD; cocaine (p<0.05) and alcohol (p<0.01) use disorder in paranoid PD; and alcohol use disorder in histrionic PD (p<0.01). The SUD for cocaine is lower in obsessive- compulsive PD (p<0.05) and depressive PD (p<0.01). There is a positive correlation between the number of PD of a subject and the number of SUD that it presents. The risk of an alcohol [OR of 1,08 CI (1,01-1,16)] or sedatives [OR of 1,08 CI (1,001-1,17)] use disorders increases if an individual presents more than one type of PD. CONCLUSIONS: There is not differences of SUD prevalence between PD and not PD groups. We found an association between SUD and PD of cluster B (antisocial, borderline and histrionic) and also with paranoid PD. The SUD are more common among man with the exception of sedatives.

Enfermedad psicógena masiva. Reporte de tres episodios no recientes / Massive Psychogenic Disease. A report of three not recent episodes

Episodios de enfermedad psicógena masiva han ocurrido en entornos sociales diferentes, en todo el mundo, a lo largo de la historia de la humanidad. Cada vez los profesionales de la salud participan más en su atención y solución. Este trabajo presenta tres "casos" catalogados como tales, que el autor tuvo la oportunidad de asistir. Se realizan comentarios en cada uno de ellos y se actualizan conceptos sobre esta condición, que se expresa por los más variados síntomas en un grupo de personas ante un estrés intenso por supuestas amenazas, aunque no exista una razón física o ambiental para que se enfermen. Genera marcada tensión tanto en pacientes como en facultativos y en el público. Los médicos, y el personal sanitario en general, deben estar preparados para su adecuado diagnóstico y conducta a seguir.

Episodes of massive psychogenic disease have occurred in different social contexts, worldwide, throughout history. Every time health professionals participate more in their attention and solution. This work presents three ¨cases¨ classified as such, which the author had the opportunity to attend. There are, in this work comments, about each of them and concepts about this condition are updated; which is expressed by the most varied symptoms in a group of people facing intense stress due to supposed threatening even though there is no physical or environmental reason to get sick. It generates a marked tension in patients and doctors so as in the general public. Doctors and sanitary personnel should be prepared for its adequate diagnosis and conduct to follow.

Parte III: las locuras histéricas / Part III: the hysterical follies

Caso Clínico Paciente María R.A., 28 años, Escolaridad básica en programa diferencial, dueña de casa, Casada, 9 años de matrimonio. Su pareja tiene 62 años. Actualmente vive con esposo e hijo de 2 años, en Maipú. Durante 2016, María consultó en distintos servicios de urgencia, recibiendo distintos diagnósticos: Conversión, Síndrome conversivo. Se ingresa en Urgencia con diagnóstico: Síndrome Psicótico lúcido. Paciente en cama, sin movimientos espontáneos, con rigidez, mirada fija, deshidratada, no acepta alimentarse, negativista, no establece contacto visual, no responde preguntas simples, sin embargo, en forma espontánea puede permanecer hablando, dando cuenta de contenidos delirantes. El día de su ingreso a sector se inició terapia Electro convulsiva, y completó 5 sesiones. Tras la primera sesión paciente evoluciona favorablemente, se levanta de la cama, solicita agua, es capaz de comer. Síntomas psicóticos ceden tras la tercera sesión, señalando además no recordar nada de lo ocurrido. En entrevista de evolución paciente vigil, orientada TE, actitud parcialmente cooperadora. En cuanto a las psicosis histéricas en sí, es una psicosis aguda, de rápida curación cuando se las trata adecuadamente y Bleuler habla de los llamados estados crepusculares histéricos. La duda diagnóstica es entre un trastorno disociativo tipo psicosis histérica o bien un trastorno psicótico agudo, refiriéndose a trastornos de presunto origen disociativo con sintomatología que podríamos denominar pseudopsicótica. La CIE-10 clasifica las psicosis agudas no afectivas, como Trastornos psicóticos agudos y transitorios (TPAT), (Acute and Transient Psychotic Disorders (ATPD) en inglés), comparten las características comunes de inicio agudo dentro de dos semanas, y la presencia de síntomas psicóticos típicos. La descripción de TPAT fue influenciada por los conceptos de psicosis cicloide, bouffée délirante y psicosis reactiva. No es sorprendente, por lo tanto, que los ATPD de la CIE-10 (al menos diagnósticamente) sean un heterogéneo grupo de trastornos. Tanto los sistemas CIE como DSM se basan en síntomas, y descuentan los aspectos "no empíricos" del diagnóstico, que pueden constituir el «fenómeno" esencia de un trastorno psicótico. Actualmente, no existe una categoría de diagnóstico para definir individuos que están experimentando tal psicopatología y tienen un riesgo significativamente mayor de desarrollar esquizofrenia u otro desorden psicótico. Trastorno histriónico de la personalidad (HPD), como argumento aquí, no es una patología mental real; más bien, "histriónico" se refiere a un rasgo o grupo de rasgos de personalidad que podría conducir a algún otro trastorno mental.

