Gender Bias in the Personality Disorders Criteria: An Investigation of Five Bias Indicators

This study examined possible gender bias in personality disorder criteria by considering a number of potential empirical indicators of bias: prevalence differences in a nonclinical sample; the implications of gender differences as perceived by nonprofessionals; the internal consistency of criteria as a function of gender; and the gender-normativeness of criteria. One hundred one participants familiar with the DSM-IV completed questionnaires assessing the presence of each criterion, and the perceived implications of the criteria for men and women. Results showed that the global mean self-rating for the criteria did not differ as a function of gender although there were some differences for individual criteria. Criteria that were more prevalent in one gender appeared to be viewed as a greater problem for that gender. The criteria also appeared to be measuring abnormal rather than gender-normative behaviors. Twelve criteria demonstrated differential convergence with other indicators of disorder as a function of gender, with most converging better for men than for women.