Personality Disorders (general overview) - Exam 2

Question 1

what are personality traits?

Answer 1

enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts.

Question 2

at what point do personality traits constitute a personality disorder?

Answer 2

when they are inflexible and maladaptive and cause significant functional impairment or subjective distress

Question 3

what are 4 characteristics of the pattern seen in a personality disorder?

Answer 3

1- pervasive and inflexible
2- onset in adolescence or early adulthood
3- stable over time, but may mellow with age
4- leads to distress or impairment

Question 4

are patients with personality disorders likely to refuse help and deny their problems?

Answer 4

yep

Question 5

do these patients feel anxiety about their maladaptive behavior?

Answer 5

no

Question 6

do these patients appear interested or not interested in treatment?

Answer 6

not interested

Question 7

why do they not have insight into their disorder?

Answer 7

because they do not acknowledge pain from what others perceive as their symptoms

Question 8

what axis of DSM-IV are personality disorders coded on?

Answer 8

axis II

Question 9

if a patient meets criteria for more than one disorder, which one should be listed first?

Answer 9

the most significant one should be listed first

Question 10

what are some adverse outcomes from having a personality disorder?

Answer 10

1- physical injury (fights, reckless behavior)
2- suicide attempts
3- unplanned pregnancy, risky sex
4- comorbid anxiety, mood, substance d/o
5- less favorable response to tx for depression, anxiety, or substance abuse
6- functional impairment

Question 11

who is personality disorder more common in?

• men vs women
• high SES vs low SES
• educated vs uneducated
• employed vs unemployed

Answer 11

men, low SES, uneducated, unemployed

Question 12

what are some behaviors suggestive of personality disorder?

Answer 12

mood swings, angry outbursts, anxiety sufficient to cause difficultly making friends, need to be center of attention, feeling of being widely cheated or taken advantage of, difficulty delaying gratification, not feeling there is anything wrong with their behaviors, blaming the world for their behaviors and feelings.

Question 13

Which disorders belong to cluster A and how do these people appear?

Answer 13

Paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal. They appear odd and eccentric.

Question 14

patients with a family history of _________ have a higher likelihood of having a disorder from cluster A?

Answer 14

schizophrenia

Question 15

which disorders belong to cluster B and how to they appear? (pneumonic: No Booze After Hours)

Answer 15

Narcissistic, Borderline, Antisocial, Histrionic. They often appear dramatic, emotional, and erratic.

Question 16

what type of substance is commonly abused in antisocial disorder?

Answer 16

alcohol.

Question 17

people with borderline personality have a strong family history of what?

Answer 17

depression

Question 18

what is strongly associated with histrionic disorder?

Answer 18

somatization disorder

Question 19

which disorders belong to cluster C and how do they appear?

Answer 19

avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive. they appear anxious and fearful.

Question 20

OCD traits are associated with what?

Answer 20

depression

Question 21

describe an example of fantasy (defense mechanism)

Answer 21

schizoids create imaginary friends and lives because of their fear of intimacy and closeness

Question 22

what does dissociation mean?

Answer 22

replacement of unpleasant affects with pleasant ones

Question 23

what is splitting?

Answer 23

seeing all others as good or bad (hospital staff)

Question 24

are there specific FDA approved medications to treat personality disorders?

Answer 24

no. but if they have another psych disorder that is treatable, treat it (ex: depression)

Question 25

what is thought to be first line medical therapy for personality disorders?

Answer 25

SSRIs. need weeks to see benefits; need higher doses.

Question 26

what helps stabilize mood and reduce irritability and depression?

Answer 26

mood stabilizers (how shocking!).

Question 27

lithium, carbamazepine, valproate, lamotrigine, and topriamate are all examples of what class of drug?

Answer 27

mood stabilizers

Question 28

antipsychotic drugs like olanzapine may help with what?

Answer 28

impulsive behavior, mental state issues, etc

Question 29

when giving antipsychotics to paitents with personality disorder, do they need higher or lower doses than those for psychotic patients

Answer 29

lower

Question 30

are benzos recommended for patients with personality disorder?

Answer 30

nope. abuse potential…we wanna avoid that.

Question 31

the pattern seen in patients with general personality disorder is manifested in 2 or more of the following areas..

Answer 31

1-cognition
2-affectivity
3-interpersonal functioning
4-impulse control