Tina White’s research while affiliated with Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and other places

A family study of DSM-III-R personality disorders was conducted in the families of 66 clinically referred adolescents to examine the validity of personality disorder diagnoses in adolescents. Semistructured interviews of Axis I and II disorders, including the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders, were used to directly interview 66 clinically referred adolescents and their adult first-degree family members, combining family study and family history data. The relatives of adolescents with avoidant personality disorder had an increased prevalence of avoidant and cluster A (schizoid, schizotypal, and paranoid) personality disorders. The relatives of adolescents with borderline personality disorder demonstrated increased rates of borderline and avoidant personality disorders, even after adjusting for comorbidity. The results of this study support the validity of Axis II diagnoses, particularly avoidant and borderline disorders, in adolescents.