Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Avoidant personality disorder and its relationship to social phobia

  • Published:
Current Psychiatry Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This review summarizes past and recent findings in the empiric literature and the evolution of the concepts of avoidant personality disorder (APD) and social phobia (SP). APD is an internally consistent dimensional personality pathology that causes dysfunction that appears to be dimensional rather than a sudden jump in impairment after a certain number of criteria have been met. It has state and trait personality components. Evidence indicates that symptoms are at least partially treatable with psychological or pharmacologic interventions. APD and SP have similar symptoms and treatment response and identical genetics. We can conclude from the empiric evidence that no dividing line exists between APD and SP, with APD merely being the more severe form of the disorder. The best conceptualization is that APD is a dimensional personality pathology that in its attenuated form (SP) resembles an anxiety disorder.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References and Recommended Reading

  1. Millon T: Avoidant personality disorder: a brief review of issues and data. J Personal Disord 1991, 5:353–362.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Reich J: The relationship of social phobia to avoidant personality disorder: a proposal to reclassify avoidant personality disorder based on clinical empirical findings. Eur Psychiatry 2000, 15:151–159.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Alden LE, Laposa JM, Taylor CT, Ryder AG: Avoidant personality disorder: current status and future directions. J Personal Disord 2002, 16:1–29.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Taylor CT, Laposa JM, Alden LE: Is avoidant personality disorder more than just social avoidance? J Personal Disord 2004, 18:571–594.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Baille AJ, Lampe LA: Avoidant personality disorder: empirical support for DSM-IV revisions. J Personal Disord 1998, 12:23–30.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Grilo CM, McGlashan TH, Morey LC, et al.: Internal consistency, intercriterion overlap and diagnostic efficiency of criteria set for DSM-IV schizotypal, borderline, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2001, 104:264–272.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Humelen B, Wilberg T, Pedersen G, Karterud S: An investigation of the validity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition avoidant personality disorder construct as a prototype category and the psychometric properties of the diagnostic criteria. Compr Psychiatry 2006, 47:376–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hummelen B, Wilberg T, Pedersen G, Karterud S: The relationship between avoidant personality disorder and social phobia. Compr Psychiatry 2007, 48:348–356.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Lampe L, Slade T, Issakidis C, Andrews G: Social phobia in the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being (NSMHWB). Psychol Med 2003, 33:637–646.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. McGlashan TH, Grilo CM, Skodol AE, et al.: The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study: baseline Axis I/II and II/II diagnostic co-occurrence. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2000, 102:256–264.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ralevski E, Sanislow CA, Grilo CM, et al.: Avoidant personality disorder and social phobia: distinct enough to be separate disorders? Acta Psychiatr Scand 2005, 112:208–214.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Tillfors M, Furmark T, Ekselius L, Fredrikson M: Social phobia and avoidant personality disorder: one spectrum disorder? Nord J Psychiatry 2004, 58:147–152.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Zimmerman M, Rothschild L, Chelminski I: The prevalence of DSM-IV personality disorders in psychiatric outpatients. Am J Psychiatry 2005, 162:1911–1918.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Reich J: State and trait in personality disorders. In Personality Disorders: Current Research and Treatments. Edited by Reich J. New York: Taylor & Francis; 2005:3–21.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Reich J: State and trait in personality disorders. Ann Clin Psychiatry 2007, 19:37–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. van Velzen CJM, Emmelkamp PMG, Scholing AS: Generalized social phobia versus avoidant personality disorder: differences in psychopathology, personality traits, and social and occupational functioning. J Anxiety Disord 2000, 14:395–411.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. McGlashan TH, Grilo CM, Sanislow CA, et al.: Two year prevalence and stability of individual DSM-IV criteria for schizotypal, borderline, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive disorders: toward a hybrid model of Axis II disorders. Am J Psychiatry 2005, 162:883–889.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Shea MT, Stout RL, Yen S, et al.: Associations in the course of personality disorders and Axis I disorders over time. J Abnorm Psychol 2004, 4:499–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Czajkowski N, Torgersen S, et al.: The relationship between avoidant personality disorder and social phobia: a population based twin study. Am J Psychiatry 2007, 164:1722–1728.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco Medical School, 2255 North Point Street, Suite 102, San Francisco, CA, 94123, USA

    James Reich

Authors
  1. James Reich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James Reich.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Reich, J. Avoidant personality disorder and its relationship to social phobia. Curr Psychiatry Rep 11, 89–93 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-009-0014-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-009-0014-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation