Personality Disorders

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosefa A. Ehrlich ◽  
Amir Garakani ◽  
Stephanie R Pavlos ◽  
Larry Siever

Personality can be defined as an organizational system of self that shapes the manner in which a person interacts with his or her environment. Personality traits develop in adolescence or early adulthood and are thought to be shaped by early childhood experiences and enduring throughout a lifetime. Personality traits that prevent an individual from being able to function in society or that cause significant distress are diagnosed as personality disorders. A thorough history is needed to rule out other psychiatric and medical disorders. This chapter reviews the diagnostic criteria, differential diagnosis, comorbidity, prevalence, etiology (including genetics and neurobiology), prognosis, and treatment of paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, borderline, antisocial, narcissistic, histrionic, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, and dependent personality disorders. A discussion of the relevance of personality disorders to primary care practices and approaches to managing such patients is also included. Tables describe the diagnostic criteria of each personality disorder. Figures illustrate the prevalence of personality disorders in the general and psychiatric populations; schizotypal personality disorder in the community, general population, and clinical population; childhood trauma in individuals with personality disorder; and comorbid disorders in individuals with borderline personality disorder. A model of brain processing in borderline personality disorder is also featured. This chapter contains 5 highly rendered figures, 10 tables, 230 references, and 5 MCQs.

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosefa A. Ehrlich ◽  
Amir Garakani ◽  
Stephanie R Pavlos ◽  
Larry Siever

Personality can be defined as an organizational system of self that shapes the manner in which a person interacts with his or her environment. Personality traits develop in adolescence or early adulthood and are thought to be shaped by early childhood experiences and enduring throughout a lifetime. Personality traits that prevent an individual from being able to function in society or that cause significant distress are diagnosed as personality disorders. A thorough history is needed to rule out other psychiatric and medical disorders. This chapter reviews the diagnostic criteria, differential diagnosis, comorbidity, prevalence, etiology (including genetics and neurobiology), prognosis, and treatment of paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, borderline, antisocial, narcissistic, histrionic, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, and dependent personality disorders. A discussion of the relevance of personality disorders to primary care practices and approaches to managing such patients is also included. Tables describe the diagnostic criteria of each personality disorder. Figures illustrate the prevalence of personality disorders in the general and psychiatric populations; schizotypal personality disorder in the community, general population, and clinical population; childhood trauma in individuals with personality disorder; and comorbid disorders in individuals with borderline personality disorder. A model of brain processing in borderline personality disorder is also featured. This chapter contains 5 highly rendered figures, 10 tables, 230 references, and 5 MCQs.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosefa A. Ehrlich ◽  
Amir Garakani ◽  
Stephanie R Pavlos ◽  
Larry Siever

Personality can be defined as an organizational system of self that shapes the manner in which a person interacts with his or her environment. Personality traits develop in adolescence or early adulthood and are thought to be shaped by early childhood experiences and enduring throughout a lifetime. Personality traits that prevent an individual from being able to function in society or that cause significant distress are diagnosed as personality disorders. A thorough history is needed to rule out other psychiatric and medical disorders. This chapter reviews the diagnostic criteria, differential diagnosis, comorbidity, prevalence, etiology (including genetics and neurobiology), prognosis, and treatment of paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, borderline, antisocial, narcissistic, histrionic, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, and dependent personality disorders. A discussion of the relevance of personality disorders to primary care practices and approaches to managing such patients is also included. Tables describe the diagnostic criteria of each personality disorder. Figures illustrate the prevalence of personality disorders in the general and psychiatric populations; schizotypal personality disorder in the community, general population, and clinical population; childhood trauma in individuals with personality disorder; and comorbid disorders in individuals with borderline personality disorder. A model of brain processing in borderline personality disorder is also featured. This chapter contains 5 highly rendered figures, 10 tables, 230 references, and 5 MCQs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 239-253
Author(s):  
Sara R. Masland ◽  
Tanya V. Shah ◽  
Lois W. Choi-Kain

Difficulty with boredom was eliminated from the formal diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) in 1994 based on significantly limited, unpublished data. However, it is apparent in clinical practice that boredom remains relevant to BPD. This review synthesizes empirical research, with consideration of theoretical accounts, to critically examine the relevance of boredom to BPD. We first briefly review issues in defining and measuring boredom and offer an expanded conceptualization for BPD, which includes the notion of boredom reactivity, before turning to boredom’s differentiation from and overlap with feelings of emptiness, with which it was paired prior to its removal from the DSM. We then discuss perspectives on boredom’s significance in BPD, briefly touching on its relevance in other personality disorders. We propose a Boredom Cascade Model that articulates how boredom and boredom reactivity interact with identity disturbance and chronic emptiness to create escalating patterns of behavioral dysregulation and make recommendations for research and treatment.


This book outlines the principles of neural science that mediate personality and describes what is currently known about how these biological processes are impaired in individuals with personality disorders. What sets this book apart from others is that it focuses particularly on the neurobiology of disturbed personality. Personality disorders have a high prevalence, and these disorders cause a substantial amount of human suffering and harm, not only to the individuals and families directly affected but also to the population at large. Second, these disorders are known to have a heritability rate that is generally in excess of 50%, strongly suggesting that the behavioral disturbances caused by personality disorders have a significant biomedical etiology. However, with the exception of borderline personality disorder, little is known about the biological nature of personality and personality disorders and the effective treatment of the latter. The principles of the basic biological nature medical disorders have served well as the foundation in other disciplines in medicine and psychiatry but have received relatively little attention in the areas of personality, temperament, and personality disorders.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 424-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Judd ◽  
Stephanie Lorimer ◽  
Richard H Thomson ◽  
Angela Hay

