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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

Epigenetic perspective on behavior development, personality, and personality disorders.

Dragan M Svrakic¹, Robert C Cloninger

¹Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, St Louis, MO, USA. svrakicd@psychiatry.wustl.edu

Psychiatria Danubina

|June 22, 2010

Summary

Current personality disorder classifications lack solid understanding. This paper proposes defining them as maladaptive syndromes resulting from person-environment interactions, integrating biological and adaptive factors for better diagnosis and treatment.

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Area of Science:

Psychiatry
Psychology
Genetics

Background:

Current categorical systems (DSM-IV-TR, ICD-10) for personality disorders have not yielded a solid conceptual understanding or effective treatments.
Advancements in molecular biology and epigenetics necessitate a re-evaluation of personality disorder classification.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a revised conceptualization and diagnostic framework for personality disorders.
To integrate neurobiological and adaptive etiological factors into the diagnosis.
To introduce the term "Adaptation Disorder" to more accurately reflect the nature and causality of these conditions.

Main Methods:

Defined personality disorders as maladaptive syndromes resulting from the interaction between person-environment factors.
Conceptualized maladaptation as a failure of personality's integrative functions due to biogenetic dispositions and/or environmental influences.
Proposed a two-step diagnostic algorithm utilizing character (adaptive processes) for maladaptation diagnosis and temperament (biological aspects) for clinical presentation and differential diagnosis.

Main Results:

Personality disorders are proposed to stem from a combination of innate biological predispositions and environmental interactions.
A new diagnostic approach is suggested, focusing on adaptive failures and biological underpinnings.
The term "Adaptation Disorder" is suggested to better capture the disorder's etiology.

Conclusions:

The proposed revision offers a more accurate reflection of personality disorder etiology, distributing causality between the individual and their environment.
This new framework is expected to yield advantages in diagnosis, research, and treatment of personality disorders.
Integrating biological and adaptive factors provides a more nuanced understanding and approach to these conditions.