Clinical case. Patient María R.A., 28 years old, Basic schooling in differential program, housewife, Married, 9 years of marriage. His partner is 62 years old. Currently lives with husband and 2 year old son in Maipú. During 2016, Maria consulted in different emergency services, receiving different diagnoses: Conversion and conversion syndrome. Urgency is entered with diagnosis: Syndrome Psychotic lucid. Patient in bed, without spontaneous movements, with rigidity, stare, dehydrated, does not accept to feed, negativist, does not establish visual contact, does not answer simple questions, however, spontaneously can remain talking, giving account of delusional contents. On the day of his admission to the sector, Electro Convulsive therapy was started, and he completed 5 sessions. After the first patient session he progresses favorably, gets up from bed, requests water, is able to eat. Psychotic symptoms give way after the third session, noting also not remember anything of what happened. In an evolution interview, vigil patient , oriented TE, partially cooperative attitude. As for hysterical psychoses per se, it is an acute, rapidly healing psychosis when properly treated and Bleuler speaks of so-called hysterical crepuscular states. The diagnostic doubt is between a dissociative disorder type hysterical psychosis or an acute psychotic disorder. referring to disorders of presumed dissociative origin with symptomatology that we could call pseudopsychotic. The ICD-10 classifies acute non-affective psychoses, as Acute and Transient Psychotic Disorders (ATPD), share the common characteristics of acute onset within two weeks, and the presence of typical psychotic symptoms. The description of ATPD was influenced by the concepts of cycloid psychosis, bouffée délirante and reactive psychosis. It is not surprising, therefore, that the ATPD of the ICD-10 (at least diagnostically) is a heterogeneous group of disorders. Both CIE and DSM systems are based on symptoms and discount the "non-empirical" aspects of diagnosis, which may constitute the "phenomenon" essence of a psychotic disorder. Currently, there is no diagnostic category to define individuals who are experiencing such psychopathology and have a significantly increased risk of developing schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder. Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD), as an argument here, is not a real mental pathology; rather, "histrionic" refers to a trait or group of personality traits that could lead to some other mental disorder.

A bright side, facet analysis of histrionic personality disorder: the relationship between the HDS Colourful factor and the NEO-PI-R facets in a large adult sample.

This study looks at "bright-side," Big Five Personality trait correlates of a "dark-side" Personality Disorder, namely Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD). More than 5000 British adults completed the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Personality Inventory-Revised (Costa & McCrae, 1985), which measures the Big Five Personality factors at the Domain (Super Factor) and the Facet (Factor) level, as well as the Hogan Development Survey (HDS; Hogan & Hogan, 2009), which has a measure of HPD, exclusively called "Colourful" in the HDS terminology. Correlation and regression results confirmed many of the associations between these "bright" and "dark" side individual difference variables. The Colourful (HPD) score from the HDS was the criterion variable in all analyses. Colourful individuals are high on Extraversion and Openness, but also Stable and disagreeable. The Facet analysis identified Assertiveness and Immodesty as particularly characteristic of that type. The study confirmed work on HPD using different population groups and different measures, showing that personality traits are predictable and correlated with various personality disorders.

Measuring IPDE-SQ personality disorder prevalence in pre-sentence and early-stage prison populations, with sub-type estimates.

