"A quarter century has elapsed since the first edition of this book was published. Since then an enormous body of research has appeared concerning biological and psychological risk factors for personality disorders (PDs), as well as for biological and psychological methods of treatment. However, less attention has been paid to the social context of PDs, i.e., how personality traits and disorders interact with social demands and opportunities. Yet social forces carry important risks for the development of PDs. Personality disorders are rooted in traits. We all have a personality.

But it need not become disordered if we can find a social niche that fits our particular characteristics. If we do not find that niche, then psychopathology is more likely to ensue. That is one of the main themes of this new edition. The argument of this book will be backed up by research. Personality traits are heritable variants that lie within a normal range: adaptive under some circumstances but maladaptive under other circumstances. About half of the variance in personality and personality disorders is under genetic influence. Levels of psychosocial risk are complex: some derive from dysfunctional families, but most of the variance is not related to growing up in a specific family. The larger social environment plays a crucial role of its own"--.