Screening of personality disorders among chinese college students by Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+

Four thousand eight hundred and eleven students were sampled from 26 universities in 21 cities of China and evaluated using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+(PDQ-4+). Results showed that male students obtained significantly higher scores than female students on paranoid, schizotypal, antisocial, narcissistic, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorder scales, and lower scores on the borderline scale. Students from rural areas scored higher than those from urban areas on the schizoid, schizotypal, narcissistic, avoidant, compulsive-obsessive, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorder scales, and lower on the paranoid and dependent scales. Singleton students obtained significantly higher scores than nonsingletons on paranoid, antisocial and dependent scales, and lower on schizoid, avoidant, compulsive-obsessive, passive-aggressive, depressive scales. Students from single-parent families scored significantly higher on the schizotypal scales; and students from foster families scored significantly higher on the antisocial, passive-aggressive, and depressive scales. Students from poor families scored significantly higher than those from average or wealthy families on schizoid, schizotyal, antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorders. The results suggest that low family income, low social status, and parental style contribute to the development of personality disorders.