Understanding the prevalence and type of personality disorder within prison systems allows for the effective targeting of resources to implement strategies to alleviate symptoms, manage behaviour and attempt to reduce re-offending. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of personality disorder (PD) traits within a local urban high-turnover adult male prison with a remand/recently sentenced population in London, UK. The International Personality Disorder Examination - Screening Questionnaire (IPDE-SQ) self-administered questionnaire (ICD-10 version) was completed by 283 prisoners (42% completion rate). 77% of respondents reached the threshold for one or more PDs. The most common PD types were Paranoid PD (44.5%), Anankastic PD (40.3%), Schizoid PD (35%) and Dissocial PD (25.8%). These results confirm and extend existing knowledge regarding the prevalence of PD in prison populations into a high-turnover, urban, remand population. The stark comparison with community samples indicates that a more equitable standard of service delivery within the criminal justice system, focussing on preventive and early intervention services, is now required.

Have personality disorders been overdiagnosed among eating disorder patients?

BACKGROUND: There is persuasive evidence for a relationship between eating disorders (EDs) and personality disorders (PDs). Research studies over the last three decades have used various tools to explore PDs in EDs with differing results. We investigated PDs derived from an interview--the International Personality Disorder Examination. METHODS: 132 female inpatients with restrictive anorexia nervosa (AN-R), binge-purging AN, bulimia nervosa (BN) and ED not otherwise specified were interviewed. MANCOVA was used to test for differences in dimensional PD scores for the ED diagnostic and behavioural groups. RESULTS: Twenty-one percent of patients had a definite DSM-IV PD diagnosis and 37% of patients had ≥1 definite or probable DSM-IV PD diagnoses. Cluster C PDs were most commonly found [avoidant (25%), obsessive-compulsive (9%), dependent (2%)], followed by cluster B PDs [borderline (13%), histrionic (2%)]. Comparison of PD dimensional scores revealed significantly lower PD scores for borderline PD in AN-R when compared to the other diagnostic groups; and significantly higher scores for histrionic, narcissistic, antisocial, and not otherwise specified PDs for BN when compared to the other diagnostic groups. Self-induced vomiting was the only behaviour significantly associated with any PD dimensional scores (borderline and narcissistic). CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of PDs using a highly structured interview administered by trained interviewers results in less PD diagnoses compared with previous studies of inpatients with an ED. Avoidance is the most common PD and those patients who induce vomiting are more likely to have borderline features.

¿Es un constructo válido la categoría de trastorno histriónico de la personalidad del Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition? / Is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, histrionic personality disorder category a valid construct?

Objetivo. El estudio investigó aspectos cruciales de la validez del constructo de la categoría trastorno histriónico de la personalidad (THP) del Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Material y métodos. El estudio incluyó a 2.289 pacientes de la Norwegian Network of Psychotherapeutic Day Hospitals. La validez del constructo fue evaluada mediante la prevalencia, la comorbilidad con otros trastornos de la personalidad, la consistencia interna de los criterios del THP, los índices de gravedad y el análisis de factores. Resultados. La prevalencia fue muy escasa (0,4%). La comorbilidad fue elevada, especialmente con los trastornos límite, narcisista y dependiente de la personalidad. La consistencia interna fue baja. Los criterios parecieron formar dos agrupaciones distintas: el primero contenía rasgos exhibicionistas y que intentan llamar la atención, y el otro contenía rasgos impresionables. Conclusión. Los resultados indicaron una escasa validez del constructo de la categoría THP. Analizamos distintas opciones para el futuro de la categoría. Los autores sugieren que la categoría THP sea eliminada del sistema DSM. No obstante, los fenómenos clínicos de exhibicionismo e intento de llamar la atención, que son los rasgos predominantes de la personalidad en el THP, debieran conservarse en un subtipo exhibicionista de narcisismo(AU)

