Personality Disorders

Question 1

What are personality disorders?

Answer 1

• Axis II on DSM-IV scale
• Pattern of inner experience and behaviour that deviate from cultural expectations; are pervasive and inflexible, cause distress or impairment
• Not due to another disorder, or drugs

Question 2

What are the 3 clusters of personality disorders?

Answer 2

A: odd or eccentric disorders
B: dramatic, emotional, or erratic disorders
C: anxious or fearful disorders

Question 3

What Personality Disorders are in Cluster A?

Answer 3

Paranoid
Schizoid
Schizotypal

Question 4

What Personality Disorders are in Cluster B?

Answer 4

Antisocial
Borderline
Histrionic
Narcissistic

Question 5

What Personality Disorders are in Cluster C?

Answer 5

Avoidant
Dependent
Obsessive-compulsive

Question 6

Is co-occurence of personality disorders common?

Answer 6

Yes, it can occur within or across clusters

Question 7

What is Paranoid PD (personality disorder)

Answer 7

• Mistrust of others, irrational suspicions
• Preoccupied with doubts; reluctant to confide; misinterprets innocent remarks; holds grudges against others

Question 8

What is Schizoid PD

Answer 8

• Detachment from interpersonal relationships; emotional coldness; indifference to praise/criticism of others
• Has few friends

Question 9

What is Schizotypal PD?

Answer 9

• Distortions in thinking, feelings and perceptions
• Discomfort in social situations; suspicions and paranoia

Question 10

What is Antisocial PD?

Answer 10

• Lack of empathy and remorse; disregard for others
• Failure to conform to norms/laws; impulsive, irresponsible, disregard for safety

Question 11

What is Histrionic PD?

Answer 11

• Excessive need for approval, need to be centre of attention
• Shallow/over-dramatic emotions, sees relationship as more intimate than they are

Question 12

What is Narcissistic PD?

Answer 12

• Inflated self-importance; seeks attention and admiration from others
• Fantasies of success; arrogance; envy of others; low in empathy

Question 13

What is Borderline PD?

Answer 13

• Unstable personal relationships; frantic attempts to avoid abandonment; lack of identity; instability of feelings
• Frequent suicidal, self-harming behaviours; impulsivity

Question 14

What is Avoidant PD

Answer 14

• Social inhibition
• Low self-worth, fear of rejection; feel socially inept

Question 15

What is Dependent PD?

Answer 15

• Persistent psychological dependence on others; has difficulty doing things alone
• Tends to agree w others; seeks out new relationships

Question 16

What is Obsessive-compulsive PD?

Answer 16

• Preoccupation with orderliness, moral codes, caution; devoted to work; inflexible
• Different from OCD

Question 17

Is there a correlation between personality and disorders? (Saulsman & Page, 2004)

Answer 17

Yes, but not a great magnitude

Question 18

What did Widiger et al (1994) find in terms of paranoid PD and the Big 5?

Answer 18

• Neuroticism relative to paranoid PD
• Impulsiveness more moderate

Question 19

What facets from the Big 5 are associated with Obsessive-compulsive PD?

Answer 19

Conscientiousness
- High competence
- High order
- High dutifulness
- High achievement-striving
- High deliberation

Question 20

What facets from the Big 5 are associated with Dependent PD?

Answer 20

Neuroticism
- High anxiety
- High self-consciousness
- High vulnerability
Agreeableness
- High altruism
- High compliance
- High modesty

Question 21

What facets from the Big 5 are associated with Avoidant PD?

Answer 21

Extraversion
- Low gregariousness
- Low assertiveness
Neuroticism
- High anxiety
- High self-consciousness
- High vulnerability

Question 22

What facets of the Big 5 are associated with Schizoid PD?

Answer 22

Extraversion
- Low warmth
- Low gregariousness
- Low positive emotionality

Question 23

What study did McCrae et al (2001) carry out to test whether profiles can help diagnoses PDs?

Answer 23

• 1926 patients from psychiatric hospitals
• Personality disorder interview + questionnaire
• NEO PI-R
• Calculated profile agreement scores for each patient
• Sig correlations but only modest to moderate

Question 24

What are 3 limitations of the DSM-IV PD classifications?

Answer 24

• Extensive co-morbidity
• Low inter-assessor reliability
• Not based on empirical personality models

Question 25

What is the DSM-5 definition of Dissociative identity disorder?

Answer 25

A mental disorder defined by the presence of two or more distinct identities or personalities
- Amnesia for prior events
- Cause distress and/or functional impairment
- Not due to substance use
- Not considered personality disorder

Question 26

What did Haslam (2007) say were typical symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder? (DID)

Answer 26

• Primary ‘host’ personality + one or more alters
• Alters take turns to control behaviour
• Distinctive patterns of thinking and behaving
• Memory loss for experiences as other alters

Question 27

How are DID clustered?

Answer 27

Geographically & by therapist

Question 28

How much have DID cases increased since 1980?

Answer 28

From 200 to 10s of thousands

Question 29

What does the Post-traumatic model suggest about DID?

Answer 29

• It emerges as a primitive response to trauma
• Dissociation of consciousness to escape initial trauma
• This becomes response mechanism for future stress
• Can explain why patients are higher in suggestibility

Question 30

What is the Socio-cognitive model of DID?

Answer 30

• Symptoms emerge as a product of therapy aiming to treat other symptoms (hypnosis and leading qs cause patient to reinterpret experiences)
• Culture bound phenomenon
• Being high in suggestibility is what makes ppl more likely to accept therapists diagnosis