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Encyclopedia > Personality disorder

Personality disorder, formerly referred to as a Character Disorder is a class of mental disorders characterized by rigid and on-going patterns of thought and action (Cognitive modules). The underlying belief systems informing these patterns are referred to as fixed fantasies. The inflexibility and pervasiveness of these behavioral patterns often cause serious personal and social difficulties, as well as a general impairment of functioning. Image File history File links WikiNews-Logo. ... Wikinews is a free-content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ... Which do you see better? The car or the elephant?[1] // A cognitive module is, in theories of the modularity of mind and the closely-related society of mind theory, a specialised tool or sub-unit that can be used by other parts to resolve cognitive tasks. ... A fixed fantasy is a belief or system of beliefs held by an individual to be genuine, but that cannot be verified in reality. ...


Personality disorders are defined by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as "an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the culture of the individual who exhibits it". [1] These patterns, as noted, are inflexible and pervasive across many situations, due in large part to the fact that such behavior is ego-syntonic (i.e., the patterns are consistent with the ego integrity of the individual), and therefore, perceived to be appropriate by that individual. The onset of these patterns of behavior can typically be traced back to the beginning of adulthood, and, in rare instances, early adolescence. [1] Due to the epidemic of medical errors, readers are cautioned to be aware that the American Psychiatric Association isnt immune to this. ... Egosyntonic is a medical term referring to behaviors, values, feelings, which are in harmony with or acceptable to the needs and goals of the ego, or consistent with ones ideal self-image. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...


This definition allows significant deviance from societal norms, such as conscientious objection to a social regime, to be classified as a mental disorder. In the former Soviet Union and elsewhere this has been used to justify treatment of political dissidents as though they were psychologically disturbed.[2] Deviant redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Convention (norm) be merged into this article or section. ... Mental disorder or mental illness are terms used to refer psychological pattern that occurs in an individual and is usually associated with distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture. ... Individual rights Free speech, free press Soap box, Speakers corner (Hyde Park), blog (weblog) prior restraint, censorship, self-censorship, censor Right to assembly Gay rights, Stonewall Feminism, ERA, equal pay, Title IX Famous political dissenters Gandhi Steve Biko Nelson Mandela Martin Luther King, Jr. ...

Contents

DSM-IV-TR criteria

Personality disorders are noted on Axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-IV-TR (fourth edition, text revision), of the American Psychiatric Association. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders#A multiaxial approach. ... The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a handbook for mental health professionals that lists different categories of mental disorder and the criteria for diagnosing them, according to the publishing organization the American Psychiatric Association. ... Due to the epidemic of medical errors, readers are cautioned to be aware that the American Psychiatric Association isnt immune to this. ...


General diagnostic criteria

Diagnosis of a personality disorder must satisfy the following general criteria in addition to the specific criteria listed under the specific personality disorder under consideration.


A. Experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture. This pattern is manifested in two (or more) of the following areas:

  1. cognition (perception and interpretation of self, others and events)
  2. affect (the range, intensity, lability, and appropriateness of emotional response)
  3. interpersonal functioning
  4. impulse control

B. The enduring pattern is inflexible and pervasive across a broad range of personal and social situations. Look up Cognition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In psychology, affect is the scientific term used to describe a subjects externally displayed mood. ... Labile affect or Pseudobulbar affect refers to the pathological expression of laughter, crying, or smiling. ... Look up Emotion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Deferred gratification is the ability of a person to wait for things they want. ...


C. The enduring pattern leads to clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.


D. The pattern is stable and of long duration and its onset can be traced back at least to adolescence or early adulthood. Adolescent redirects here. ... See Adult. ...


E. The enduring pattern is not better accounted for as a manifestation or consequence of another mental disorder. Mental disorder or mental illness are terms used to refer psychological pattern that occurs in an individual and is usually associated with distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture. ...


F. The enduring pattern is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance or a general medical condition such as head injury. Also see Alcoholism and Drug addiction. ... Head injury is a trauma to the head, that may or may not include injury to the brain (see also brain injury). ...


