A general term for a group of behavioural disorders, personality disorders are usually characterised by lifelong, ingrained, maladaptive patterns of deviant behaviour, lifestyle and social adjustment that are different in quality from psychotic and neurotic symptoms. The book reviews recent progress and current controversies in this area, providing a guide to clinicians and a contribution to the ongoing revision of the two main diagnostic systems, the DSM-IV and ICD-10.

Written by Mario Maj, an internationally renowned psychiatrist and secretary for publications of the World Psychiatric Association, this work includes coverage of neuroscientific and psychiatric aspects and is an unbiased and reliable reference point.