The present 6 month follow-up study was conducted to investigate the possible influence of comorbid personality disorders on drug treatment, as well as associated psychopathology and HIV-related risk behaviors outcomes.

Data were collected initially from a consecutive sample of 74 patients with a diagnosis of opiate abuse or dependence, admitted for inpatient detoxification.

During intake, 80.9% of patients reported at least one HIV-related risk behavior in the previous 6 months. Not using condoms during sexual intercourse was the most common and the only risk behavior that showed a statistically significant reduction over the follow-up period. A total of 58.1% of subjects had at least one personality disorder (PD). Borderline PD was the most prevalent. However, antisocial PD was the only PD that influenced substance use outcomes. The presence of this diagnosis increased the chance of worse opiate use outcomes, but decreased likelihood of not using condoms. Patients with low obsessive–compulsive PD dimensional scores showed a significant increase in the number of risk behaviors. However, these influences were only seen at the 3-month follow-up assessment.

These results suggest that personality disorders need to be considered when planning effective interventions for opiate dependent individuals and when preparing and evaluating HIV risk-reduction interventions, particularly for the more severe substance dependent patients.