This review of the literature on genetic contributions to the etiology of personality disorders broadly follows the DSM classification, and begins by evaluating the current evidence for genetic influences on the DSM axis II disorders. One of the most exciting directions in psychiatric genetics is the rapidly developing field of molecular genetic studies aiming to identify specific genes correlated with psychiatric phenotypes. Personality disorders, like most other psychiatric diagnostic categories, are etiologically complex, which implies that they are influenced by several genes and several environmental factors. The interplay between genes and the environment is a field that is receiving increasing attention and is addressed both in relation to quantitative and molecular methods.
aDivision of Mental Health, Department of Adult Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Box 4404 Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway
bInstitute of Psychiatry, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1130 Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway
cDepartment of Epidemiology, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA
Division of Mental Health, Department of Adult Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Box 4404 Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway.
ABSTRACT