Objective: The current pilot study investigated whether patients with concurrent substance use disorders and eating disorders (SUD and ED) who experienced a reduction in SUD and ED symptoms following treatment for SUD and ED also experienced a reduction in personality disorder (PD) symptoms.
Method: Twenty patients with SUD and ED and PD were assessed pre and post treatment using clinical interviews, self-report questionnaires, and a therapist questionnaire on DSM-IV-TR symptoms for PD.
Results: Symptoms for the personality disorders were reduced following treatment. This reduction was correlated with a decrease in the number of symptoms of ED at post treatment.
Discussion: Chronic concurrent SUD and ED may make it difficult to separate PD symptoms from co-occurring disorders. Many features attributed to PDs may be reduced when problematic substance use and disordered eating are addressed, a fact that may increase clinician and patients'optimism about therapeutic change.
Keywords: avoidant personality disorder; borderline personality disorder; eating disorders; obsessive compulsive personality disorder; personality disorders; substance use disorders.