Is there Empirical Justification for the Category of `Self-Defeating Personality Disorder'?

Abstract

The empirical literature on Self-Defeating Personality Disorder (SDPD) that has appeared since the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-III-R was published is reviewed from several standpoints, including the dangers it poses to women by pathologizing them. It is concluded that there is a paucity of research; that some of what exists is seriously flawed methodologically; that some shows that SDPD criteria lack face validity; that the category has poor diagnostic power and overlaps substantially with other categories; and that SDPD continues to be dangerous for people of both sexes but especially for women. It is concluded, therefore, that SDPD should be excluded from the DSM-IV.