PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - M Reuber AU - R Pukrop AU - J Bauer AU - R Derfuss AU - C E Elger TI - Multidimensional assessment of personality in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures AID - 10.1136/jnnp.2003.013821 DP - 2004 May 01 TA - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry PG - 743--748 VI - 75 IP - 5 4099 - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/75/5/743.short 4100 - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/75/5/743.full SO - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry2004 May 01; 75 AB - Objectives: To determine whether patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) have evidence of maladaptive personality, and whether they have a single or several different typical pathological personality profiles. Methods: Patients were recruited from the department of epileptology, Bonn, Germany. In all, 85 patients with PNES and 63 with epilepsy completed a postal questionnaire including the dimensional assessment of personality pathology – basic questionnaire (DAPP-BQ). The DAPP-BQ was also completed by 100 healthy volunteers. The groups were compared and the PNES group was subjected to cluster analysis. Results: Patients with PNES had a greater degree of personality abnormality than clinical and non-clinical controls. There were several clusters of personality pathology. The profile of the largest cluster (n = 43) resembled that found in borderline personality disorder, that of the second largest (n = 37) was characterised by an overly controlled personality, that of the third (n = 4) was similar to the profile in avoidant personality disorder. Outcome differed between clusters. Conclusions: Maladaptive personality is common in patients with PNES. PNES are associated with several distinct profiles of pathological personality. This is relevant because outcome differed between profiles.