Personality disorder 2 Personality disorder across the life course

The pervasive eff ect of personality disorder is often overlooked in clinical practice, both as an important moderator of mental state and physical disorders, and as a disorder that should be recognised and managed in its own right. Contemporary research has shown that maladaptive personality (when personality traits are extreme and associated with clinical distress or psychosocial impairment) is common, can be reco gnised early in life, evolves continuously across the lifespan, and is more plastic than previously believed. These new insights off er opportunities to intervene to support more adaptive development than before, and research shows that such intervention can be eff ective. Further research is needed to improve classifi cation, assessment, and diagnosis of personality disorder across the lifespan; to understand the complex interplay between changes in personality traits and clinical presentation over time; and to promote more eff ective intervention at the earliest possible stage of the disorder than is done at present. Recognition of how personality disorder relates to age and developmental stage can improve care of all patients.