A Dimensional Model for Personality Disorders in Later Life

Launched by UNIVERSITAIR ZIEKENHUIS BRUSSEL · Sep 16, 2022

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying personality disorders in older adults, a topic that hasn’t received much attention despite the fact that these disorders are quite common in this age group. The researchers want to see if a new way of understanding and diagnosing these disorders, called a dimensional approach, is effective for older adults. Instead of fitting people into strict categories, this approach looks at how well a person’s personality functions and identifies specific traits that may cause problems. The goal is to ensure that mental health care for older adults is more accurate and effective.

To participate in this trial, you must be 65 years or older and speak Dutch. People with severe cognitive impairment or those experiencing a serious mental health crisis won't be eligible to join. If selected, you’ll be asked to complete some assessments that will help the researchers understand how this new approach works for older adults. This trial aims to improve how personality disorders are recognized and treated in later life, ultimately helping to enhance mental health care for older individuals.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• • Clinical population (inpatients and outpatients)
• Inclusion Criteria:
• • ONLY older adults: from the age of 65
• • Dutch speaking
• Exclusion Criteria (as evaluated by the psychiatrists and psychologists of the participating institutions):
• • Severe cognitive impairment (Patients who are admitted because of cognitive impairment will be excluded from the participant pool, other than this the psychiatrists and psychologists of the participating institutions will make an evaluation of the patients' cognitive capacities)
• • Acute state of mental impairment which would interfere with the reliability of the patients' responses (for example severe psychosis), as evaluated by the psychiatrists and psychologist of the participating institutions.