ABSTRACT
Since the introduction of DSM-III in 1980, there has been a growing interest in the study of dual-diagnosis patients, including substance abusers with a comorbid personality disorder. The driving force behind this movement has been and still is the difficult clinical management of these patients. The reason why the empirical interest started in the 1980s is probably strongly related to the introduction of explicit diagnostic criteria for personality disorders in DSM-III, as well as the availability of semistructured interview schedules for the assessment of these conditions. A similar interest in Axis II comorbidity took place simultaneously in the fields of affective, anxiety, and eating disorders.
