ABSTRACT
The definitions of personality disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) help generalists to form a clinical picture of how enduring and ego-syntonic psychopathology arises. The DSM may well allow generalists to diagnose from verifiable observation, but it is of no use when it comes to understanding the etiology and the psychic function of a personality disorder. Personality disorders are the result of several etiological factors, of nature and of nurture, genetic and psychological, as well as risk and resilience factors, present in the person and in his developmental environment. Multi-factorial developmental field is where the psychophysiological organism, the becoming person, meets the environment: human, physical, economic, social, and cultural. One might say that development results from the interaction between the organism and its environment. Pathology in the structure of the personality is the consequence of a setback in one or more developmental areas.
