AUTHOR=He HongZhen , Xu Mei , Fei ZhangYing , Xie Yuou , Gu XinYi , Zhu HongLiang , Wang JunJie 

TITLE=Sex differences in personality disorders in a Chinese clinical population

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1006740

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1006740

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Sex differences in the frequency and severity of personality disorders (PDs) have been widely reported in Western countries. However, limited literature suggests a similar sex distribution in the Chinese clinical population. This study investigated sex differences in self-reported and interviewed patients with PDs in a clinical population in China.</p></sec><sec><title>Materials and methods</title><p>The participants were 1,389 consecutive outpatients with a mean age of 30.5 years, including 634 (45.6%) males and 755 (54.4%) females. Self-reported PD traits were assessed using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire Fourth Edition Plus (PDQ-4+). PDs were diagnosed according to the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) Axis II (SCID-II).</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Male outpatients reported more paranoid, schizotypal, antisocial, and passive-aggressive PD traits, whereas females reported more borderline PD traits on the PDQ-4+. Self-reported PD traits in male outpatients were more likely to reach the positive threshold of antisocial PD than in females (χ<sup>2</sup> = 5.293, <italic>p</italic> = 0.021). Males were more likely to meet the criteria for schizoid (χ<sup>2</sup> = 5.050, <italic>p</italic> = 0.025), narcissistic (χ<sup>2</sup> = 27.244, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), antisocial (χ<sup>2</sup> = 11.430, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001), avoidant (χ<sup>2</sup> = 5.098, <italic>p</italic> = 0.024), and obsessive-compulsive PD (χ<sup>2</sup> = 5.496, <italic>p</italic> = 0.019) diagnoses in the SCID-II. In contrast, females were more likely to meet the criteria of histrionic (χ<sup>2</sup> = 12.327, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001), borderline (χ<sup>2</sup> = 28.538, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), and dependent (χ<sup>2</sup> = 4.919, <italic>p</italic> = 0.027) diagnoses.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>These findings indicate gender differences in the traits, frequency, and pattern of PDs when assessed in a Chinese clinical population.</p></sec>