Personality Disorders Flashcards
Three clusters of personality disorders
Cluster A: eccentric and odd
Schizoid
Schizotypal
Paranoid
Cluster B: dramatic and erratic
Antisocial
Borderline
Histerionic
Narcissist
Cluster C:fearful
Avoidant
Dependent
Obsessive compulsive
A 30-year-old man says his wife has been cheating on him because
he does not have a good enough job to provide for her needs. He
also claims that on his previous job, his boss laid him off because
he did a better job than his boss. He has initiated several lawsuits.
Refuses couples therapy because he believes the therapist will
side with his wife. Believes neighbors are critical of him
Paranoid Personality Disorders
Includes paranoia,which is relentless mistrust and suspicion of people without adequate reason for suspicion.
A 45-year-old scientist works in the lab most of the day and has no
friends, according to his coworkers. Has not been able to keep his
job because of failure to collaborate with others. He expresses no
desire to make friends and is content with his single life. He has no
evidence of a thought disorder.
Schizoid Personality Disorder
Consistent pattern of disinterest in interpersonal relationships having limited emotions when interacting with others.
A 35-year-old man dresses in a wizard costume every weekend
with friends as part of a live action role-playing community. He
spends a great deal of time on his computers set up in his basement
for video games and to “detect the presence of extraterrestrial
communications in space.” He has no auditory or visual
hallucinations. He is lonely and sad, desiring an intimate relationship.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Displaying a consistent pattern of intense discomfort in relationships and having magical thinking of superstitions and fantasies.
A 30-year-old unemployed man has been accused of killing three
senior citizens after robbing them. He is surprisingly charming in
the interview. In his adolescence, he was arrested several times for
stealing cars and assaulting other kids.
Antisocial personality disorder
A lack of empathy,respect, compassion and remorse for their actions. They are impulsive , deceitful and often violate the law. Have charming personality.
A 23-year-old medical student attempted to cut her wrist because
things did not work out with a man she had been dating over the
past 3 weeks. She states that guys are jerks and “not worth her time.”
She often feels that she is “alone in this world.”
Borderline Personality Disorder
Difficulty with emotional regulation, resulting in low self esteem ,mood changes, impulsive behavior,self harm and subsequent relationship difficulties.
A 33-year-old scantily clad woman comes to your office complaining
that her fever feels like “she is burning in hell.” She vividly describes
how the fever has affected her work as a teacher.
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Patients with histrionic personality disorder (HPD) exhibit attention-seek-
ing dramatic, flamboyant and
extroverted behavior but are unable to form long-lasting, meaningful relationships.
They are often sexually inappropriate .
A 48-year-old company CEO is rushed to the ED after an automobile
accident. He does not let the residents operate on him and requests
the Chief of trauma surgery because he is “vital to the company.”
He makes several business phone calls in the ED to stay on “top of
his game.”
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
A consistent pattern of perceived grandiosity and superiority , a need for admiration and lack of empathy.
Considering oneself special and are arrogant.
A 30-year-old postal worker rarely goes out with her coworkers and
often makes excuses when they ask her to join them because she
is afraid they will not like her. She wishes to go out and meet new
people but, according to her, she is too “shy.”
Avoidance Personality Disorder
Chronic feeling of inadequacy, high sensitivity of being negatively judged by people, avoiding social interactions due to fear of rejection.
A 40-year-old man who lives with his parents has trouble deciding
how to get his car fixed. He calls his father at work several times to
ask very trivial things. He has been unemployed over the past 3 years.
Dependent Personality Disorder
Constant need of being taken care of by someone, having fear of separation and clinging behavior to that person. Are unable to make their own decisions.
A 40-year-old secretary has been recently fired because of her
inability to prepare some work projects in time. According to her,
they were not in the right format and she had to revise them six
times, which led to the delay. This has happened before but she feels
that she is not given enough tim
Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
An compulsion for orderliness, perfectionism and control with no flexibility that interferes with completing a task or having relationships.
