Screening cluster A and cluster B personality disorders in Chinese high school students

Personality disorders (PDs) during adolescence may, in addition to increasing risk for violent behaviors and suicide, also increase risk for elevated PD traits in adulthood. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of Cluster A and Cluster B PD traits and their relationships to demographic variables in Chinese high school students.

A cohort of 3,552 students from eight high schools completed the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+ (PDQ-4+) and MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status-youth version (SSSy) questionnaires.

Boys scored higher than girls on the paranoid, schizotypal, antisocial, and narcissistic PDs. Freshmen and sophomores scored higher than juniors on schizoid, borderline, and antisocial PDs. Children in single-child families scored higher than nonsingletons on the paranoid and antisocial PDs. Students from single-parent households scored higher than students from double-parent households on the schizotypal and antisocial PDs, and students with remarried parents scored higher than students from double-parent households on the borderline and antisocial PDs. Students who had low perception of social status in the society ladder scored higher than those with a high perceived status on the schizoid and borderline PDs, but scored lower on the histrionic PD; students with a low subjective social status in the school community ladder scored higher scores than those with a high perceived status on the paranoid, schizoid, borderline, and antisocial PDs, but scored lower on the histrionic PD.

Gender, grade, family structure, and subjective social status may affect the development of PDs. Longitudinal studies and studies of the full scope of PDs are needed to fully elucidate the impact of demographic variables on PD prevalence rates in adolescence and adulthood.