Personality disorders Flashcards
Personality trait
An enduring, repetitive pattern of perceiving, relating to and thinking about the environment and oneself
Personality disorder
Inflexible, maladaptive, and rigidly pervasive pattern of behavior causing subjective stress and or impaired functioning.
Personal is usually NOT aware of problem
Cluster A personality disorder
Odd or eccentric; inability to develop meaningful social relationship
No psychosis; but genetic association with schizophrenia
“WEIRD: accusatory, aloof, awkward”
1) paranoid
2) schizoid
3) schizotypal
Cluster A: paranoid
Pervasive distrust and suspiciousness;
PROJECTION is the major defense mechanism
Cluster A: schizoid
Voluntary social withdrawal, limited emotional expression
Content with social isolation (vs. avoidant)
SchizoiD=Distant
Cluster A: schizotypal
Eccentric appearance, odd beliefs or magical thinking, interpersonal awkwardness
SchizoTypal=magical Thinking
Cluster B personality disorder
Dramatic, emotional, erratic
Genetic association with mood disorders and substance abuse.
Wild (Bad to the Bone)
1) antisocial
2) borderline
3) histrionic
4) narcissistic
Cluster B: antisocial
Disregard for and violation of rights of others
CRIMINALITY; male > female
- Conduct disorder if <18 yrs old
AntiSOCial =SOCiopath
Cluster B: borderline
Unstable mood and interpersonal relationship
Impulsiveness, self-mutilation, boredom, sense of emptiness
Female> male;
SPLITTING is a major defense mechanism
“Split the border”
Cluster B: histrionic
Excessive emotionality and excitability,
Attention seeking, sexually provocative
Overly concerned with appearance
Cluster B: narcissistic
Grandiosity, sense of entitlement;
Lacks empathy and requires excessive admiration
Often demands the best and reacts to criticism with rage
Cluster C personality disorder
Anxious or fearful;
Genetic association with anxiety disorder
“Worried: cowardly, compulsive, clingy”
1) avoidant
2) obsessive-compulsive
3) dependent
Cluster C: avoidant
Hypersensitive to rejection,
socially inhibited
Timid, feelings of inadequacy
Desires relationships with others (vs. schizoid)
Cluster C: obsessive-compulsive
Preoccupation with order, perfectionism, and control
Ego-syntonic: behavior consistent with one’s own belief and attitude (vs. OCD)
Cluster C: dependent
Submissive and clinging;
excessive need to be taken care of,
low self-confidence
