Personality disorder: a new global perspective WPA SECTION REPORT

56 In the last 50 years, personality disorder has achieved a level of understanding and, indeed, respectability that now allows it to be considered as an equal partner with other mental disorders. Before the 1960s, personality disorder, with the possible exception of the antisocial group, was considered an unreliable and imprecise diagnosis with little or no clinical value. Since then, however, and particularly since the introduction of DSM-III in 1980, there has been increasing recognition that personality disorder, despite many imperfections in its classification, can be described and rated reliably. Personality disorder has been shown to have an important influence on the outcome of other mental disorders when present as a comorbid condition, and it may benefit from specific treatment. This article discusses these findings from a global perspective, as this has particular relevance to low-income countries in which personality disorder has until recently been seldom studied. Personality disorder: a new global perspective WPA SECTION REPORT