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5 - Personality disorders from the perspective of child and adolescent psychiatry
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- By Arnold Allertz, Managing Director Fornhese Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and Emerhese, Center for Autistic Disorders, Symfora groep, Centers for Mental Health, Amersfoort, The Netherlands, Guus van Voorst, Clinical Psychologist Clinical Head Emerhese, Center for Autistic Disorders, Symfora groep, Centers for Mental Health, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
- Edited by Bert van Luyn, Salman Akhtar, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, W. John Livesley, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
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- Book:
- Severe Personality Disorders
- Published online:
- 14 August 2009
- Print publication:
- 06 September 2007, pp 79-92
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- Chapter
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Summary
When do personality disorders begin? Is personality fixed in late adolescence or early adulthood? Are personality traits distinguishable after birth or in childhood? There are no definitive answers to these questions as yet and there is obviously much to learn. Nevertheless, long-term studies point to considerable stability in personality even when assessed in adolescence. Moreover, as Paris (2003) noted in his excellent overview of the course of personality disorders from childhood till late adulthood, it does seem possible to identify some precursors of personality disorder in childhood and early adolescence. In this chapter, we highlight some developmental aspects of personality and personality disorders from the perspective of child and adolescent psychiatry.
Developmental aspects of personality disorders
Developmental psychopathology is the study of the developmental processes that contribute to the formation of, or resistance to, psychopathology (Wenar and Kerig, 2000). Many studies from this field suggest that vulnerability – adversities and psychopathology in infancy and early childhood – may lead to chronic and profound psychopathology in later life. In this section, we discuss five topics that are relevant in the development of psychopathology, especially personality disorders, in infants and young children: heredity, prenatal issues, attachment, temperament, and maltreatment.
Heredity
Twin and family studies show that genes influence the susceptibility to acquire a personality disorder. For example, a Norwegian twin study by Torgersen and colleagues showed that personality disorders generally were 60% heritable (Torgersen et al., 2000).