Personality Disorders Chapter 9 November 18, 2005

Definition of Personality “Enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself, which are exhibited in a wide range of important social and personal contexts”

Definition of Personality Disorders Personality disorders are “enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself” that “are exhibited in a wide range of important social and personal contexts,” and “are inflexible and maladaptive, and cause either significant functional impairment or subjective distress” (DSM-IV, p. 630)

Main Features of PDs Extreme patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that deviate from a person’s culture Listed on Axis II of the DSM-IV-TR Begin early in life and remain stable - not contextual or transient Inflexible and maladaptive Cause significant functional impairment and subjective distress - ego-syntonic vs. ego-dystonic

Problems with the PDs Low levels of inter-rater reliability Comorbidity with both Axis I and Axis II Problems with classification system - Categorical vs. Dimensional System

DSM-IV-TR Personality Disorders Paranoid Personality Disorder Schizoid Personality Disorder Schizotypal Personality Disorder Antisocial Personality Disorder Borderline Personality Disorder Histrionic Personality Disorder Narcissistic Personality Disorder Avoidant Personality Disorder Dependent Personality Disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Cluster A: Odd or Eccentric Paranoid PD – is a pattern of distrust and suspiciousness such that others’ motives are interpreted as malevolent Schizoid PD – is a pattern of detachment from social relationships and restricted range of emotional expression Schizotypal PD – is a pattern of acute discomfort in close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentricities of behaviour

Paranoid Personality Disorder suspicious of other’s motives interprets actions of others as deliberately demeaning/threatening expectation of being exploited see hidden messages in benign comments easily insulted/ bears grudges appear cold and serious

Schizoid Personality Disorder indifferent to relationships limited social range (some are hermits) aloof, detached, called loners no apparent need of friends, sex solitary activities seem to be missing the “human part”

Schizotypal Personality Disorder peculiar patterns of thinking and behaviour perceptual and cognitive disturbances magical thinking not psychotic perhaps a distant “cousin” of schizophrenia

Cluster B: Dramatic, Emotional, or Erratic Antisocial PD – is a pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others Borderline PD – is a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity Histrionic PD – is a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking Narcissistic PD – is a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy

A ntisocial Personality Disorder pattern of irresponsibility, recklessness, impulsivity beginning in childhood or adolescence (e.g., lying, truancy) adulthood: criminal behaviour little adherence to societal norms, little anxiety conflicts with others callous/exploitive

Psychopathy Egocentric, deceitful, shallow, impulsive individuals who use and manipulate others Callous, lack of empathy Little remorse Thrill-seeking “human predators” (Hare, 1993) No “conscience”

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (Hare, 1991) – 2 Factors Glib and superficial Egocentric and grandiose Lack of remorse or guilt Lack of empathy Deceitful and manipulative Shallow emotions Impulsive Poor behavior controls Need for excitement Lack of responsibility Early behavior problems Adult antisocial behavior

Quote of the day “I’m the most cold-hearted son of a b---- you will ever meet” Ted Bundy

Borderline Personality Disorder marked instability of mood, relationships, self-image intense, unstable relationships uncertainty about sexuality everything is “good” or “bad” chronic feeling of “emptiness” recurrent threats of self-harm/ “slashers”

Borderline and comorbidity High degree of overlap with both Axis I and Axis II disorders 24%-74% also diagnosed with major depression; 4% to 20% bipolar 25% of bulimics also diagnosed with BPD 67% also diagnosed with substance use disorder

Histrionic Personality Disorder excessive emotional displays/ dramatic behaviour attention-seeking, victim stance seek re-assurance, praise shallow emotions, flamboyant, self- centred very seductive, “life of the party ”

Narcissistic Personality Disorder grandiose, sense of self-importance lack of empathy hyper-sensitive to criticism exaggerate accomplishments/ abilities special and unique entitlement below surface is fragile self-esteem

Cluster C: Anxious or Fearful Avoidant PD – is a pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation Dependent PD – is a pattern of submissive and clinging behaviour related to an excessive need to be taken care of Obsessive-Compulsive PD – is a pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control at the expense of flexibility

Avoidant Personality Disorder over-riding sense of social discomfort easily hurt by criticism always need emotional support occasionally try to socialize so distressing they retreat into loneliness

Dependent Personality Disorder submissive, clingy behaviour fear of separation easily hurt by criticism

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder excessive control and perfectionism inflexible preoccupied with trivial details judgmental/moralistic workaholic/ignore family members often humourless

Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified Meets general criteria for a PD but no specific criteria for a specific PD. Exhibit at least 10 symptoms of PDs across all subtypes

Comorbidity Average number of PD diagnoses per patient: (Skodal et al., 1988) (Zanaarini et al., 1987) (Widiger et al., 1986)

DSM – Categorical Approach Based on the medical model Disorder is present or absent

Assumptions of the DSM Personality pathology is suited to be classified into discrete types or disorders These disorders group themselves into three clusters The diagnostic criteria naturally fall into the particular personality disorders to which they have been assigned Empirical Evidence doesn’t support these assumptions!!!

David Klonsky – University of Virgina “the DSM practice of putting expert opinions into writing and only then conducting tests of reliability and validity cannot lead to an acceptable classification system. Rather it directs scientists to conduct research on, and practitioners to put their trust in, diagnostic labels that may or may not map onto valid constructs that exist in nature. Instead, researchers must turn to objective, empirical methodologies to discover the dimensions or personality pathology, letting the data fall where they may and letting the data determine how personality disorder is best classified”

John Livesley - UBC Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology Basic Questionnaire (DAPP) 4 Dimensions: Emotional Dysregulation; Dissocail Behaviour; Inhibitedness; Compulsivity

“ …the evidence on this point is so unequivocal that the only issue to explain is the field’s reluctance to accept empirical evidence” ~ W. John Livesley, (2000) Journal of Personality Disorders, 14, 2, p

The “Big 5” Personality Traits Openness to experience Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism  personality disorders represent extreme variations of OCEAN

Advantages of Categorical System Ease in conceptualization and communication Familiarity Consistency with clinical decision making

Disadvantages of the Categorical Approach Complex and cumbersome Arbitrary cut-off points Loss of important information

Advantages of the Dimensional Model Resolution of a variety of classification dilemmas Retention of Information Flexibility

Disadvantages of the Dimensional Approach Lack of clinical utility? Lack of familiarity? Bottom line: not too many disadvantages and most researchers favor it – likely to be adopted in DSM-V