[Personality disorder traits in childhood and adolescence: concepts, methodological approaches and empirical results]

The practical and theoretical advantages of the diagnosis and classification of personality disorder traits in childhood and adolescence remain controversial topics, the investigation of which is particularly neglected in German-speaking countries.

This review reports in detail research findings on the diagnostic validity and on the stability of personality disorder dimensions from childhood and adolescence to adulthood.

On the one hand, the latest research findings refer to the validity of diagnoses of personality disorder in adolescence, and on the other, to the stability of personality traits over the course of development. Evidence of the continuity of personality disorder traits from adolescence to adulthood, however, is still lacking. Dimensional approaches are considered superior with regard to the assessment of personality disorder traits, particularly since they reflect development aspects, and also due to their higher sensitivity in this respect.

Longitudinal studies during both childhood and adolescence are required in order to assess the continuity, or the instability, respectively, of dimensionally assessed personality profiles and the influence of infant personality factors on the development of psychopathology.