Relationship between personality and course and outcome in early psychosis: A review of the literature

The literature relating to the relationship between personality factors and course and outcome for the schizophrenic disorders is reviewed utilizing the approach proposed by Klein, Wonderlich, and Shea (1993). Developed to explicate the relationship between personality and depression, this approach allows for consideration of the contribution of premorbid personality and also of changes in personality occurring secondary to the onset of the psychotic disorder. A model incorporating a developmental understanding of the impact on personality of the potentially traumatic experience of the onset of a schizophrenic disorder in late adolescence is presented. Directions for future research are outlined.