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the range of psychiatric diagnoses seen in pregnant women who score above the ‘cut-off’ on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale when this is used as a routine screening instrument in the antenatal period. Method: Subjects were all pregnant women referred to and seen by the Perinatal Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Team of a tertiary public hospital over a 14-month period. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score at maternity ‘booking-in’ visit, demographic and clinical data were recorded and diagnoses were made according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) criteria following clinical interview(s) and review of documented past history. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 200 patients who had completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale were seen for assessment; 86 (43%) scored ⩾13 on Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Of those scoring 13 or more on Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, 22 (25.6%) had a depressive disorder. In total, 12 patients (14%) had an anxiety disorder, 14 (16.3%) had borderline personality disorder and 13 (15.1%) had a substance use disorder. An additional 23 women (26.7%) had two or more borderline personality traits. Conclusion: Psychiatric assessment of women who scored 13 or more on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at routine antenatal screening identified a significant number with borderline personality disorder or borderline personality traits rather than depressive or anxiety disorders. Clinical Practice Guidelines note the importance of further assessment for all women who score 13 or more on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The findings here suggest that this assessment should be made by a clinician able to identify personality pathology and organise appropriate and timely interventions.


Author(s):  
Shaunak Ajit Ajinkya ◽  
Pranita Shantanu Sharma ◽  
Aparna Ramakrishnan

Introduction: Personality disorders are a group of behavioural patterns associated with significant personal and socio-occupational disturbances. Numerous studies have demonstrated borderline personality to be one of the most common personality disorders. It’s less often diagnosed with just a clinical assessment. Aim: To examine the proportion of patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and its associated personality types and clinical syndromes, using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory version-III (MCMI-III). Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out on 450 adult patients who attended the psychiatry outpatient department of an urban tertiary care hospital. They had been administered the MCMI-III, a self-rating questionnaire commonly used to provide information on personality types and associated clinical syndromes. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS, Windows) version 20.0 was used for statistical analyses. Data was expressed in terms of actual number, mean and percentages. Chi-Square or Fisher’s-exact test, as appropriate, was used for categorical data to test for associations. Odds ratio was estimated to measure strength of the association. Results: Borderline was the most common personality type comprising nearly half (46.63%) of the study population. 25.5% had borderline traits while 21.1% had Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). BPD was significantly higher in females (p<0.001), younger age group below the age of 40 years (p<0.001) and unmarried persons (p<0.001). It was comorbid most with Anxiety (90.91%; OR=4.05; p<0.001), Major Depression (85.23%; OR=18.39; p<0.001), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (46.59%; OR=6.30; p<0.001) and Thought disorders (56.82%; OR=18.15; p<0.001). Alcohol (22.73%; OR=3.54; p<0.001) and Drug dependence (13.64%; OR=11.52; p<0.001) were also seen significantly higher in patients with BPD. Personality types significantly comorbid with BPD were Sadistic, Depressive, Masochistic, Negativistic, Schizotypal, Avoidant, Dependent, Antisocial and Paranoid types, with odds being most for Sadistic personality (OR=9.44). Conclusion: It is recommended that mental health professionals and clinicians should start to look for underlying symptoms of BPD in patients of anxiety and mood syndromes. If found these patients should be directed for psychotherapy as early as possible. The MCMI psychological test would be an important contribution to this area, given the need for systematic, quick, and objective testing methods that facilitate the diagnosis.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S122-S122
Author(s):  
Nyakomi Adwok ◽  
Sharon Nightingale

AimsThe overarching aim of the session was to address and reduce stigma around Borderline Personality Disorder among doctors. The three main objectives were:To increase empathy and understanding around Borderline Personality Disorder by exposing junior doctors to service user perspectives outside a clinical setting;To address knowledge gaps identified by junior doctors in a self-reported questionnaire disseminated prior to the teaching session;To offer junior doctors a basic psychological framework to base their assessment and formulation of service users with personality disorders.Background‘Borderline Personality Disorder: The Person Behind the Label’ was the title of the first co-produced teaching session in the Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust (LYPFT). Prior to the teaching session, an online questionnaire was sent out to trainees. The results highlighted three key issues:Negative attitudes towards service users with personality disorders;Poor subjective knowledge of the psychological models of personality disorders;Perception among trainees that they do not receive adequate training to deal with the challenges service users with personality disorders present.MethodA teaching session was co-produced by a team of two service users, a principal clinical psychologist within the Leeds Personality Disorder Network (PDN) and a core Psychiatry trainee. It was delivered in a 75 minute session to 40 attendees consisting of both trainee doctors and consultants.ResultFeedback was collected immediately after the session through the use of anonymous feedback forms. The response to the training was overwhelmingly positive with all 28 respondents rating the session as 4/5 or 5/5 on a satisfaction scale ranging from 1 (poor) to excellent (5). Key themes from the feedback included appreciation for the service user perspective and teaching on psychological theory. The fourth question in the questionnaire: “How will this teaching impact your work?” produced the highest number of responses (25/28) and provided evidence that the above listed objectives of the session were met.ConclusionCo-produced teaching has great potential to address negative attitudes around highly stigmatised conditions by bridging the gap that often exists between service users and mental health professionals.


2020 ◽  
pp. 119-130
Author(s):  
Joel Paris

Personality traits differ among normal people, and one should only diagnose a personality disorder (PD) in the presence of a clear-cut impairment of functioning. Most of these disorders lie on a spectrum with traits, but those that cause prominent symptoms present more often in psychiatry The most clinically important category of PD is borderline personality disorder (BPD), but this condition is widely underdiagnosed. Since these patients often present with depression and/or affective instability, clinicians often see them as suffering from mood disorders, and treat them unsuccessfully with antidepressants. However, this population, which shows repetitive suicidal behavior, needs to be correctly diagnosed to be referred for specialized psychotherapy.


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