Purpose: The study investigated crucial aspects of the construct validity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) histrionic personality disorder (HPD) category. Material and methods: The study included 2289 patients from the Norwegian Network of Psychotherapeutic Day Hospitals. Construct validity was assessed by means of prevalence, comorbidity with other personality disorders, internal consistency among HPD criteria, severity indices, as well as factor analyses. Results: The prevalence of HPD was very low (0.4%). The comorbidity was high, especially with borderline, narcissistic, and dependent personality disorders. The internal consistency was low. The criteria seemed to form two separate clusters: the first contained exhibitionistic and attention-seeking traits and the other contained impressionistic traits. Conclusion: The results indicated poor construct validity of the HPD category. Different options for the future of the category are discussed. The authors suggest the HPD category to be deleted from the DSM system. However, the clinical phenomena of exhibitionism and attention-seeking, which are the dominant personality features of HPD, should be preserved in an exhibitionistic subtype of narcissism (AU)

['Histrionic personality disorder with regression and conversion': a meningioma]. / 'Theatrale persoonlijkheidsstoornis met regressie en conversie'; een meningeoom.

A 47-year-old woman, who was believed to be suffering from histrionic personality disorder with regression and conversion, was finally diagnosed with a frontal meningioma. Patients with meningiomas can present with a variety of psychiatric symptoms, sometimes even before neurological symptoms occur. The diagnosis is often delayed because the symptoms are misleading and it is difficult to modify a psychiatric diagnosis once this has been made. Discussion focuses on the characteristic signs of a meningioma, the reasons for delays in diagnosis and the indications for brain-imaging on psychiatric patients.

[Affective dependency and psychiatry: a discord]. / La dépendance affective et la psychiatrie : une mésentente.

INTRODUCTION: The term "loving dependence" is increasingly used by professionals of the relation of help and the patients themselves. It joins in the wider spectre of the interpersonal dependency. More and more patients suffering from this disorder are coming for psychiatric consultation. However, this notion remains vague and absent in the vocabulary of the psychiatrists. Globally, this term describes the functioning of certain patients who present a fear of not being loved and a dependency on another person. The fear of not being loved provokes a fear of abandonment or incites development of strategies to be loved (seduce, help). Dependency on another person is a consequence of the lack of confidence in the capabilities of the individual. The other person reassures them because this person does what the patient is afraid of doing, because he/she does not feel capable. The lack of confidence in own's capabilities can also incite the individual to become a perfectionist and successful. The fear of not being loved and of not being competent is determined partly in the person's childhood. These impressions are real and/or the individuals are hypersensitive. AIM OF THE PAPER: The article describes the emotional, cognitive and behavioural levels, the various types of interpersonal dependency: dependences of type "umbilical cord", "rescuer", "stereotype" and "against dependence". The objective is to specify the concept better on clinical level, with the aim of defining criteria and pathological limits. This is the first stage before beginning rigorous scientific research. The stakes are high. There are relationships with anxiety, depressive disorders, alcoholism, food behaviour disorders, suicide and somatic pathologies. DISCUSSION: Dependency seems to be the consequence of a pathological expression of the normal dimensions of the personality: the need to be loved and valued (admired). The onset of dependency occurs in stages, when the person is weakened by events of life or by depression. The impression not to have been loved and/or valued in childhood is vulnerability. We detail the common points and the differences between the types of described dependences and the diagnostic categories of the DSM. The category-specific classification of the DSM is not adapted to making a diagnosis in these patients. To diagnose a pathological personality, the patient has to be constantly in a functioning of pathological intensity, which is not still the case. This is a real problem, because these clinical situations are very frequent. We defend a dimensional approach of the personality disorders. A meeting between the psychiatry and the relationally dependent person is possible, on one hand in a dimensional classification of personality disorders and, on the other, by working on self-esteem. The relational dependency and self-esteem share the same appearances and the same causes. There are two different names from the same identity.

Psychology of plastic and reconstructive surgery: a systematic clinical review.

BACKGROUND: The authors sought to review the various types of patients with psychological abnormalities who may present to the plastic surgeon and the psychological impact of various plastic surgery procedures on these patients. METHODS: After systematically searching the Embase and PubMed databases and following further refinement (based on the authors' inclusion and exclusion criteria), the authors identified 65 studies. In addition, the authors felt that important information was contained in four textbooks, two press releases, and one Internet database. The inclusion criteria were studies that investigated the psychological outcomes, background, and personality types of patients seeking specific plastic surgery procedures. In addition, studies that addressed the impact of plastic surgery on patients' psychological status and quality of life were also included. The authors excluded studies with fewer than 30 patients, studies that did not pertain to the particular plastic surgery procedures, and studies that addressed psychological sequelae of revision operations. RESULTS: Narcissistic and histrionic personality disorders and body dysmorphic disorder are the three most common psychiatric conditions encountered in patients seeking cosmetic surgery. Overall, plastic surgery not only restores the appearance and function of the disfigured body unit but also alleviates psychological distress. CONCLUSION: Identifying the psychologically challenging patient before surgical intervention will allow the patient to obtain the appropriate psychological assistance and may result in a healthier individual with or without associated plastic surgery procedures.

