Foundation of Personality : DSM Flashcards
Diagnostic criteria
defining characteristics used to classify people within a clinical category.
“feature list”: certain # of must be true to justify inclusion into category
Criteria will reflect personality traits
Personality trait
a long standing pattern behaviour expressed in different situations
personality disorder
pattern of problematic personality traits
personality prototype
purest expression but unlikely.
when all criterion/feature traits occur together
categories: advantages and disadvantages
advantage: rapid diagnosis using salient (obvious) features.
Disadvantages: assumes discrete boundaries between
1. different personality styles
2. normality and abnormality
that don’t exist (its a continuum).
what is the multiaxial (literally means multiple axes) model
How disorders in the DSM are grouped.
Each axes represents a different kind of information.
each axes represents a different level of influence in human behaviour.
combined they contribute to abnormal behaviour
axes I
Clinical Syndromes
axes II
Personality Disorders
Axes III
General Medical Conditions:
medical conditions that are major (brain injury) or minor (hormones) contributors in understanding axis I and II disorders
Axes IV
Psychosocial and environmental problems relevant to psychological functioning (family, occupation, economic)
Axes V
Global Assessment of Functioning:
overall index of psychological health and functioning
Why is a multiaxial system required?
The multiaxial system reflects the functioning of the whole person by putting together the various symptoms and personality characteristics of a patient.
Guides our understanding of how psychopathology develops.
using the multiaxial system, how is depression different in a narcissistic vs dependent PD?
what differentiates them is the MEANING of the depressive symptoms in relation to underlying personality (combination of symptoms and traits). The reason for having depressed symptoms will be different, even if depressed symptoms are the same.
Case conceptualization
integration of all the available info (developmental past, present pathology) to understand how symptoms form, perpetuate, and may best be treated.