1 in 5 young Americans has personality disorder

[AliceInWonderland]

1 in 5 young Americans has personality disorder
Fewer than 25 percent of college-age suffers get treatment, study finds
The Associated Press

updated 2:10 p.m. PT, Mon., Dec. 1, 2008

CHICAGO - Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.

The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment.

One expert said personality disorders may be overdiagnosed. But others said the results were not surprising since previous, less rigorous evidence has suggested mental problems are common on college campuses and elsewhere.

Experts praised the study's scope — face-to-face interviews about numerous disorders with more than 5,000 young people ages 19 to 25 — and said it spotlights a problem college administrators need to address.

Study co-author Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute called the widespread lack of treatment particularly worrisome. He said it should alert not only "students and parents, but also deans and people who run college mental health services about the need to extend access to treatment."

Particularly vulnerable
Counting substance abuse, the study found that nearly half of young people surveyed have some sort of psychiatric condition, including students and non-students.

Personality disorders were the second most common problem behind drug or alcohol abuse as a single category. The disorders include obsessive, anti-social and paranoid behaviors that are not mere quirks but actually interfere with ordinary functioning.

The study authors noted that recent tragedies such as fatal shootings at Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech have raised awareness about the prevalence of mental illness on college campuses.

They also suggest that this age group might be particularly vulnerable.

"For many, young adulthood is characterized by the pursuit of greater educational opportunities and employment prospects, development of personal relationships, and for some, parenthood," the authors said. These circumstances, they said, can result in stress that triggers the start or recurrence of psychiatric problems.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 1 in four U.S. adults suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

Highlighting a need
The study was released Monday in Archives of General Psychiatry. It was based on interviews with 5,092 young adults in 2001 and 2002.

Olfson said it took time to analzye the data, including weighting the results to extrapolate national numbers. But the authors said the results would probably hold true today.

The study was funded with grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the New York Psychiatric Institute.

Dr. Sharon Hirsch, a University of Chicago psychiatrist not involved in the study, praised it for raising awareness about the problem and the high numbers of affected people who don't get help.

Imagine if more than 75 percent of diabetic college students didn't get treatment, Hirsch said. "Just think about what would be happening on our college campuses."

The results highlight the need for mental health services to be housed with other medical services on college campuses, to erase the stigma and make it more likely that people will seek help, she said.

In the study, trained interviewers, but not psychiatrists, questioned participants about symptoms. They used an assessment tool similar to criteria doctors use to diagnose mental illness.

Dr. Jerald Kay, a psychiatry professor at Wright State University and chairman of the American Psychiatric Association's college mental health committee, said the assessment tool is considered valid and more rigorous than self-reports of mental illness. He was not involved in the study.

Personality disorders showed up in similar numbers among both students and non-students, including the most common one, obsessive compulsive personality disorder. About 8 percent of young adults in both groups had this illness, which can include an extreme preoccupation with details, rules, orderliness and perfectionism.

Kay said the prevalence of personality disorders was higher than he would expect and questioned whether the condition might be overdiagnosed.

All good students have a touch of "obsessional" personality that helps them work hard to achieve. But that's different from an obsessional disorder that makes people inflexible and controlling and interferes with their lives, he explained.

Obsessive compulsive personality disorder differs from the better known OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, which features repetitive actions such as hand-washing to avoid germs.

OCD is thought to affect about 2 percent of the general population. The study didn't examine OCD separately but grouped it with all anxiety disorders, seen in about 12 percent of college-aged people in the survey.

The overall rate of other disorders was also pretty similar among college students and non-students.

Substance abuse, including drug addiction, alcoholism and other drinking that interferes with school or work, affected nearly one-third of those in both groups.


Slightly more college students than non-students were problem drinkers — 20 percent versus 17 percent. And slightly more non-students had drug problems — nearly 7 percent versus 5 percent.

In both groups, about 8 percent had phobias and 7 percent had depression.

Bipolar disorder was slightly more common in non-students, affecting almost 5 percent versus about 3 percent of students.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: 1 in 5 young Americans has personality disorder - Mental health- msnbc.com


this is sooooooooooo true! all those hormones make college-age kids crazy!

[Grimmlok]

overdiagnosis... they get kickbacks from the pharmaceutical corporations for prescribing shit kids don't need.

