THE DIAGNOSIS OF ANTISOCIAL AND HYSTERICAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS

Abstract

The author submits evidence to support the contention that antisocial and hysterical personality disorders are essentially sex-typed forms of a single condition. The features of each condition, he argues, are either common to both disorders or are related to sexual stereotypic traits. He reports on a study which indicates that mental health professionals tend to label men as antisocial personalities and women as hysterical personalities, even when these patients have identical clinical features. It is suggested that a unification of the two labels could have a beneficial effect on research and on understanding and treating the disorder and related conditions.