Week 10 - Personality Disorders Flashcards
Definition of Personality Disorders
- Pattern of deviating behaviour
- Inflexible: Leads to distress
- Varying criteria of characteristics
What is the difference between personality disorders and traditional clinical disorders?
- Often less severe
- Can be comorbid with clinical disorders
Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-5) of General Personality Disorder
- An enduring pattern of inner experience and behaviour that deviates markedly form the expectations of the individual’s culture. This pattern is manifested in two (or more) of the following areas:
*Cognition
*Affectivity
*Interpersonal functioning
*Impulse control - The enduring pattern is inflexible and pervasive across a broad range of personal and social situations.
- The enduring pattern leads to clinical significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
- The patter is stable and of long duration, and its onset can be traced back at least to adolescence or early adulthood.
- The enduring pattern is not better explained as a manifestation or consequences of other mental disorder
- The enduring pattern is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition (e.g., head trauma)
Personality Disorders vs. Personality
- Overlap between personality disorders and typical traits
- Personality disorders as extremes of normal personality
What are the Big Five of Personality Disorders?
- Detachment (Introversion-Extraversion)
- Unconventionality (Openness)
- Antagonism (Agreeableness)
- Disinhibition (Conscientiousness)
- Psychoticism (Neuroticism)
What are the environmental and genetic influences of personality disorders?
- Emotional/sexual abuse, neglect
- Childhood maltreatment
- Genetic heritability estimates around 50% range
What are the different clusters of personality disorders?
- Cluster A: Odd or eccentric disorders
- Cluster B: Dramatic, emotional or erratic disorders
- Cluster C: Anxious or fearful disorders
What are the three personality disorders in Cluster A?
Cluster A: Odd or eccentric
Comprises of:
- Paranoid Personality Disorder
- Schizoid Personality Disorder
- Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Describe the Paranoid Personality Disorder
- Pervasive distrust and suspiciousness
- Prevalence rates: 2.3& to 4.4%
Describe the Schizoid Personality Disorder
- Pervasive pattern of detachment; lack of social relationships and the desire for it
- One of the least studied disorders
- Prevalence rates: 3.1% to 4.9%
- Begins in early childhood
Describe the Schizotypal Personality Disorder
- Odd behaviour and cognitive distortions
- Prevalence rates: 3.3%
- Initially confused with schizophrenia
- Begins in early adulthood
Explain Cluster B, and name the four personality disorders in it
Cluster B: Dramatic, emotional or erratic disorders
- Problematic patterns of social interactions
- Dramatic and impulsive behaviour
Comprise of:
- Antisocial Personality Disorder
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Histrionic Personality Disorder
- Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Explain the Antisocial Personality Disorder
- Detachment and moral insanity (unstable moral principles)
- Psychopathy (emotional detachment, lack of empathy, impulsivity)
- Individuals at least 18 years old
- Repeated participation in illegal acts, impulsiveness, hostility and aggression, with absence of remorse
- Prevalence rate around 3%; More males than females
- Often associated with violence
Explain the Conduct Disorder
- Similar to the antisocial personality disorder, but applies to individuals below the age of 15
- Acts include cruelty to animals, harming other people, theft, arson, etc.
Explain the Borderline Personality Disorder
- Instability in mood, relationships, self-esteem
- Self-harm prevalent in 75% of cases
- Splitting (Things are either “all good” or “all bad” with no in-between)
- Fearful pre-occupation (Intense need for attention and fear of abandonment)
