the comorbidity of depression and personality disorders

introduction : comorbidity is a new term in psychiatric nosology which despite its expansive use is not clearly defined. overlapping of axis i and axis ii disorders in multiaxial system of dsm and controversy over which disorders belong to which axis, have also complicated the issue. a number of studies investigating patterns of comorbidity for axis i and axis ii disorders could not find a one to one relationship between axis i and axis ii disorders. but specific personality disorders were found to co-occur in certain chronic conditions, particularly in dysthymia.   purpose : the aim of this study is to investigate the comorbidity of depression and personality disorders. method: 60 inpatient and outpatient clients who received a diagnosis of major depression or dysthymia were recruited from two psychiatric centers. the structured clinical interview for dsm and mcmi-ii were used to assess the axis i and axis ii disorders. results: the results showed a comorbidity of depression and passive aggressive, schizoid, avoidant, antisocial and dependent personality disorders. this finding is similar to those reported in most studies. since personality disorders might interfere with the treatment of clinical syndromes, the implications for treatment of dually diagnosed clients were discussed.