”47 The US Army has a history of allowing discharge of soldiers who demonstrate symptoms of personality disorders that existed prior to their recruitment.48 This has raised significant controversy when soldiers suffering from other PF-04691502 manufacturer psychiatric or physical combat related conditions (eg, post-traumatic stress disorder) and personality disorder are discharged Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical without health-related benefits. Recent amendments have limited this action to the first 24 months of service and require more detailed diagnostic confirmation for combat-exposed soldiers.49 Perhaps because of their relatively high prevalence within

the criminal justice system, personality disorders have to some degree lost their identity as mental illnesses, and instead are often seen as common population characteristics.50 The diagnoses of Antisocial Personality Disorder, other Cluster B Personality Disorders, and Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified are among the most frequently made diagnoses within offender and prison populations.51 Their expression no longer falls outside of the norms when the offender population is considered the population of concern; Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical thus, they lose their usefulness as differentiating factors within at least part of the legal system.50 An area where personality disorders have garnered increased attention in the law is in the

area of risk assessment and prediction.52 In general, personality disorder pathology, especially defined as psychopathy, is seen as a predictor of violence risk and risk for Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical recidivism.31,53 In England, significant controversy has arisen around the Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder program designed to manage individuals with personality disorders who are thought to be at risk of violence, primarily because personality

disorders remain difficult, if not impossible, to treat in many cases.54 Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Conclusion Whether categorically or dimensionally defined, personality disorders in the law remain at their core socially defined concepts. Consistent with the lay perspective, the most important qualifiers for the law may be severity Ketanserin of symptom presentation, followed closely by duration of symptoms. Since social deviance and minor symptoms are viewed as existing along the continuum of normal behavior, they rarely suffice to differentiate an individual from the larger group of defendants or litigants. In fact, identification of personality disorder in a criminal defendant or civil plaintiff or an individual applying for a position of disability most often casts suspicion on that individual. As noted, the presence of a diagnosis of personality disorder is not always used consistently in the law. This inconsistency in the use of defined illness is unique to this subcategory of mental illness.