They put out the meme that EVERYBODY has some kind of disorder, everybody starts believing it.. just like the whole "your kid isnt safe to be outside" and "eating 1 burger will kill you" memes... except it is, in reality, the broad spectrum of human existence and perception.

I challenge any of these pill pushing nitwits to find ONE totally normal person.

Wtf is normal anymore? God.

[marvel]

oh my gosh for some reason I read the title as 1 in 5 children have personality disorder and I got all pissy thinking wtf? You know what though, I'm sure if they studied children those results would be the same. What is wrong with parents and where are these parents? Because none of my close friends are like that. If our kids are acting like crackheads we call them out on it and either scream, give them the evil eye, or smack 'em. You never tell junior everything he does is great. I think that's the problem with adults. I have no problem telling my son that sometimes he sucks. Guess what, he kicks ass in a lot of areas especially school. He's also not medicated. I'm sure these soccer moms would call me a bad mom though because he likes watching friday the 13th with me. He can see the humor in it. HA!!!! I rock.

[ymeman]

college for me was a complete freak-show, if I had it to do again I'd not live on campus and not socialize with anyone that I did then. I'd probably just go to community college and get a real, employable degree (like I'm doing now, ironically). That experience was such a waste of time and I think for fragile teens it can really push them over the edge, depending on the school, cause it's like the bmoc's in high school are even more inflated at college.

[McJag]

Hogwash! I have to agree with Grimm here. Lord,they will have half the nation sedated!
Ok-so some MIGHT be posting on here. Just a thought!

[buttmunch]

In other words a lot of kids don't fit into the increasingly narrow box that defines 'normal'.

[Shinola]

overdiagnosis... they get kickbacks from the pharmaceutical corporations for prescribing shit kids don't need.

But ... there is no known treatment for most personality disorders. They are poorly understood and hard to treat is any way. Most docs hate to deal with that diagnosis and sometimes even shy away from telling patients they suspect a PD.

I think PDs are often comorbid with mood disorders, though, so that would be where the pill pushing comes in so handy.

[AliceInWonderland]

yeah but a lot or most ppl grow out of their shit, even me and i was pretty crazy in college

[buttmunch]

I was crazy for years and although I've learned to adapt my crazy does rear it's ugly head every once in awhile. Normal is boring. I encourage the heathens to go their own way and not to worry what people think.

[crumpet]

I imagine Borderline Personality and Narcissistic Personality are pretty common as well, God help us. And medication won't fix any of that.

[MrsDark]

In other words a lot of kids don't fit into the increasingly narrow box that defines 'normal'.

Oh hogwash. If anything, those boxes have widened. Or rather, the asses that used to fit into standard-sized boxes have widened and won't fit.

The main difference between now and "back then" is that normal is a dirty word now. Everyone is speshul. And youneek. And don't you dare correct my spelling! It's a sign of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

[NicoleWasHere]

Are these 1 in 5 statistics different people, or all the same person?

[AliceInWonderland]

I imagine Borderline Personality and Narcissistic Personality are pretty common as well, God help us. And medication won't fix any of that.

this is very true in my opinion too, i've noticed the narcissistic personality disorder a lot in my personal life in people i encounter out in the world and ppl i know personally and its a terrible disorder.

[Grimmlok]

I love how it's a 'disorder'

No, it's called having an overinflated sense of your own importance, and eventually you'll get slapped down for it.

They don't need a fucking pill, they need a reality check. Life will provide that eventually.

[AliceInWonderland]

^ always having to have the last word is a characteristic of a narcissistic personality disorder grimm!

and it is a disorder b/c it needs to be corrected and is something only one can do to themselves. there's not pill for that disorder actually. the main problem is that narcissists dont see whats obviously wrong with them. they put all their problems on everyone else around them! (i have a lot in my family and they're all females and its something that i strive very hard in my daily life not to be like, but its very hard). I've posted about it here before and the first step supposedly to curing yourself is by faking compassion and interest in others which will eventually lead to real compassion and interest in others. But to do this you have to shut your mouth and open your ears and narcissists hate to do that. If you know one, you know how they never listen and interupt conversations constantly! its infuriating and like i said before you can never tell them anything about themselves that is wrong b/c they're perfect in their own eyes and its always someone else who's at fault, and they never ever listen.

this plays perfectly to our new reality-star/internet-myspace media crazy world we live in today where any asshole can become famous for no reason at all but exposure. ie - cris crocker, tila tequila, kim kardashian etc. etc. etc.