Personality Disorders

Question 1

What is a personality disorder?

Answer 1

A disturbance characterised by problems in functioning of aspects of the self and/or interpersonal dysfunction
Persisted over an extended period of time - lasts 2 years or more

Question 2

What is the patterns of disturbance in personality disorder?

Answer 2

Cognition, emotional experience, emotional expression and behaviour which is maladaptive (poorly regulated)
May be evoked by particular types of circumstances and not others

Question 3

What is the disturbance in personality disorder associated with?

Answer 3

Substantial distress or significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational and other areas of functioning

Question 4

What are the general diagnostic requirements for personality disorder?

Answer 4

Severe disturbances in functioning of the self
Problems in interpersonal functioning seriously affect all relationships and ability to perform in expected social and occupational roles

Question 5

What are severe personality disorders associated with?

Answer 5

Harm to self or others, and serious impairment in all or nearly all areas of life

Question 6

What are some key features of personality disorders?

Answer 6

Negative affectivity, detachment, dissociality, disinhibition, anankastia and borderline pattern

Question 7

Describe negative affectivity seen in personality disorder

Answer 7

Low self esteem + self confidence
Tendency to the strong experience of negative emotions

Question 8

Describe detachment seen in personality disorders

Answer 8

Tendency towards social and emotional detachment from others in a rigid way

Question 9

What is dissociality in personality disorder?

Answer 9

Clinical phenomenon related to harmful behaviour towards others and often lack of empathy related to it

Question 10

Describe disinhibition seen in personality disorder

Answer 10

Tendency towards impulsiveness and recklessness

Question 11

Describe anakastia in personality disorder

Answer 11

Tendency towards rigid insistence on order, cleanliness, abiding by rules to their letter

Question 12

What are cluster A disorder characterised by?

Answer 12

Severe problems of basic interpersonal trust

Question 13

What is included in cluster A disorders?

Answer 13

Paranoid personality disorder
Schizoid personality disorder
Schizo-typical personality disorder

Question 14

What is paranoid personality disorder?

Answer 14

Related to a severe tendency to see malign motives in others

Question 15

What is schizoid personality disorder?

Answer 15

Related to gross social and emotional detachment

Question 16

What is schizotypical personality disorder?

Answer 16

Related to use of vivid fantasy life and the development of a highly odd manner likely as a hangover from significant disturbance in early relationships

Question 17

What are cluster B personality disorders characterised by?

Answer 17

By problems of impulse control and emotional regulation

Question 18

What disorders are included in cluster B disorders?

Answer 18

Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic and antisocial

Question 19

Describe borderline personality disorder

Answer 19

Involves the loss of an ability to manage emotions in situations where one felt one would be abandoned by important person
Associated with suicidal behaviour to manage emotions and gross instability of ones emotions

Question 20

Describe Histrionic personality disorder

Answer 20

Related to the dramatic yet shallow show of emotions, as well as the use of interpersonal seductiveness, to manage a disturbance of identity

Question 21

Describe narcissistic personality disorder

Answer 21

Related to someone being extremely self-important and selfish in their interactions as a way of covering over extremely deficient self-esteem

Question 22

Describe antisocial personality disorder

Answer 22

Involves repeated violent or criminal behaviour with most likely some impairment of ordinary remorsefulness

Question 23

What are cluster C personality disorders characterised by?

Answer 23

By the abnormal management of anxiety

Question 24

What are included in cluster C disorders?

Answer 24

Obsessive compulsive, avoidant and dependant

Question 25

Describe obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Answer 25

Problem of over-rigidity and reliance on management of one’s environment and order in relationships and routine to prevent overwhelming anxiety

Question 26

Describe avoidant personality disorder

Answer 26

Involved an ingrained tendency to manage anxiety simply by gross avoidance of anxiety-provoking situations , usually leading to a piling up of problems

Question 27

Describe dependant personality disorder

Answer 27

Involves avoiding anxiety by delegating any major responsibility for oneself or one’s decisions to someone else or to others in general

Question 28

When is borderline pattern applied to individuals?

Answer 28

When personality disturbance is characterised by a pervasive pattern of instability on interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects with marked impulsivity

Question 29

What are the criteria options for borderline pattern?

Answer 29

Frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, pattern of unstable + intense interpersonal relationships, identity disturbance, act rashly in states of high negative emotion, recurrent self-harm, marked reactivity of mood, feelings of emptiness, inappropriate intense anger and psychotic like features

Question 30

Describe self-centeredness in dissociality

Answer 30

Sense of entitlement, believing and acting as if they deserve
Active - expectation of one’s admiration, attention seeking and negative behaviour

Question 31

Describe lack of empathy in dissociality

Answer 31

Indifference to whether one’s actions inconvenience others or hurt them in way
Often deceptive and manipulative - mean and physical aggression
Only concerned about them and instead are likely to use this understanding to exploit other