Assessing Personality Disorder in Adolescents From the Perspective of DSM-5

This commentary reviews three articles in the special section on the assessment of personality pathology in adolescents from the perspective of the recently published DSM-5. The articles address general clinical guidelines for assessment, a study on the reliability and validity of an assessment instrument, and a study of informant discrepancies and their clinical relevance. Certain aspects of DSM-5 may facilitate assessment of personality pathology in adolescents, while others may make it more challenging. Because personality pathology has considerable significance with respect to ongoing mental health problems and adverse psychosocial outcomes across areas of future functioning, assessing personality pathology in adolescence should be no less of an imperative than it is in adulthood.