MCMI Personality Disorders Among Patients With Major Depression With and Without Anxiety Disorders

Two hundred and ninety-eight mainly nonpsychotic psychiatric outpatients between 19 and 59 years of age were divided into various clinical groups according to DSM-III: pure major depression, major depression in combination with various anxiety disorders, pure anxiety disorders, and a remaining group with other mental disorders, somatoform and adjustment disorders, and other affective disorders. The anxiety disorders were further divided into panic and nonpanic disorders. The groups were compared as to differences in frequency of personality disorders assessed by means of the Millon Multiaxial Clinical Inventory. The results show that patients with diagnoses of both major depression and anxiety disorders during their lifetime more often had borderline and passive—aggressive personality disorders. It turned out that the patients with nonpanic anxiety in addition to major depression were more prone to have these disorders. The present study corroborates other family, twin, and clinical studies showing that patients with mixed anxiety/depression are a more severe category of patients.