Cluster C maladaptive personality traits in a general population of adolescents.

Introduction: The prevalence of the Cluster C traits and personality disorders in adolescents has been poorly analyzed. The main goal of this research was to analyze the rate of the Cluster C traits and maladaptive personality patterns in a community sample of adolescents. We also examined the dimensional structure and the influence of sex and age in its phenotypic expression.

Method: The sample comprised a total of 1443 participants (48.2% male) with a mean age of 15.92 years (SD = 1.18). We used the Cluster C subscales of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 + (PDQ-4+).

Results: The results showed that the traits of personalities "anxious" or "inhibited" are common among adolescents. As the cut-offs PDQ-4+, 28.3% of the sample showed at least one maladaptive personality pattern of Cluster C. The analysis of the internal structure of the items yielded a one-dimensional solution called Inhibited-Anxious personality. We found statistically significant differences by gender in mean scores in the Avoidant subscale and by age in the Dependent subscale.

Conclusions: These data yield new clues that improve the understanding of the Cluster C traits and maladaptive patterns of personality in this sector of the population.