Personality Disorders Flashcards
Patients with personality disorders lack _____ about their problems; their symptoms are ego-(dystonic/syntonic).
They are Axis ____ diagnoses.
insight
ego-syntonic
Axis II
What is the DSM-IV criteria for a personality disorder?
- Pattern of behavior/inner experience that deviates from the person’s culture & is manifested in 2 or more of the following ways:
- Cognition
- Affect
- Personal relations
- Impulse control
- The pattern:
- Is pervasive and inflexible in a broad range of situations
- Is stable and has an onset no later than adolescence or early adulthood
- Leads to significant stress in functioning
- Is not accounted for by another mental/medical illness or by use of a substance
Each personality disorder is present in ___% of the population.
Personality disorders are divided into ______.
1%
3 clusters
Cluster A
Schizoid, Schizotypal, Paranoid
- Patients seem eccentric, peculiar or withdrawn
- Familial association w/ psychotic disorders
Cluster B
Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic
- Patients seem emotional, dramatic or inconsistent
- Familial association with mood disorders
Cluster C
Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-compulsive
- Patients seem anxious or fearful
- Familial association w/ anxiety disorders
Personality disorder not otherwise specified (NOS)
Includes disorders that do not fit into clusters A, B or C (including passive-aggressive personality disorder)
What is the etiology of personality disorders?
- Biological, genetic, psychosocial factors
- Prevalence in monozygotic twins is several times higher than dizygotic twins
How are personality disorders treated?
- Difficult to treat
- Few patients aware they need help
- Disorders tend to be chronic, life-long
- Pharmacologic treatment limited usefulness except treating coexisting symptoms of depresison, anxiety, etc.
- Psychotherapy & group therapy most helpful
What is the pneumonic for personality disorder clusters?
- Cluster A: mad
- Cluster B: bad
- Cluster C: sad
What is the DSM-IV criteria for Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD)?
- General distrust of others, beginning in early adulthood & present in a variety of contexts
- At least 4 of the following:
- Suspicion (w/o evidence) that others are exploiting or deceiving him/her
- Preoccupation with doubts of loyalty or trustworthiness of acquaintances
- Reluctance to confide in others
- Interpretation of benign remarks as threatening or demeaning
- Persistence of grudges
- Perception of attacks on his/her character that are not apparent to others; quick to counterattack
- Recurrence of suspicions regarding fidelity of spouse or lover
Paranoid Personality Disorder
- Prevalence: ___%
- Men vs Women
- Familial incidence
- Prevalence: 0.5 - 2.5%
- Men >> women
- Higher incidence in family members of schizophrenics
What is included in the differential diagnosis of PPD?
Paranoid schizophrenia
- Unlike patients w/ schizophrenia, patients with PPD do not have any fixed delusions and are not frankly psychotic
- May have transient psychosis under stressful situations
What is the course & prognosis of patients w/ PPD?
- Some patients may eventually be diagnosed w/ schizophrenia
- Chronic course
- Lifelong marital & job-related problems
How is PPD treated?
Psychotherapy
Antianxiety medications
Short course of antipsychotics (transient psychosis)
What is the DSM-IV criteria for Schizoid Personality Disorder?
- A pattern of voluntary social withdrawal & restricted range of emotional expression, beginning in early adulthood & present in a variety of contexts.
- 4 or more of the following must be present:
- Neither enjoying nor desiring close relationships (including family)
- Generally choosing solitary activities
- Little (if any) interest in sexual activity w/ another person
- Taking pleasure in few activities (if any)
- Few close friends or confidants (if any)
- Indifference to praise or criticism
- Emotional coldness, detachment or flattened affect
Schizoid Personality Disorder
- Prevalence: ___%
- Men vs. Women
- Familial incidence
- Prevalence: 7%
- Men 2x more than women
- No increased incidence in families w/ hx of schizophrenia
What is the differential diagnosis for Schizoid Personality Disorder?
-
Paranoid schizophrenia
- Unlike pts w/ schizophrenia, patients w/ SPD do not have any fixed delusions, although these may exist transiently in some pts
-
Schizotypal personality disorder
- Pts w/ SPD do not have the same eccentric behavior or magical thinking seen in pts w/ schizotypal personality disorder
What is the course and treatment for Schizoid Personality Disorder?
- Chronic course, not always lifelong
- Treatment similar to paranoid personality disorder
- Psychotherapy; group therapy
- Low-dose antipsychotics (short course) if transiently psychotic
- Anti-depressants if comorbid major depression is diagnosed
What is the DSM-IV criteria for Schizotypal Personality Disorder?
- Pattern of social deficits marked by eccentric behavior, cognitive or perceptual distortions & discomfort w/ close relationships, beginning by early adulthood & present in a variety of contexts. 5 or more of the following must be present:
- Ideas of reference (excluding delusions of reference)
- Odd beliefs or maginal thinking, inconsistent w/ cultural norms
- Unusual perceptual experiences (bodily illusions)
- Suspiciousness
- Inappropriate or restricted affect
- Odd of eccentric appearance or behavior
- Few close friends or confidants
- Odd thinking or speech (vague, stereotyped, etc)
- Excessive social anxiety
What types of magical thinking & odd behaviors are characteristic of Schizotypal Personality Disorder?
-
Magical thinking
- Belief in clairvoyance or telepathy
- Bizarre fantasies or preoccupations
- Belief in superstitions
-
Odd behaviors
- Involvement in cults or strange religious practices
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
- Prevalence: ___%
- Familial incidence
- Prevalence: 3.0%
- Monozygotic >>> dizygotic twins
What is the differential diagnosis for Schizotypal Personality Disorder?
-
Paranoid schizophrenia
- Unlike pts w/ schizophrenia, pts w/ schizotypal personality disorder are not frankly psychotic (but can become transiently under stress)
-
Schizoid personality disorder
- Do not have the same eccentric behavior seen in pts w/ schizotypal personality disorder
What is the course and treatment for Schizotypal Personality Disorder?
- Chronic, pts may develop schizophrenia
- Psychotherapy is treatment of choice
- Short course of low-dose antipsychotics if necessary (transient psychosis)