Adolescent personality disorders in adolescent medicine.

Both BPD and ASPD are disorders whose complex presentations pose numerous clinical challenges to all health care professionals. However, early careful diagnosis and management can diminish the long-term morbidity of these illnesses and offer the hope of a better outcome. As data emerge regarding the long-term prognosis and effective treatment of PDs, clinicians are cautioned to avoid the traditional teaching that the dysfunctional patterns will necessarily continue into adulthood.