1. 1 TOPIC 9 PERSONALITYDISORDERS

2. - According to DSM-IV-TR criteria for diagnosing a personality disorder the person’s enduring pattern of behavior must be pervasive an inflexible as well as stable and of long duration

3.  Difficulties in diagnosing Personality Disorders  1 st problem- the diagnostics criteria for personality are not as sharply defined as for most Axis I diagnostics categories  2 nd problem- the diagnostic categories are not mutually exclusive: people often show characteristics of more then one personality disorder.  The five factor model is used to help understand the commonalities and distinctions between the different personality disorders. 3

4.  Difficulties in Studying the Causes of Personality Disorders. 4

5.  Cluster A: Paranoid, schizoid and schizotypical personality disorders  Cluster B: Histrionic, narcissistic, antisocial and borderline personality disorders  Cluster C: Avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder 5