The population sample of this study consisted of 90 outpatients (69% women; mean±SD age: 32.18±8.66 years) consecutively admitted to the day hospital of the psychiatric clinic at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and 145 healthy volunteers (63% women; mean±SD age: 29.59±6.73 years). All participants were of Caucasian origin. Diagnostic assessment was made by experienced clinical psychiatrists using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-CV) [30] and the Schedule for Interviewing DSM-IV Personality Disorders-IV (SIDP-IV) [31]. Patients with medical or neurological disorders, mental retardation, or psychotic disorders were excluded from the sample. The diagnostic composition of the clinical group was as follows: anxiety disorders, 28%; major depressive disorder, 27%; eating disorders, 21%; cluster B personality disorders, 13%; bipolar disorder, 11%. All patients were interviewed when they had partially improved and reached the drug treatment dosage prescribed for maintenance therapy. Healthy volunteers were recruited among students in the medical school, paramedic staff members, and conscripts of the Italian army. Inclusion in the control group required the absence of current or past psychiatric disorders, as confirmed by diagnostic interview.
