Substance abuse and personality disorder comorbidity in adolescent outpatients: are girls more severely ill than boys?

We found no significant gender difference in the prevalence of SUD in a sample of adolescents referred to a general mental health outpatient clinic. The association between number of PD symptoms and having one or more SUDs was practically unchanged by adjustment for gender, age and presence of one or more Axis I disorders, which suggested that having an increased number of PD symptoms in itself may constitute a risk factor for developing SUDs in adolescence. The association in girls between SUDs and PDs, CD and ADHD raises the question if adolescent girls suffering from these conditions may be especially at risk for developing SUDs. In clinical settings, they should therefore be monitored with particular diligence with regard to their use of psychoactive substances. Trial registration The regional committee for medical research ethics for eastern Norway approved the study protocol in October 2004 (REK: 11395). Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Hans Ole Korsgaard, The Nic Waal Institute, Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, P.O. Box 2970 Nydalen, N-0440 Oslo, Norway; E-mail hansole.korsgaard@tele5.no.