Personality Disorders

What Are Personality Disorders?

Essentially, an individual clinically diagnosed with a personality disorder exhibits traits considered highly unusual, rigid, and resistant to change. Unfortunately, one of the major hallmarks of a personality disorder is that the displayed behavioral pattern is often very unpleasant and troublesome for those diagnosed or others around them.

How Do Personality Disorders Differ from Personality Traits?

Sometimes, differentiating a personality disorder from a typical variation of personality traits can be pretty difficult. There are, however, a few prominent distinctions between them that indicate the presence of a disorder. Behavioral displays of typical personality traits stay within usual social and cultural expectations, whereas behavioral patterns in a personality disorder deviate from this completely.

Another difference between traits and personality disorders is the effect on social relationships. Someone with a few unpleasant traits may find some difficulty in getting along with certain individuals, while people with disorders may have significant issues with maintaining any kind of relationship. Clinical psychologists and professionals in mental health are still analyzing the differences between the two constructs and are constantly revising the criteria for diagnoses.

Types of Personality Disorders

There is a wide variety of personality disorders, which fall into three main categories. These categories, also known as clusters, divide the disorders into their respective groups depending on the behavioral patterns commonly displayed amongst them. By categorizing these types, psychologists can better predict the ideal treatment and approach for each identified disorder.

Cluster A

Personality disorders that fall into cluster A are types labeled schizotypal, paranoid, and schizoid personality disorders. Behavioral tendencies within this category are described as "odd and eccentric" (DSM-5). Individuals with these disorders are observed to have irrational thought patterns and very unconventional behaviour displays.

Cluster B

Cluster B personality disorders are often the most stable and resistant to change. Those diagnosed with disorders in this category tend to show impulsive and widely unpredictable behavior symptoms. The types of disorders in this cluster are histrionic, narcissistic, antisocial, and borderline personality disorder.

Cluster C

People identified with cluster C personality disorders usually have emotional extremes described as "anxious and avoidant" (Funder, 2016). Obsessive-compulsive, avoidant, and dependent personality disorders are all included in this category.

Examples of Personality Disorders

To understand personality disorders better, it is crucial to discuss the specific types and examples that are heavily researched in clinical psychology. As mentioned above, ten known personality disorders are currently divided into clusters A, B, and C. Let's look at a few major disorders in cluster B.

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)

• Histrionic personality disorder comprises behavioral patterns described as extremely emotional and attention-seeking.

• Those with this disorder may experience feeling constantly underappreciated or ignored when they are not in the "spotlight" (French, 2021).

• People with this disorder may lack sincerity in their communication, engage in inappropriate and overtly sexual behaviors, and dress in explicit clothing.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

• A person with NPD can initially come across as confident and charismatic, with high self-esteem.

• They display patterns of behavior that negatively affect the well-being of others and themselves.

• Traits include a ‘grandiose sense of self’, inflated ego, god-like complex, being entitled, and manipulative.

• They are opposed to any truth that contradicts their superiority over others.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

• This is considered the most severe type of personality disorder.

• Symptoms include acute emotional instability, extremely unpredictable behavior, intense mood shifts, suicidal thoughts and self-harm, self-defeating thoughts and behavior, and extreme evaluations of relationships.
• Two percent of the population is diagnosed with BPD, and 75 percent of those diagnosed are female (DSM-5).

BPD, flaticon.com

Testing for Personality Disorders

Diagnosing an individual with a personality disorder is no simple task. Due to the debilitating nature of many disorders, psychologists and mental health professionals pursue diagnoses with extreme caution and consideration. According to Funder (2016), steps taken to administer a proper diagnosis are:

• assess the extent to which a patient’s daily life functioning is compromised,
• evaluate whether or not the patient is displaying one or more of the types of personality disorders,

• analyze the degree to which a patient's traits are identified as maladaptive.

Diagnostic tools include "The Five Maladaptive Traits" test described in DSM-5 (American Psychological Association, 2013). The traits listed in the test include:

1. Negative affectivity - constant feelings of depression, paranoia, and discomfort.
2. Detachment - inability to maintain social connections and the avoidance of emotion.
3. Psychoticism - irrational thoughts and beliefs.
4. Antagonism - manipulative behavior, lack of empathy for others, and narcissistic tendencies.
5. Disinhibition - erratic and impulsive behavior.

This list of traits identifies whether or not an individual has a personality disorder. Descriptives included within the test also help determine the possibility of a patient having more than one type of personality disorder.