DSM-II personality characteristics of panic disorder with agoraphobia patients in stable remission

The Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ), a self-rating scale designed to assess DSM-III axis II personality disorders (PD), was administered to 12 panic disorder with agoraphobia patients during a 6-month stable and virtually symptom-free remission period with the aim of assessing the personality characteristics of these patients in the best possible approximation of the not-ill condition in clinical reality. The personality profile of the sample remained unchanged during remission and was predominated by avoidant PD traits. In a finer grain analysis, the stable and commonly endorsed individual PDQ items were compared with previously reported panic disorder and normal control subjects, which showed that the present sample was more like the panic patients in their tendency to see themselves as rather unassertive, indecisive, self-critical, and emotional individuals who are easily frustrated and feel rejected when criticized by others. These results suggest that avoidant behavioral and attitudinal patterns may be enduring personality characteristics of panic disorder with agoraphobia patients.