Personality disorders – introduction and classification

Personality disorders – introduction and classification




Personality and its assessment


Personality determines the way people behave and feel in response to things that happen to them. It has a strong genetic basis and is also influenced by childhood environment. In most cases, personality is fully formed by adolescence or earlier and then remains relatively stable over time, manifesting itself in different environments and situations. Descriptions of personality are usually confined to emotions and behaviours that are observable by others. Personality is considered to be disordered if it persistently causes dysfunctional relationships or distress to the person or those around them. These features are summarised in Figure 1.


image

Fig. 1 Characteristics of personality.



Classification of abnormal personality



Personality disorders: the type model


The type model of personality states that there are different categories of abnormal personality. Not surprisingly, it has been developed mainly by psychiatrists who are used to using standardised diagnoses to categorise patient’s problems. The term used for these different types of abnormal personality is personality disorders. ICD10 gives the following description of personality disorders:



These types of condition comprise deeply ingrained and enduring behaviour patterns, manifesting themselves as inflexible responses to a broad range of personal and social situations … they are frequently, but not always, associated with various degrees of subjective distress and problems in social functioning and performance.


The personality disorders included in ICD10 are summarised in Table 1.


Table 1 ICD10 personality disorders








Cluster A


Paranoid personality disorder
image Easily upset when things go wrong, blaming others and holding persistent grudges

image Mistrust others and suspect that events in their own life or in the world at large are the result of a conspiracy

image Have an excessive sense of their own importance and their personal rights

Schizoid personality disorder

image Emotionally cold and detached, deriving pleasure from few, if any, activities

image Solitary and introspective with little interest in sexual or other close relationships

image Indifferent to expectations of others and society

Cluster B


Dissocial personality disorder
image Persistent disregard for the feelings of others and for social rules and norms

image Failure to feel guilt or learn from experience

image Easily frustrated with low threshold for aggression and violence

Histrionic personality disorder
image Dramatic, exaggerated expression of emotions

image Craves attention and excitement

image Shallow personality, easily influenced by others or circumstances

Emotionally unstable personality disorder, borderline type
image Chronic dysphoria and feelings of emptiness
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Jul 12, 2016 | Posted by in PSYCHIATRY | Comments Off on Personality disorders – introduction and classification

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