Depression as related to disorders of personality

Historical and current literature has addressed the issue of relationships between depression and personality disorders. However, empirical studies in this area have been scarce. This project examined the general question of how such relationships might emerge. A total of 839 clinical cases were diagnosed by clinicians and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II. In addition to diagnostic information regarding their patients, some clinicians provided information concerning specific character attributes by completing the Millon Personality Disorder Checklist. In addition to an association between the general diagnostic categories of personality disorder and depression, a number of specific relationships emerged between individual personality disorders and depressive disorders. The source of diagnosis is an important factor in considering how clearly these relationships emerge. The MCMI-II appears to reflect greater clarity with respect to relationships compared to clinicians\u27 or combined clinician/MCMI-II diagnoses. The implications for future research and treatment of these disorders are also addressed