Changes in personality disorders following behavior therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the effect of behavior therapy on personality disorders when treatment focused on an Axis I diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Twenty-one patients diagnosed with OCD participated. At pretest, the mean number of personality disorders was approximately four, whereas the posttest number was approximately three. Analyses suggest that this change, although apparently small, is clinically relevant, since changes in number of personality disorders was significantly related to treatment outcome. Treatment was successful in alleviating obsessivecompulsive symptoms as measured with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS; t (20) = 7.02, p < .001). Reliable change indexes for each patient showed that 18 of 21 improved significantly. Future research should examine the extent to which posttreatment number of personality disorders relates to relapse rates.