[Effect of personality disorders on response to cognitive behavioral therapy of panic disorder with agoraphobia]

This study measures the effect of personality disorders on the efficacy of treatment of agoraphobia. Forty-one patients suffering from panic disorder with agoraphobia are evaluated for the presence of a personality disorder (according to DSM-III-R criteria) before the onset of treatment. The treatment consists in 14 sessions of behavioural cognitive therapy. Various measures of agoraphobic avoidance are obtained before (pre-test) and after the end of treatment (post-test, three month follow-up). Effect of treatment reaches statistical and clinical significance for all patients. Grouping of patients according to presence or absence of personality disorder shows no significant difference between the groups before or after treatment on scores of agoraphobia. A subgroup of patients with dependent personality disorder does not differ on measures of agoraphobic avoidance from patients without personality disorders or with other personality disorders. The discussion points out methodological limitations, differences in our study from other studies regarding the effect of personality on the treatment outcome of panic disorder with agoraphobia, as well as possibilities for future studies.