Citation

Ababei C, Trémine T. Inf. Psychiatr. 2011; 87(5): 505-511.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, John Libbey Eurotext)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

The authors investigate the “nosographic” category of severe personality disorders listed by the government authorities in security laws without being defined by psychiatrists. In fact, this category does not appear in the current classifications ICD-10 or DSM-IV or in the psychiatry textbooks. At what point is a personality disorder considered “severe”? What does the word “severe” mean in psychiatry? Is it superimposed on the “severity” of security laws? The analysis of references in the scientific literature on this subject reveals many controversies and paradoxes. The ambiguity of the term “severe” and the uncertainties of current psychiatric nosography suggest the possibility of confusion between the field of psychiatry and the law.

Keywords : personality disorder, severity, psychiatric nosography, borderline, psychopathic, perversion, preventive detention