Lasting personality pathology following exposure to severe trauma in adulthood: retrospective cohort study.

Retrospective accounts of people with significant personality pathology indicate that some develop these problems following exposure to severe trauma in adulthood. Personality-related problems which start in adulthood may be as severe as those that have an earlier onset. These findings highlight the long term impact of war trauma on the mental health and have implications for the way that personality pathology is classified and treated.