Question

Personality Disorders (Abnormal Psychology) last psych tutorial for now

Answer 1

Note: This is a reference for educational/studying purposes, not a question, please save all comments or questions for the end.

Answer 2

\({\bf{Personality~Disorders}}\) disturbed pattern of thought and behavior compared to those in their cultural group

- symptoms usu. appear in adolescence/ early adulthood
- 10 to 15% of population affected
- terminology is often thrown around casually by "armchair" psychologists/amateurs but doesn't usually fit the criteria
- often comorbid
- the classification system used below assumes that traits are like an off-off switch (either present/absent but not both, and that a person who falls under one personality disorder cannot be classified under another, but people are often diagnosed under multiple because of disagreement between psychologists
- categorical approach vs dimensional approach: classifying disorders by type vs by severity of symptoms

\({\bf{Cluster~System}}\)

- odd cluster: paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal
- dramatic cluster: antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic
- anxiety cluster: avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive

Answer 3

\({\bf{Odd~Cluster}}\)

eccentric behaviors similar to those in schizphrenics but less severe

paranoid personality: extreme distrust of others, always on guard of being tricked, quick to challenge others
- possible factors: strict/controlling parents in childhood, inability to trust parents w/o being punished/judged, may be genetic or due to familiar experiences in siblings
- treatments: CBT, addressing anxiety problems, social skills training

schizoid personality disorder: avoid relationships with others, do not display emotions, but genuinely prefer to be alone and are not as distrustful as paranoid personality disorder
- possible factors: unsatisfied need for contact in childhood, abusive/unaccepting parents
- treatments: CBT, reminding patients of pleasurable experiences/emotions, social skills training

schizotypal personality disorder: discomfort in relationships, odd cognitions, eccentric behavior, intense isolation, much more severe than the above disorders, delusions/illusions. highly comorbid with depression
-possible factors: attention problems, high activity of dopamine, enlarged temporal ventricles, smaller lobes/grey matter
- treatment: CBT, identifying unusual thoughts and how to respond to them; social skills training, antipsychotics

Answer 4

\({\bf{Dramatic~Cluster}}\)

antisocial personality disorder: disregarding of other's emotions/rights, linked to criminal behavior and substance abuse, requires 18+ age to diagnose
- possible factors: lack of parental guidance/love in youth, poverty/ abuse, modeling bad behavior, genuine difficulty in recognizing others' emotions, low serotonin, malfunctioning in frontal lobes, lower levels of anxiety than most people, respond to others with low brain/bodily arousal so they aren't as affected by others
- treatments: difficult because sufferers have little desire to change; cognitive therapy to help clients think more about the needs of others, therapeutic communities to teach respect/responsibility towards others, antipsychotics

borderline personality disorder: marked by extreme changes in mood, self-image, impulsive behavior, and lack of ability to maintain relationships. high suicide rate (75% attempt 10% actual commit suicide). more common in women than men.

- use physical discomfort as relief from emotional suffering
- have intense feelings/conflicts that are not shared by other people

- possible factors: abuse/neglect/lack of acceptance in early childhood, overly reactive amygdala, underactive prefrontal cortex, deficit in social skills/emotional self-management, rapidly changing culture/socioeconomic status
- treatments: dialectical behavior therapy: combines cognitive and behavioral techniques by setting goals, reinforcing good behavior, and collaboration with therapist to examine maladaptive thought patterns. places client-therapist relationship at the center, emphasizes respect, trust, and validation.
- other treatments: antidepressants/antibipolar/antianxiety/antipsychotics are marginally helpful but usually are only taken in conjunction with other therapy methods

histrionic personality disorder: marke dby highly charged emotions and need for attention, quickly change their behaviors/personality traits to get attention, exaggerate their own needs, are often seductive
- possible factors: cold/unolving parnets, learned helplessness, certain cultural norms (in many cultures women are expected to be vain/need attention)
- treatments: histrionics are more likely to seek treatment but often make unreasonable demands of their therapists and cross the boundaries of a normal client-therapist relationship; CBT: challenging learned helplessness by changing thinking/problem-solving techniques, drug therapy usually only used to relieve depressive symptoms

narcissistic personality disorder: marked by grandiosity, need for attention, lack of empathy for others (one of the most commonly used phrases to armchair diagnose difficult people but most people don't actually fall under this diagnosis). more common in men than women.
- possible factors: cold/unloving parents, neglect/abuse, cultural changes where young people are more likely to be self-absorbed, decline of family values
- treatments: psychodynamic therapy: recognizing unresolved childhood problems/insecurities; cognitive: changing self-centered thoughts and behaviors and improving their ability to take criticism. many treatments unsuccessful because these individuals are resistant to change.

Answer 5

\({\bf{Anxious~Cluster}}\)

avoidant personality disorder: extreme discomfort in social situations, feelings of inadequacy, fear of rejection (note: social anxiety is more about social crcumstances, avoidant is more about social relationships although there is overlap btwn the two). about equal in men and women.

- factors: criticism/rejection in childhood. maladaptive assumptions about others, overwhelming desire to fit in. lack of social skills.
- treatment: resolving unconscious conflicts, changing maladaptive assumptions and poor self-image, social skills training, group therapy, antianxiety/antidepressants

dependent personality disorder: need to be taken care of, clinginess, overly obedient

- factors: unresolved childhood conflicts, separation/attachment issues in childhood, parents who condition their child to exhibit clingy behavior, maladaptive assumptions about their own inadequacy and need to be taken care of
- treatments: CBT, assertiveness training, antidepressants, group therapy

obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: [not the same as OCD] preoccupation with perfection and control, unrealistic expectations of themselves. often comorbid with depression/GAD/substance abuse

- factors: Earth retention, early conflicts about control/independence, illogical thinking patterns that persist
- treatments:CBT, psychodynamic therapy to address underlying conflicts + illogical thinking patterns and perfectionism

Answer 6

\({\bf{Big-Five~Classification~System}}\)

neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness

identifies whether each trait is high/low/medium in an individual's personality and makes a diagnosis accordingly

\({\bf{Trait~Specified~Classification~System}}\)

- negative affinity: negative emotions, anxiousness, separation anxiety, submissiveness, hostility, depressivity, suspiciousness, emotional overreactions
- detachment: withdrawal from social interaction, ahedonia, depressivity, intimacy avoidance
- antagonism: behaviors that put individuals against others; manipulativeness, deceitfulness, impulsivity, risk taking
- psychoticism: unusual beliefs/experiences, eccentricity, perceptual dysregulation

individual is rated on a 0-5 scale in each of these traits and given the appropriate diagnosis

Answer 7

Anyway, that's all for this topic, I hope it was of use to you! If you have any questions I will address them to the best of my ability (you may have better luck contacting me on my main account, Vocaloid)

Source: Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology, Eighth Edition, Ronald J. Comer

Answer 8

kind of did notice something contradictory in my notes/textbook, it says that these disorders are comorbid but also the classification system specifies not to diagnose people with multiple personality disorder, will have to look into this later