Prevalence and determinants of personality disorders in a clinical sample of alcohol-, drug-, and dual-dependent patients.

The present study compares the prevalence rates of 12 personality disorders (PDs) among patients with alcohol, drug, and dual dependence through chi-square tests and analyses of variance. It further investigates possible predictors of these PDs through multiple linear regression analyses. Data were gathered in 2007-2008 among 274 patients admitted to intensive, residential substance abuse treatment programs in Belgium, using the ADP-IV (Assessment of DSM-IV Personality Disorders), the EuropASI (European version of the Addiction Severity Index), and the MINI (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview). The analyses showed that drug- and dual-dependent patients have higher PD prevalence rates than alcohol-dependent patients. The severity, but not the nature of the dependence, appears as an important predictor for personality pathology.