Personality Disorders

Question 1

There is a great deal of _____________ across personality disorders.

Answer 1

overlap (meaning one diagnosis often predicts another)

Question 2

What are the criteria (A-F) of diagnosing personality disorder?

Answer 2

A. An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture in at least two of the following areas: impulse control, interpersonal functioning, affectivity, and cognition.

B. The pattern persists across a broad range of personal and social situations.

C. The pattern leads to impairment/suffering.

D. The pattern can be traced back to adolescence.

E. The pattern is not better accounted for by another disorder.

F. The pattern is not due to substance use or medical state.

Question 3

Describe cluster A personality disorders.

Answer 3

• Paranoid: accusatory, pervasive pattern of distrust
• Schizotypal: eccentric, bizarre
• Schizoid: distant, aloof

Question 4

Describe cluster B personality disorders.

Answer 4

• Antisocial: disregard of others rights/feelings; associated with alcoholism, conduct disorder (in children), and low 5-HT
• Borderline: instability of relationships; associated with bipolar disorder, PTSD, and childhood abuse
• Histrionic: emotionality, attention seeking, and hypersexuality; associated with bipolar disorder
• Narcissistic: grandiosity and lack of empathy; associated with bipolar disorder

Question 5

The personality disorders can be thought of as rigid, extreme versions of normal personality traits. Part of the goal of treatment is to make ___________ in that rigid style of behaving.

Answer 5

cracks (with the goal of making people more flexible)

Question 6

Both bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder are characterized by wild mood changes. What is the best way to distinguish these two?

Answer 6

Borderline personality disorder causes mood swings that are rapid (for example, multiple times per day) and are more tied to life events.

Question 7

True or false: schizotypal persons usually have normal social lives.

Answer 7

False. One of the diagnostic criteria is discomfort with social activities.

Question 8

Describe the cluster C personality disorders.

Answer 8

• Avoidant: persistently avoids situations that involve interpersonal contact; afraid of rejection/blame
• Dependent: constantly needing others for decisions and categories of life
• Obsessive-compulsive: overly fixated on rules, lists; inflexible; unable to throw out worthless objects

Question 9

List the psychiatric disorders that are associated with clusters A, B, and C.

Answer 9

A: schizophrenia
B: bipolar disorder
C: GAD, OCD, depression

Question 10

Which disorders are more common in men?

Answer 10

Paranoid, schizoid, antisocial, narcissistic, and OCD

Question 11

Which disorders are more common in women?

Answer 11

Histrionic, avoidant, and dependent

Question 12

Social anxiety that results from paranoid fears rather than negative self assessment is typical of ___________.

Answer 12

schizotypal personality disorders