Stability and Change in Personality Disorder Features

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Abstract
THERE EXISTS no empirical literature documenting the long-term longitudinal stability of the personality disorders (PD) comparable to that available for normal personality.1,2 Although the DSM3-5 asserts that PDs are enduring and stable over time and recognizable by adolescence or early adult life, supporting empirical data are virtually nonexistent. Test-retest studies6,7 have been conducted on PDs, typically borderline personality disorder—however, they reveal noteworthy methodological shortcomings that limit their utility for resolving issues related to long-term stability of the PDs. The greatest limitation of all such studies lies in the research design itself and the fundamental inability of test-retest observations to adequately address stability, an established fact in lifespan research methodology.8-12 Test-retest studies have usefully established the test-retest reliability of the primary Axis II assessment devices.13-15 The methodological superiority, however, of the prospective multiwave longitudinal design for studying continuity and change in personality is well known.2,8,9,11,16

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