Objectives:
Assessment of criterion validity and temporal stability of personality disorder diagnosis in adolescents and relationships between attachment styles and personality disorder diagnosis.

Methods:
50 adolescents (46 girls and 4 boys, aged 15–17) hospitalized at the department of child and adolescent psychiatry were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID-II) and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA). After one year, adolescents meeting the criteria for apersonality disorder (PD) diagnosis were reassessed with the SCID-II.

Results:
In the first stage of assessment, diagnostic criteriafor different types of personality disorders were met by 41 adolescents (82%) (mean number of criteria = 5.9). Criteria were met most often for borderline personality disorder (BPD) (n = 26; mean number of criteria = 7.9). In the second stage of assessment, the interview was re-administered to 21 (51%) adolescents; the mean number of criteria was = 6.6. A statistically significant relationship between the number of PD diagnostic criteria in assessment one and the number of criteria in assessment two was obtained (r = 0.58; p < 0.01). 82% of the participants with PD were insecurely attached to their mothers. In the borderline group, 83% of the participants reported anxious-avoidant attachment style.

Conclusions:
PD traits in adolescence, specifically BPD, are stable across one year.