Lecture 1 - Personality Disorders

Question 1

Personality Disorders

Answer 1

an enduring pattern of inner experiences and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment

Question 2

PD Criteria

Answer 2

• Enduring pattern of inner experiences and behavior
• Deviates from expectations of individual’s culture
• Inflexible and pervasive
• Clinically significant distress
• Stable and of long durance
• Not better explained by any other mental disorder, medical disorder, or drugs

Question 3

The Diathesis Stress model

Answer 3

There is always “Diathesis” (predisposition) and a “Stressor” to develop psychological disorders

• Diathesis: genes, abnormalities in the brain structure and functioning
• Vulnerability to psychological disorders
• Stressors: noxious physical stressors, Trauma, abuse, and neglect, Relationship – loss, turbulence

Question 4

Cluster A

Answer 4

• Paranoid personality disorder
• Schizoid personality disorder
• Schizotypal personality disorder

Remember: Atypical behavior in the cluster

Question 5

Cluster B

Answer 5

• Antisocial Personality disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Histrionic Personality Disorder
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Remember: Boohoo Cluster, more dramatic

Question 6

Cluster C

Answer 6

• Avoidant personality disorder
• Dependent personality disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Remember: Anxiety is key

Question 7

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Answer 7

• Extreme Paranoid/untrustful
• Persistent feeling
• Leads to self-isolation

Question 8

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Answer 8

• Detachment from social relationships
• Shallow of emotional links from others
• Not interested in social relationships  self-isolation and lonely

Question 9

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Answer 9

• Pattern of discomfort around social relationship
• Eccentric behavior, such as interactions, clothing etc.
• Some kind of delusions
• Constant and persistent

Question 10

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Answer 10

• Disregard or violation of rights of others  “I don’t care about anything”
• Perception of own system
• In conflict with the law  break it or bend it
• Linked to Childhood: Conduct disorder

Question 11

Borderline Personality Disorder

Answer 11

• Instability in how you see yourself, how you feel, and how you relate to others
• Feeling empty
• Either all good or all bad
• Self-harm: excessive drinking or drug use, excessive sexual interactions, self-harm
• Very dependent, Value relationships extremely  keep them relay close but if they feel they let them down they get really upset

Question 12

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Answer 12

• Before: Hysteria or Hysterical neurosis
• Extreme Attention seeking
• Trying to avoid being nobody  then would feel like they don’t matter
• Make sure that they are the center of attention
• through excessive sexual behavior, excessive drinking, just in general excessive behavior

Question 13

The difference between Histrionic and Borderline PD

Answer 13

Borderline – attention-seeking is less crucial in borderline than in histrionic

• more about specific people than the entire environment

Question 14

The difference between Antisocial and Schizotypal PD

Answer 14

Schizotypal – Don’t want to be alone perse, but have difficulties to form relationships

Question 15

The difference between Antisocial and Psychopathy PD

Answer 15

Psychopathy – more about manipulation rather than the absence of

Question 16

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Answer 16

• Freud: anal oriented individual
• Wanting to be important, wanting to be special
• Need for admiration
• Superficial relationship: Typically have to be surrounded by people they think are on the same level  need that in order to have a, for them, working relationship
• Intimate relationship: the opposite, low self-esteem, appreciative and loving

Question 17

Avoidant personality disorder

Answer 17

• Stay clear of social relationships - but want to have an intimate relationship, just not able
• Always feeling rejected, never feel good enough

Question 18

The difference between Avoidant and Schizotypal PD

Answer 18

Schizotypal – Social interaction is not part of their life, but avoidant PD want exactly that but are not able of it

Question 19

Dependent Personality Disorder

Answer 19

• Pattern of submissiveness, clingy behavior
• Need to be taken care of
• fear of being left by yourself and that you won’t be able to handle it on their own
• Safer to have someone who is there for you

Question 20

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Answer 20

• Anxiety about chaos
• Need of order and Extreme Perfectionism
• Want certain structure for everyone  and the inhibition of some behavior

Question 21

The difference between Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Answer 21

Obsessive-compulsive disorder – it’s way more about an order that makes sense to them, not like in OCD where the order seems to be compulsive from the outside

• Requiring that other people stick with that - not in OCD, only OCPD

Question 22

Personality Trait vs Personality disorder

Answer 22

-> Needs to be maladaptive to be pathological

Personality traits represent patterns of thinking, perceiving, reacting, and relating that are relatively stable over time. Personality disorders exist when these traits become so pronounced, rigid, and maladaptive that they impair work and/or interpersonal functioning.