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Lasting personality pathology following exposure to catastrophic trauma in adults: Systematic review
Author(s) -
Munjiza Jasna,
Law Vincent,
Crawford Mike J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
personality and mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.193
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1932-863X
pISSN - 1932-8621
DOI - 10.1002/pmh.1271
Subject(s) - personality pathology , personality , personality disorders , clinical psychology , psychology , extant taxon , psychiatry , personality changes , cluster (spacecraft) , young adult , medicine , developmental psychology , social psychology , evolutionary biology , biology , computer science , programming language
Background By definition, personality disorders (PDs) are evident in late childhood and adolescence, but evidence for personality pathology occurring after adolescence is unclear. Aim We aimed to review extant literature on personality change following exposure to catastrophic trauma in adults in order to identify the prevalence and clinical features of any long‐term personality pathology. Method Relevant studies were identified by searching three bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsychINFO) from inception to November 2011 using terms related to personality and trauma. Results No prospective studies that investigated long‐term personality change following exposure to trauma in adults were found. Two retrospective studies reported the prevalence of enduring personality change of 2.6% and 6% (weighted prevalence 4.6%, 95% confidence interval 3.4–6.3%), and one study reported 20% increase in adult‐onset antisocial behaviour following exposure to trauma. Findings from cross‐sectional studies that examined the prevalence of PDs in people exposed to catastrophic trauma reported that Cluster C and Cluster A were the most common with avoidant, paranoid and obsessive–compulsive PDs among those most frequently reported. Conclusion A minority of adults who are exposed to severe trauma appear to go on to develop significant personality pathology. The observed personality disturbance is multifarious and more extensive than the prototype described in ICD‐10. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.