Personality disorders do not influence the results of cognitive behavior therapies for anxiety disorders

Two studies are presented in which the presence of personality disorders (PDs) was assessed using a structured clinical interview (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders [SCID-II] by an independent rater before the start of treatment. The therapy effect was measured by change scores. In the first study, patients (N = 31) with panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) received standardized cognitive behavioral treatment protocols. The effect of treatment as assessed by questionnaires and panic frequency was comparable in the groups with and without PD. In a second study, patients (N = 57) with various anxiety disorders were assessed before and after an individually tailored cognitive behavioral treatment. In general, results showed that anxiety patients with PDs have more severe axis I pathology, but show a change parallel to the patients without PD. Thus, if the effect of therapy is measured by change scores, PD is not related to therapeutic failure of cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders in general and panic disorder in particular.