People under 18 years old who fit the criteria of a personality disorder are usually not diagnosed with such a disorder, although they may be diagnosed with a related disorder. In order to diagnose an individual under the age of 18 with a personality disorder, symptoms must be present for at least one year. Antisocial personality disorder, by definition, cannot be diagnosed at all in persons under 18. Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by an individuals common disregard for social rules, norms, and cultural codes, as well as impulsive behavior, and indifference to the rights and feelings of others. ...


List of personality disorders defined in the DSM

The DSM-IV lists ten personality disorders, grouped into three clusters. The DSM also contains a category for behavioral patterns that do not match these ten disorders, but nevertheless exhibit characteristics of a personality disorder. This category is labeled Personality Disorder NOS (Not Otherwise Specified). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the handbook used most often in diagnosing mental disorders in the United States and other countries. ...


Cluster A (odd or eccentric disorders)

Cluster B (dramatic, emotional, or erratic disorders) Paranoid personality disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that denotes a personality disorder with paranoid features. ... Schizoid personality disorder(SPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, and emotional coldness. ... Schizotypal personality disorder, or simply schizotypal disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a need for social isolation, odd behaviour and thinking, and often unconventional beliefs such as being convinced of having extra sensory abilities. ...

Cluster C (anxious or fearful disorders) Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by an individuals common disregard for social rules, norms, and cultural codes, as well as impulsive behavior, and indifference to the rights and feelings of others. ... Borderline Personality Disorder (DSM-IV Personality Disorders 301. ... Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) Hiteshi Thakker disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriate seductiveness, usually beginning in early adulthood. ... Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), a term first used by Heinz Kohut in 1971[1], is a form of pathological narcissism acknowledged in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980, in the edition known as DSM III-TR. Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by extreme focus on oneself...

Avoidant personality disorder (APD or AvPD) [1] or Anxious personality disorder (APD) [2], is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation and avoidance of social interaction. ... Dependent personality disorder (DPD), formerly known as asthenic personality disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a pervasive psychological dependence on other people. ... Dysthymia is a mood disorder that falls within the depression spectrum. ... OCPD redirects here. ...

Revisions and exclusions from past DSM editions

The revision of the previous edition of the DSM, DSM-III-R, also contained the Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder, the Self-Defeating Personality Disorder, and the Sadistic Personality Disorder. Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder is a pattern of negative attitudes and passive resistance in interpersonal situations. Self-defeating personality disorder is characterised by behaviour that consequently undermines the person's pleasure and goals. Sadistic Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of cruel, demeaning, and aggressive behavior. These categories were removed in the current version of the DSM, because it is questionable whether these are separate disorders. Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder and Depressive personality disorder were placed in an appendix of DSM-IV for research purposes. Passive-aggressive behavior refers to passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following authoritative instructions in interpersonal or occupational situations. ... Self-defeating personality disorder was never formally admitted into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); nevertheless, some researchers and theorists continue to use its criteria. ... Sadistic personality disorder was never formally admitted into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); nevertheless, some researchers and theorists continue to use its criteria. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...


Etiological studies

A study of almost 600 male college students, averaging almost 30 years of age and who were not drawn from a clinical sample, examined the relationship between childhood experiences of sexual and physical abuse and presently reported personality disorder symptoms. Childhood abuse histories were found to be definitively associated with greater levels of symptomatology. Severity of abuse was found to be statistically significant, but clinically negligible, in symptomatology variance spread over Cluster A, B and C scales. Miller and Lisak. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. June 1999


Child abuse and neglect consistently evidence themselves as antecedent risks to the development of personality disorders in adulthood. In this particular study, efforts were taken to match retrospective reports of abuse with a clinical population that had demonstrated psychopathology from childhood to adulthood who were later found to have experienced abuse and neglect. The sexually abused group demonstrated the most consistently elevated patterns of psychopathology. Officially verified physical abuse showed an extremely strong role in the development of antisocial and impulsive behavior. On the other hand, cases of abuse of the neglectful type that created childhood pathology were found to be subject to partial remission in adulthood. Cohen, Patricia, Brown, Jocelyn, Smailes, Elizabeth. "Child Abuse and Neglect and the Development of Mental Disorders in the General Population" Development and Psychopathology. 2001. Vol 13, No 4, pp981-999. ISSN 0954-5794