[The differential diagnosis of hysteria in the ravines of contemporary psychiatry]. / Los diagnósticos diferenciales de la histeria en los desfiladeros de la psiquiatría moderna.

The diagnosis of "hysteria" has recently become part of the history of Psychiatry. Although fully trained dynamic psychiatrists, followers of psychoanalytic theories, still make use of some clinical and theoretical production upon hysteria, for many of the young psychiatrists this term has disappeared from their scope. They only know of dissociative disorders, somatoform disorders and histrionic personality disorders, or they rather distinguish other diagnosis with which hysteria could be mistaken for. Despite the diagnosis of hysteria has been removed from the DSM, the difficulties these patients frequently imposed to physicians still prevail.

Violencia y trastornos de la personalidad: implicaciones clínicas y forenses / Violence and personality disorders: clinical and forensic implications

En diversos estudios se ha demostrado que los trastornos de la personalidad (TP) representan un riesgo clínico significativo para las conductas violentas. El objetivo de este artículo es examinar la relación entre los TP y la violencia en función de cuatro dimensiones de personalidad fundamentales:1) la impulsividad; 2) la falta de regulación emocional;3) el narcisismo y las amenazas al yo; y 4) el estilo de personalidad paranoide. Dos de estas dimensiones –la impulsividad y la falta de regulación emocional- están implicadas en todos los TP relacionados con la violencia. El narcisismo o las amenazas al yo y el estilo de personalidad paranoide se han asociado empíricamente a la violencia y a los trastornos mentales. Los síntomas de los TP han mostrado ser mejores predictores de la violencia que los TP por sí mismos. De hecho, los síntomas del clúster A o B de los TP, tales como los síntomas paranoides, narcisistas y antisociales, correlacionan de forma significativa con la violencia. Por último, hay tres principios fundamentales sobre la relación entre los TP y la violencia: 1) los TP son habitualmente egosintónicos; 2)los TP muestran comorbilidad con otros trastornos del Eje I o del Eje II; y 3) la violencia y el riesgo de violencia están asociados con frecuencia al abuso de drogas. Se comentan las implicaciones de esta revisión para la investigación futura (AU)

Several studies have provided strong evidence that personality disorders (PD) represent a significant clinical risk for violence. This review has aimed to examine the relationship of greater risk for violence among persons with certain PD in terms of four fundamental personality dimensions: 1) impulse control; 2) affect regulation; 3) threatened egotism or narcissism; and 4) paranoid cognitive personality style. Two of these dimensions-impulse control and affect regulation- are probably substantially affected by virtually all PDs linked to violence. Narcissism or threatened egotism and paranoid cognitive personality style have also been empirically linked to violence and mental disorder. PD symptom shave proven to be even stronger predictors of violence than the PDs per se. In fact, increased symptoms of DSMIV cluster A or cluster B PD, such as paranoid, narcissistic and antisocial PD symptoms, correlate significantly with violence. Finally, there are three important principles about the relationship between PDs and violence: 1) PDs are rarely egosyntonic; 2) most patients and violent situations that come to clinical attention involve comorbid conditions; and 3) violence and risk of violence are often associated with substance abuse. Implications of this review for further research are discussed (AU)

Is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, histrionic personality disorder category a valid construct?

