Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T21:51:32.894Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The influence of comorbid personality disorders on the outcome of CBT treatment of anxiety disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

A. Arntz  and
A. Weertman
A. Arntz
Affiliation:
Department of Medical, Clinical and Experimental Psychology, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
A. Weertman
Affiliation:
The Viersprong Institute, Halsteren, The Netherlands

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Background and Aims

It is widely believed that comorbid personality disorders (PDs) have a negative influence on the effects of treatment for axis-1 anxiety disorders. However, many studies reporting negative influences suffer from methodological problems, such as inference of PD after treatment by clinical judgement. The aim of our studies was to investigate the influence of comorbid PDs on outcome of CBT for anxiety disorders in a double blind prospective design.

Methods

Axis-1 and axis-2 disorders were assessed with SCID interviews. Therapists and patients were blind for outcome of SCID-II interview. Patients received state of the art CBT for their main anxiety disorder. We controlled for baseline levels. Outcome was assessed with Fear Questionnaire and SCL-90.

Results

In a very large sample of more than 1800 patients we didn't find evidence for a negative influence of comorbid PDs. The only effect we found was that comorbid borderline PD was associated with drop-out. In a smaller sample (N = 398) we found evidence that PDs predicted higher avoidance levels after treatment, but no other psychopathology. Interestingly, specific beliefs related to PDs, notably mistrust and dependency beliefs, were related to higher symptom levels after treatment.

Conclusions

The influence of PDs on CBT of anxiety disorders is not strong. When effects were found, they were very small. Two cognitive beliefs seem to be central in interference of PDs with CBT: mistrust and dependency related beliefs.

Type
S12. Symposium: The Comorbidity Problem in Personality Disorders (Organised by the AEP Section on Personality Disorders)
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 22 , Issue S1: 15th AEP Congress - Abstract book - 15th AEP Congress , March 2007 , pp. S16 - S17
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2007
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.