Week 6 Personality Disorders Flashcards
In your own words, what is ‘personality disorder’?
A personality disorder is a serious condition, which the exact causes are not well understood.
A person will be diagnosed with having a personality disorder if they extreme thought and behaviours - so extreme they have trouble coping with day to day life.
People with Personality Disorders get strong feelings they cannot ignore, which cause them to act in a way they cannot control.
What are some potential causes of Personality Disorder?
- Family Hx of the illness
- Abuse or neglect in childhood
- Unstable family growing up
- Diagnosed with childhood conduct disorder
- loss or parents through death or traumatic divorce
- Other significant trauma
- Genetic Variations
What is the difference between a Personality Trait and a Personality Disorder?
A personality trait = habitual pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving. You will have this trait, but it might not affect all of your life, and it is possible that it will change.
A personality disorder is a way of seeing the world that deviates from the norm and means you have certain behaviours that negatively affect all of your life, all of the time, since adolescent or early adulthood
Which is NOT true regarding the development of a personality disorder?
A. Symptoms are non-existent in childhood
B. Can occur post brain trauma
C. Can have biological or genetic origins
D. Becomes fixated in the early 20s
A. Symptoms are non-existent in childhood
Personality Begins to take shape in childhood and is fixated by early 20s.
- People with Borderline PD, for example, had especially high rates of childhood sexual trauma.
- Children who experienced verbal abuse were 3x more likely to develop borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive or paranoid personality disorders in adulthood.
Which of the Personality Disorder clusters contains personalities characterised by eccentric behaviour or others view them as odd, or peculiar?
A. Cluster A
B. Cluster B
C. Cluster C
D. Cluster D
A. Cluster A - Odd, Bizare, Exentric
Types include:
- Paranoid PD
- Schizotypal PD
- Schizoid - PD
What are some potential Neuroanatomy changes in people with Personality Disorders?
Volume reduction in cortical structure
Amygdala and limbic system variations
Problematic functioning in prefrontal cortices
Serotonin level changes
Which of the following is NOT true with the ‘Paranoid Personality Disorder’ ?
A. Is a Cluster A type Personality Disorder B. The are suspicious of others C. Projects blame onto others D. Exhibits dramatic behaviour E. Perceived Attacks
D. Exhibits dramatic behaviour (is a trait associated with Cluster B type Personality Disorders)
Traits of Paranoid PD include:
S - Spouse infidelity suspected U - Unforgiving (bear grudges) S - Suspicious of Others P - Perceived Attacks E - Enemy in everyone C - Confiding in others feard T - Threats seen in benign events
True or False
Cluster A: Paranoid Personality Disorder is a precusor for Schizonphrenia!
True
Such a pervasive mistrust of others can also be seen in schizophrenia and the two conditions share similar symptoms such as withdrawing from others and preferring isolation.
Other disorders Paranoid PD can be associated with:
- Chronic CNS impairment
- Amphetamine Use
- Depression
- OCD
Which is NOT correct regarding Schizoid Personality Disorder?
A. Absence of close friends B. Is a Cluster B PD C. Have an odd appearance and style D. Indifferent to praise or criticism E. Low Birth Weight and Malnutrition increase risk
B. Is a Cluster B PD
Schizoid PD is a Cluster A PD and Traits of Schizoid PD include:
D - Detached Affect I - Indifferent to praise or criticism S - Sexually Uninterested T - Tasks are done solitarily A - Absence of close friends N - Neither desire nor enjoys relationships T - Takes please in few activities
Which is not true about Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD)
A. A sufferer of social anxiety B. Unusual thinking and speech C. Reduced activation in the prefrontal cortex D. Highly social E. Cluster A type PD
D. Highly social
Schizotypal Personality Disorder Traits:
M - Magical Thinking
E - Eccentric Behaviour or Appearance
P - Paranoid Ideation E - Experiences unusual perception C - Constricted (or inappropriate) affect U - Unusual thinking and speech L - Lacks Friends I - Ideas of reference A - Anxiety (Socially) R - Rule our psychosis and Paranoid PD
Cluster B of the personality disorders includes which disorders?
A. Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic
B. Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal
C. Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive
D. Schizoid, Avoidant, Antisocial
A. Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic
For diagnosis of an Anti-Social Personality Disorder, DSM-5 requires that individual shows a pattern of ___ out of seven of the possible behaviours
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
- Failure to conform to social norms
- Deceitfulness
- Impulsivity
- Aggressiveness
- Disregard for safety for self or others
- Irresponsibility
- Lack of Remorse
C. 3
For diagnosis of an Anti-Social Personality Disorder, DSM-5 requires that individual shows a pattern of 3/7 of the possible behaviours
- Failure to conform to social norms
- Deceitfulness
- Impulsivity
- Aggressiveness
- Disregard for safety for self or others
- Irresponsibility
- Lack of Remorse
Which is not correct for Anti-Social Personality Disorder?
A. Childhood is marked with horrible parental behaviour B. Mutation of gene Monoamine Oxidase A C. Women more common than Men D. Often spend time in jail E. Cluster B Personality
C. Women more common than Men
Anti-Social PD: Males are severely more affected than females
C - Cannot Follow Law including childhood O - Obligations Ignored R - Remorselessness R - Recklessness U - Underhanded P - Planning Deficit (Impulsive) T - Temper (irritable, aggressive)
Others points of note
- Mutation of gene Monoamine Oxidase A leads to excess levels of dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline in CNS
Which is true regarding Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?
A. Persuasive patterns of poor impulse control and mood instability
B. Characteristics viewed as odd, unusual, or peculiar
C. The individual is unduly suspicious of others
D. None of the above
A. A pervasive pattern of poor impulse control and instability in mood, interpersonal relationships, and self‐image
BPD’s central feature is that of instability
The way that people with BPD relate to others is termed “splitting”
Which is not true of Cluster B: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?
A. Experiences unusual perception B. Hyperactivity of the HPA axis from childhood sex abuse C. High Heritability D. Disturbances in own Identity E. Feel quite empty
A. Experiences unusual perception (this is from Schizotypal PD)
BPD Mnuemonic
A - Abandonment Fears
M - Mood Instability
S - Suicide U - Unstable, intense relationships I - Impulsivity C - Comtrol of anger is poor I - Identity Disturbances D - Dissociative/paranoid symptoms E - Emptiness
There are also abnormalities in the Amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Negative emotional leads to increase blood flow to Amygdala –> HPA axis –> a heightened sense of fear.
