personality and impulse control disorders

Question 1

personality disorder

Answer 1

enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has its onset in adolescence or early childhood, is stable over time, and leads to clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning

Question 2

fixation

Answer 2

Freud’s theory that ‘fixation” at an early stage prevents healthy personality

Question 3

basic trust

Answer 3

based on Erickson’s theory; the basic sense that the world is a safe and good place; those raised in chaos and/or abuse are deficient in basic trust; this negatively impacts the neurobiological development of the child

Question 4

cluster a

Answer 4

paranoid personality, schizoid personality, schizotypal personality

Question 5

paranoid personality

Answer 5

always looks for wrong-doings and hidden malicious meaning
rigid, defensive and self-righteous; unforgiving of mistakes
preoccupied with doubts of other’s motives
suspicious of partner’s fidelity
often uses the defense mechanism of projection (blaming)

Question 6

schizoid personality

Answer 6

solitary loner
does not want or seek close relationships
chooses solitary jobs and night shifts
takes pleasure in few, if any, activities
emotionally cold, detached
may be the premiered phase of schizophrenia

Question 7

social phobia

Answer 7

desires friends, afraid of embarrassment

avoids social contacts because of anxiety

Question 8

schizotypal personality

Answer 8

cognitive and perceptual distortions and eccentricities; odd appearance; odd speech (vague, metaphorical, over-elaborate); no close friends or associates, suspicious, magical thinking
often odd enough that psychosis is suspected, but patient is not psychotic
can be the premorbid phase of schizophrenia

Question 9

cluster B

Answer 9

impulsive erratic, mood swings
life-long pattern of instability; intense-stormy relationships 
short attention span,
multiple marriages and divorces
frequently display somatization

Question 10

antisocial personality disorder

Answer 10

technical term meaning that the patient defies social rules; must be 18 or older for diagnosis and have shown evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15
no conscience - "moral imbecile"; never at fault or to blame
life-long pattern of chaotic family life and multiple marriages; 
superficial charmers, attracted to cluster B personalities
white collar crimes in middle class population

Question 11

histrionic

Answer 11

multiple somatic complaints; highly suggestible, naive
sexually seductive, often unaware
emotionally labile
imprecise and global in verbal descriptions
FHx of antisocial and alcohol
chaotic family life

Question 12

narcissistic personality

Answer 12

grandiose sense of self-importance and entitlement; overlaps with antisocial
preoccupied with self; demanding of special treatment
may be suicidal when rejected
chaotic family life

Question 13

borderline personality

Answer 13

unstable moods/swings
stormy relationships, poor choices
often confused with bipolar disorder
all-or-nothing thinking - "splitting"
chaotic family life
features: substance abuse, self-injurous behavior, suicidal gestures, chronic feeling of emptiness; boundary issues and unstable relationships

Question 14

splitting

Answer 14

seeing the world in only black and white, all good or all bad
playing people against each other
causing discord and stress in environment
despair and agitation

Question 15

cluster c subgroups

Answer 15

obsessive compulsive, dependent, avoidant

Question 16

obsessive compulsive personality

Answer 16

rigid, orderly, miserly, "anal"
excessive devotion to work, humorless
hoards things, can't throw anything away
preoccupied with details and rules
schedules everything
gets upset when things don't work out according to plan

Question 17

dependent personality

Answer 17

excessive need tone cared for, urgently seeks attachments, cannot be alone, clinging, cannot make independent decisions, insecure

Question 18

avoidant

Answer 18

closely linked to anxiety disorders, cannot take risks, avoids conflict and responsibility, procrastinates, passive-aggressive behavior, goes to great lengths to avoid being judged

Question 19

gambling disorder

Answer 19

addictive disorder; strongly linked to problems of impulse control

Question 20

trichotillomania

Answer 20

impuls problem listed under obsessive-compulsive disorder