PURPOSE: The study investigated crucial aspects of the construct validity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) histrionic personality disorder (HPD) category. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 2289 patients from the Norwegian Network of Psychotherapeutic Day Hospitals. Construct validity was assessed by means of prevalence, comorbidity with other personality disorders, internal consistency among HPD criteria, severity indices, as well as factor analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of HPD was very low (0.4 %). The comorbidity was high, especially with borderline, narcissistic, and dependent personality disorders. The internal consistency was low. The criteria seemed to form 2 separate clusters: the first contained exhibitionistic and attention-seeking traits and the other contained impressionistic traits. CONCLUSION: The results indicated poor construct validity of the HPD category. Different options for the future of the category are discussed. The authors suggest the HPD category to be deleted from the DSM system. However, the clinical phenomena of exhibitionism and attention-seeking, which are the dominant personality features of HPD, should be preserved in an exhibitionistic subtype of narcissism.

[Hysteria I. Histrionic personality disorder. A psychotherapeutic challenge]. / Hysterie I: Histrionische Persönlichkeitsstörung. Eine psychotherapeutische Herausforderung.

What is left of Freud's hysteria in modern diagnostics is the histrionic personality. Psychological and somatic functional disorders, such as dissociative and somatoform disorders are freed from the label of being hysterical, but even the histrionic personality disorder does not enjoy professional agreement as far as diagnostics and therapy are concerned. This disorder is characterized by dramatization, suggestibility, superficial changing affects, impressionist cognitive style, preoccupation with outward appearance, seductive behavior and the wish to take centre stage, a compensatory attitude resulting from important childhood relationships. A comorbidity with narcissistic and antisocial personality exists and also with ADHS.

Diagnosis and subtypes of adolescent antisocial personality disorder.

The present study examined the application of the Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) diagnosis to adolescents and investigated the possibility of subtypes of APD adolescents. As part of a broader study of adolescent personality in clinically-referred patients, experienced clinicians provided personality data on a randomly selected patient in their care using the SWAP-II-A personality pathology instrument. Three hundred thirteen adolescents met adult DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for APD. To characterize adolescents with the disorder, we aggregated the data to identify the items most descriptive and distinctive of APD adolescents relative to other teenagers in the sample (N = 950). Q-factor analysis identified five personality subtypes: psychopathic-like, socially withdrawn, impulsive-histrionic, emotionally dysregulated, and attentionally dysregulated. The five subtypes differed in predictable ways on a set of external criteria related to global adaptive functioning, childhood family environment, and family history of psychiatric illness. Both the APD diagnosis and the empirically derived APD subtypes provided incremental validity over and above the DSM-IV disruptive behavior disorders in predicting global adaptive functioning, number of arrests, early-onset severe externalizing pathology, and quality of peer relationships. Although preliminary, these results provide support for the use of both APD and personality-based subtyping systems in adolescents.

[New mask of hysteria: three case reports]. / Le nouveau masque de l'hysterie: a propos de trois cas.

BACKGROUND: Hysteria is a polymorphous manifestation pathology in which unconscious psychic conflicts convert symbolically into somatic and psychic symptoms. THE AIM: When patients used to express their symptoms mostly in motor register, we are assisting progressively to the emergence of a new expressive mode of this disease. In fact, passional attitudes of the "Great hysteria" of Charcot and Richer have become exceptional, replaced by rich and sometimes confusing psychic symptoms. METHODS: We report three cases of patients with hysteria hospitalized in the department of psychiatry E at the Razi hospital of Tunis. RESULTS: All three patients had presented a rich psychological symptoms and confusing, looking psychotic. Some semiological characteristics and the projective personality tests have allowed us to bring the diagnosis of hysteria. CONCLUSION: Hysteria expression seems to change constantly with epochs, cultures, society evolutions and medical knowledge progress.

Personality subtypes of suicidal adults.

Research into personality factors related to suicidality suggests substantial variability among suicide attempters. A potentially useful approach that accounts for this complexity is personality subtyping. As part of a large sample looking at personality pathology, this study used Q-factor analysis to identify subtypes of 311 adult suicide attempters using Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-II personality profiles. Identified subtypes included internalizing, emotionally dysregulated, dependent, hostile-isolated, psychopathic, and anxious somatizing. Subtypes differed in hypothesized ways on criterion variables that address their construct validity, including adaptive functioning, Axis I and II comorbidity, and etiology-related variables (e.g., history of abuse). Furthermore, dimensional ratings of the subtypes predicted adaptive functioning above DSM-based diagnoses and symptoms.