Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T19:25:26.041Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An epidemiological study of histrionic personality disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

G. Nestadt*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, USA
A. J. Romanoski
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, USA
R. Chahal
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, USA
A. Merchant
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, USA
M. F. Folstein
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, USA
E. M. Gruenberg
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, USA
P. R. McHugh
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, USA
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Gerald Nestadt, Department of Psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Meyer 228, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

Synopsis

In conjunction with the Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) survey conducted in Baltimore, MD, a two-stage probability sample of community subjects was developed with a full psychiatric examination employing DSM-III criteria. This report details the observations on those subjects diagnosed with the DSM-III diagnosis Histrionic Personality Disorder. The results indicate that this condition can be diagnosed reliably and that it is a valid construct. It has a prevalence of 2·1 % in a general population. Males and females are equally affected, suggesting that prior reports of an increased prevalence in females was an expression of ascertainment bias found in hospital-based studies. The diagnosis is associated with clear evidence of disturbance in the emotional, behavioural, and social realms. Individuals with this disorder tend to use health care facilities more frequently than others.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anthony, J. C., Folstein, M., Romanoski, A., Nestadt, G. & VonKorff, M. (1985). Comparison of the Lay Diagnostic Interview Schedule and a Standardized Psychiatric Diagnosis. Archives of General Psychiatry 42, 667675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chodoff, P. (1982). Hysteria and women: American Journal of Psychiatry 139, 545551.Google ScholarPubMed
Chodoff, P. & Lyons, H. (1958). Hysteria, the hysterical personality, and ‘hysterical’ conversion. American Journal of Psychiatry 114, 734740.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Education Psychological Measurement 20, 3746.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eaton, W. W., Reiger, D. A., Locke, B. Z. & Taube, C. A. (1981). The epidemiologic catchment area program of the National Institute of Mental Health. Public Health Reports 96, 319325.Google ScholarPubMed
Eysenck, H. J. & Eysenck, S. B. J. (1969). Personality Structure and Measurement. R. R. Knapp: San Diego.Google Scholar
Fleiss, J. L. (1981). The measurement of interrator agreement: multiple ratings per subject. In Statistical Methods for Rales and Proportions, 2nd edn. pp. 225232. John Wiley: New York.Google Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. & McHugh, P. R. (1975). ‘Minimental state’: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research 38, 189198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Romanoski, A. J., Chahal, R., Anthony, J. C., VonKorff, M., Nestadt, G., Merchant, A., Gruenberg, E. M. & Kramer, M. (1985). Eastern Baltimore Mental Health Survey Clinical Reappraisal. In Epidemiologic Field Methods in Psychiatry (ed. Eaton, W. W. and Kessler, L. G.), pp. 253284. Academic Press: Orlando, Florida.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, D. (1974). The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire. Maudsley Monograph (No. 21). Oxford University Press: London.Google Scholar
Guze, S. B., Cloninger, C. R., Martin, R. C. & Clayton, P. J. (1986). A follow-up and Fairly study of Briquet's syndrome. British Journal of Psychiatry 149, 1723.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hagnell, O. (1966). A Prospective Study of the Incidence of Mental Disorder. Scandinavian University Books: Stockholm.Google Scholar
Hyler, S. E., Rieder, R. O., Williams, J. B. W. & Spitzer, R. L. (1983). Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ). New York State Psychiatric Institute, Biometrics Research: New York.Google Scholar
Leighton, D. C., Harding, J. S., Macklin, D. B., Macmillan, A. M. & Leighton, A. H. (1963). The Character of Danger. Basic Books: New York.Google Scholar
Lindberg, B. J. & Lindegard, B. (1963). Studies of the hysteroid personality attitude. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 39, 170180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luisada, P. V., Peele, R. & Pittard, E. A. (1974). The hysterical personality in men. American Journal of Psychiatry 131, 518522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mann, A. H., Jenkins, R., Cutting, J. C. & Cowen, P. J. (1981). The development and use of a standardized assessment of abnormal personality. Psychological Medicine 11, 839847.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Millon, T. (1982). Million Clinical Multi-axial Inventory, 2nd edn.Interpretive Scoring Systems: Minneapolis.Google Scholar
Pfohl, B., Stangl, D. & Zimmerman, M. (1982). The Structural Interview for DSM-III Personality Disorders (SIDP). University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics: Iowa City.Google Scholar
Reich, J. (1987). Sex distribution of DSM-III personality disorders in psychiatric outpatients. American Journal of Psychiatry 144, 485488.Google ScholarPubMed
Reich, W. (1969). Character Analysis. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux: New York.Google Scholar
Robins, L. N., Helzer, J. E., Croughan, J., Williams, J. B. W. & Spitzer, R. L. (1981). N.I.M.H. Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version III. National Institute of Mental Health: Rockville, MD.Google Scholar
Romanoski, A. J., Nestadt, G., Chahal, R., Merchant, A., Folstein, M. F., Gruenberg, E. M. & McHugh, P. R. (1988). Inter-observer reliability of a ‘Standardized Psychiatric Examinaton (SPE)’ for case ascertainment (DSM-III). Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 176, 6371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slavney, P. R. & McHugh, P. R. (1974). The hysterical personality: a controlled study. Archives of General Psychiatry 30, 325329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spitzer, R. L. & Williams, J. B. W. (1982). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III (SCID). New York State Psychiatric Institute, Biometrics Research: New York.Google Scholar
Stangl, D., Pfohl, B., Zimmerman, M., Bowers, W. & Corenthal, C. (1985). A structured interview for the DSM-III personality disorders: a preliminary report. Archives of General Psychiatry 42, 591596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tyrer, P. J. (1987). Paper read to Section of Measurement in Medicine and Psychiatry, April 1986. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 80, 637639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar