Journal of Clinical Geropsychology, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2001 Personality Dysfunction, Coping Styles, and Clinical Symptoms in Younger and Older Adults Daniel L. Segal, 1,2 Julie N. Hook, 1 and Frederick L. Coolidge 1 This study examined age-related differences in personality disorders, dispositional coping strategies, and clinical symptoms between younger (n = 79; age range = 18–29; M age = 21.2 years) and older (n = 79; age range = 55– 89; M age = 65.5 years) persons (matched on gender and ethnicity). Participants completed the Coolidge Axis II Inventory (CATI), Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced Scale (COPE), and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Personality results (t tests) based on the CATI revealed that older persons were significantly more obsessive–compulsive and schizoid than younger adults but significantly lower on 7 scales, including antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and sadistic. As assessed by the COPE, older adults reported lower levels of dysfunctional coping strategies than younger adults. Specifically, older persons were less likely to use mental disengagement, venting of emotions, and alcohol/drugs to cope with problems. BSI results for clinical symptoms revealed that younger adults were significantly higher on 5 of 9 scales, including anxiety, depression, and hostility. Results suggest that younger adults experience higher levels of personality and clinical symptoms and use more dysfunctional coping strategies than older adults, dispelling the myth that old age is associated with inevitable psychological impairment. Theoretical considerations, clinical implications, and future research ideas are discussed. KEY WORDS: personality disorders; coping; clinical symptoms; older adults; age differences. One might conceptualize personality, coping, and mental state symptoms as strands of a Gordian knot, intricately intertwined and related. Indeed, much psychopathology research relates to one or more of these important domains. Each area, no doubt, contributes strongly to the psychological and social functioning of an individual. Whereas there is a substan- tial body of research examining diverse mental state symptoms or clinical disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression) in younger and older adult samples, studies pertaining to personality disorders and coping among older persons are less prevalent. Personality disorders are described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994, p. 632) as “enduring patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving” that are long-standing, long-lasting, inflexible, and maladaptive. Relatively little is known about these disorders in the elderly although 1 Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 2 Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, P.O. Box 7150, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80933-7150; e-mail: dlsegal@mail.uccs.edu. 201 1079-9362/01/0700-0201$19.50/0 C  2001 Plenum Publishing Corporation