The future of depressive personality disorder in the diagnostic manuals

Abstract

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV), Depressive Personality Disorder (DPD) was proposed as a formal diagnostic category for consideration in the diagnostic manual. Since its proposal, a body of research has been performed that evaluates the validity of the disorder and its distinctiveness from similar personality and mood disorders. Research has supported both the validity and distinctiveness of the disorder when considered from biological, psychological, and interpersonal perspectives. However, the issue of its overlap with other disorders has led to differing conclusions about the fate of the category in future editions of the DSM. In part, these differences of opinion are the result of current debate surrounding categorical and dimensional approaches to the classification and description of personality disorders. In this paper, I will address the aforementioned issues and suggest that DPD merits consideration as a formal diagnostic category, and that the challenges facing the classification and description of personality disorders should not obfuscate the merits of including such a disorder in the diagnostic literature.