Abstract

We examined the association of bullying behavior in adolescence to personality disorder (PD) diagnosed in early adulthood. The study sample consisted of 508 adolescents (300 girls, 208 boys) who were admitted to psychiatric inpatient treatment between April 2001 and March 2006. Data were based on semi-structured K-SADSPL-interviews and hospital treatments extracted from the Care Register for Health Care (CRHC). At the end of 2013, details of psychiatric diagnoses recorded on hospital discharges and outpatient visits were extracted from the CRHC. This study showed that female victims of bullying have an almost fourfold likelihood of developing a PD later in life compared to adolescents with no involvement in bullying behavior. Most of the females had Borderline PD. Female adolescents diagnosed with anxiety disorder during adolescence had an over threefold risk of developing a PD during late adolescence or early adulthood. Conversely, we found no associations between bullying involvement among men in adolescence and subsequent PDs. Bullying victimization may influence the development of PDs among females. Adolescent services should pay particular attention to female victims of bullying and those displaying symptoms of anxiety disorders.