Differences between axes depend on where you set the bar: associations among symptoms, interpersonal relationship and alexithymia with number of personality disorder criteria.

Personality disorders are better understood as entities that vary according to severity along specific domains rather than a phenomenon separate from and unrelated to Axis I disorders. This study explores whether patients who were rated as having greater numbers of personality disorder traits reported greater levels of interpersonal problems, psychiatric symptoms, and alexithymia. The sample was composed of 506 consecutive patients assessed in a private outpatient center who were administered the SCID-II Symptom-Checklist (SCL-90-R), Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-47), and Toronto Alexithymia-Scale (TAS-.