Identity, personality and their disorders in DSM-V and ICD-10

Abstract

The terms “identity” and “personality” are frequently used in medical literature in the attempt to classify certain dissociative disorders. The main diagnostic manuals used in psychiatry, the DSM-5 and the ICD-10, use the term “dissociative identity disorder” (DID) and “multiple personality disorder” (MPD) respectively, to define a disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states, or an experience of possession, as evidenced by discontinuities in sense of self, cognition, behavior, affect, perceptions, and/or memories. In scientific reports, identity and personality are apparently interchangeable terms. In our opinion, this poses an important conceptual problem that could lead to a misinterpretation of the patient condition.