Axis II diagnoses among volunteers for HIV testing and counseling.

Overview

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to investigate the rate of personality disorders (axis II diagnoses in DSM-III-R) among adults at risk for AIDS. METHOD: The Personality Disorder Examination was administered to 260 volunteers for HIV testing and counseling. RESULTS: Thirty-seven percent of the subjects who subsequently tested seropositive for HIV and 20% of those who tested seronegative were given DSM-III-R axis II diagnoses on the Personality Disorder Examination. Thirty percent of the HIV-positive subjects who knew their serostatus before they were tested were given DSM-III-R axis II diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: The meaningful rates of axis II diagnoses that preexisted determination of HIV status and the relation of these diagnoses to subsequently determined serostatus underscore the importance of adequately assessing the occurrence of personality disorder in individuals at risk for HIV infection.