In 2005, psychologists Belinda Board and Katarina Fritzon at the University of Surrey, UK, interviewed and gave personality tests to high-level British executives and compared their profiles with those of criminal psychiatric patients at Broadmoor Hospital in the UK. They found that three out of eleven personality disorders were actually more common in managers than in the disturbed criminals, they were: The University of Surrey is a public university in Guildford, England. ... Location of Broadmoor Hospital at grid reference SU8464 in the United Kingdom Broadmoor Hospital is a high security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in Berkshire, England. ... Personality disorders form a class of mental disorders that are characterized by long-lasting rigid patterns of thought and behaviour. ...

  • histrionic personality disorder: including superficial charm, insincerity, egocentricity and manipulation
  • narcissistic personality disorder: including grandiosity, self-focused lack of empathy for others, exploitativeness and independence.
  • obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: including perfectionism, excessive devotion to work, rigidity, stubbornness and dictatorial tendencies.

They described the business people as successful psychopaths and the criminals as unsuccessful psychopaths. [3] Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) Hiteshi Thakker disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriate seductiveness, usually beginning in early adulthood. ... Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), a term first used by Heinz Kohut in 1971[1], is a form of pathological narcissism acknowledged in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980, in the edition known as DSM III-TR. Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by extreme focus on oneself... OCPD redirects here. ... Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a personality disorder which is often characterised by antisocial and impulsive behaviour. ...


References

  1. ^ a b Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  2. ^ Lyons, Declan; O'Malley, Art (December 2002). "The labelling of dissent — politics and psychiatry behind the Great Wall". Psychiatric Bulletin 26 (12): 443-444. doi:10.1192/pb.26.12.443. ISSN 1472-1473. OCLC 46851972. 
  3. ^ Board, B.J. & Fritzon, Katarina, F. (2005). Disordered personalities at work. Psychology, Crime and Law, 11, 17-32

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a handbook for mental health professionals that lists different categories of mental disorder and the criteria for diagnosing them, according to the publishing organization the American Psychiatric Association. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) was founded in 1967 and originally named the Ohio College Library Center. ...

Further reading

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. (text revision). (DSM-IV-TR). Arlington, VA.
  • Häcker, H. O. Stapf (2004). Dorsch Psychologisches Wörterbuch, Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
  • Marshall, W. & Serin, R. (1997) Personality Disorders. In Sm.M. Turner & R. Hersen (Eds.) Adult Psychopathology and Diagnosis. New York: Wiley. 508-541
  • Millon, Theodore (and Roger D. Davis, contributor) - Disorders of Personality: DSM IV and Beyond - 2nd ed. - New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1995 ISBN 0-471-01186-X

See also

Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal, pathological anxiety, fears, phobias. ... A mood disorder is a condition whereby the prevailing emotional mood is distorted or inappropriate to the circumstances. ... A god complex is a colloquial term used to portray a perceived character flaw as if it were a psychological complex. The person who is said to have a god complex does not believe he is God, but is said to act so arrogantly that he might as well believe... Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual differences. ... Psychopathy is defined in psychiatry and clinical psychology as a condition characterized by lack of empathy[1][2] or conscience, and poor impulse control[3][4] or manipulative behaviors. ... In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. ... On the Threshold of Eternity. ... Personality disorders are collectively a category of mental disorder. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Narcissistic personality disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1559 words)
Narcissistic personality disorder is a "cluster B" personality disorder.
As opposed to patients with borderline personality disorder, the self-image of the Narcissist is stable.
Narcissists and patients with antisocial personality disorder are both considered to lack empathy and remorse, and to be deceitful and interpersonally exploitative.
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Antisocial personality disorder (465 words)
Personality disorders are chronic behavioral and relationship patterns that interfere with a person's life over many years.
The cause of antisocial personality disorder is unknown, but genetic factors and child abuse are believed to contribute to the development of this condition.
Antisocial personality disorder is considered one of the most difficult of all personality disorders to treat.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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