Personality disorder
Encyclopedia
Personality disorders, formerly referred to as character disorders, are a class of personality
types and behaviors. Personality disorders are noted on Axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
or DSM-IV-TR (fourth edition, text revision) of the American Psychiatric Association
.
Personality disorders are also defined by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems
(ICD-10
), which is published by the World Health Organization
. Personality disorders are categorized in ICD-10 Chapter V: Mental and behavioural disorders
, specifically under Mental and behavioral disorders: 28F60-F69.29 Disorders of adult personality and behavior.
These behavioral patterns in personality disorders are typically associated with severe disturbances in the behavioral tendencies of an individual, usually involving several areas of the personality, and are nearly always associated with considerable personal and social disruption. Additionally, personality disorders are inflexible and pervasive across many situations, due in large part to the fact that such behavior is ego-syntonic (i.e. the patterns are consistent with the ego integrity
of the individual) and are, therefore, perceived to be appropriate by that individual. This behavior can result in maladaptive coping skills, which may lead to personal problems that induce extreme anxiety, distress and depression.
The onset of these patterns of behavior can typically be traced back to early adolescence and the beginning of adulthood and, in rarer instances, childhood. General diagnostic guidelines applying to all personality disorders are presented below; supplementary descriptions are provided with each of the subtypes.
Because the theory and diagnosis of personality disorders stem from prevailing cultural expectations, their validity is contested by some experts on the basis of invariable subjectivity. They argue that the theory and diagnosis of personality disorders are based strictly on social, or even sociopolitical
and economic considerations.
groups for Specific personality disorders :
Cluster A
Cluster B
Cluster C
Other specific personality disorders
Personality disorder, unspecified
Mixed and other personality disorders
The DSM-IV lists ten personality disorders, grouped into three clusters in Axis II. The DSM also contains a category for behavioral patterns that do not match these ten disorders, but nevertheless exhibit characteristics of a personality disorder. This category is labeled Personality disorder not otherwise specified.
.
Child abuse
and neglect
consistently evidence themselves as antecedent risks to the development of personality disorders in adulthood. In the following study, efforts were taken to match retrospective reports of abuse with a clinical population that had demonstrated psychopathology from childhood to adulthood who were later found to have experienced abuse and neglect. In a study of 793 mothers and children, researchers asked mothers if they had screamed at their children, and told them that they didn’t love them or threatened to send them away. Children who had experienced such verbal abuse were three times as likely as other children (who didn't experience such verbal abuse) to have borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive or paranoid personality disorders in adulthood The sexually abused
group demonstrated the most consistently elevated patterns of psychopathology. Officially verified physical abuse
showed an extremely strong role in the development of antisocial and impulsive behavior. On the other hand, cases of abuse of the neglectful type that created childhood pathology were found to be subject to partial remission in adulthood.
) follow categorical approach whereas the trait personality approach follows the dimensional approach. Thomas Widiger
has contributed to this debate significantly. He discussed the constraints of the categorical approach and argued for the dimensional approach to the personality disorders. The Five Factor Model of personality has been proposed as an alternative to the classification of personality disorders. Many studies across cultures have explored the relationship between personality disorders and the Five Factor Model This talks about Five-factor translations of DSM-III-R and DSM-IV personality disorders and expounds relevance of the FFM to a variety of patient populations, including patients with borderline personality disorder, narcissism, and bulimia nervosa as well as substance abusers, psychopaths, and sex offenders.
, UK, interviewed and gave personality tests to high-level British executives and compared their profiles with those of criminal psychiatric patients at Broadmoor Hospital
in the UK. They found that one out of eleven personality disorders were actually more pronounced in executives than in the disturbed criminals:
Furthermore, they found no significant difference in the average scores of executives and the disturbed criminal offenders on two out of the eleven scales:
According to leading leadership academic Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
, it seems almost inevitable these days that there will be some personality disorders in a senior management team.
Personality psychology
Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. Its areas of focus include:* Constructing a coherent picture of the individual and his or her major psychological processes...
types and behaviors. Personality disorders are noted on Axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders...
or DSM-IV-TR (fourth edition, text revision) of the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
.
Personality disorders are also defined by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems
ICD-10
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision is a medical classification list for the coding of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases, as maintained by the...
(ICD-10
ICD-10
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision is a medical classification list for the coding of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases, as maintained by the...
), which is published by the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
. Personality disorders are categorized in ICD-10 Chapter V: Mental and behavioural disorders
ICD-10 Chapter V: Mental and behavioural disorders
- Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders :* Dementia in Alzheimer's disease* Vascular dementia** Multi-infarct dementia* Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere** Dementia in Pick's disease...
, specifically under Mental and behavioral disorders: 28F60-F69.29 Disorders of adult personality and behavior.
These behavioral patterns in personality disorders are typically associated with severe disturbances in the behavioral tendencies of an individual, usually involving several areas of the personality, and are nearly always associated with considerable personal and social disruption. Additionally, personality disorders are inflexible and pervasive across many situations, due in large part to the fact that such behavior is ego-syntonic (i.e. the patterns are consistent with the ego integrity
Ego Integrity
Ego integrity was the term given by Erik Erikson to the last of his eight stages of psychosocial development, and used by him to represent 'a post-narcissistic love of the human ego...as an experience which conveys some world order and spiritual sense, no matter how dearly paid for'.Integrity of...
of the individual) and are, therefore, perceived to be appropriate by that individual. This behavior can result in maladaptive coping skills, which may lead to personal problems that induce extreme anxiety, distress and depression.
The onset of these patterns of behavior can typically be traced back to early adolescence and the beginning of adulthood and, in rarer instances, childhood. General diagnostic guidelines applying to all personality disorders are presented below; supplementary descriptions are provided with each of the subtypes.
Because the theory and diagnosis of personality disorders stem from prevailing cultural expectations, their validity is contested by some experts on the basis of invariable subjectivity. They argue that the theory and diagnosis of personality disorders are based strictly on social, or even sociopolitical
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and economic considerations.
World Health Organization
ICD-10ICD-10
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision is a medical classification list for the coding of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases, as maintained by the...
groups for Specific personality disorders :
Cluster A
- Paranoid personality disorderParanoid personality disorderParanoid personality disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by paranoia and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others....
- Schizoid personality disorderSchizoid personality disorderSchizoid personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, and sometimes apathy, with a simultaneous rich, elaborate, and exclusively internal fantasy world...
Cluster B
- Antisocial personality disorderAntisocial personality disorderAntisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
- Borderline personality disorderBorderline personality disorderBorderline personality disorder is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person , characterized by depth and variability of moods.The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the...
- Histrionic personality disorderHistrionic personality disorderHistrionic personality disorder is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriately seductive behavior, usually beginning in early...
Cluster C
- Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder
- Anxious (avoidant) personality disorderAvoidant personality disorderAvoidant personality disorder is a personality disorder recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders handbook in a person characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, and avoidance of...
- Dependent personality disorderDependent personality disorderDependent personality disorder , formerly known as asthenic personality disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a pervasive psychological dependence on other people...
Other specific personality disorders
- Narcissistic personality disorderNarcissistic personality disorderNarcissistic personality disorder is a personality disorder in which the individual is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity...
- Passive-aggressive personality disorder
Personality disorder, unspecified
Mixed and other personality disorders
The DSM-IV lists ten personality disorders, grouped into three clusters in Axis II. The DSM also contains a category for behavioral patterns that do not match these ten disorders, but nevertheless exhibit characteristics of a personality disorder. This category is labeled Personality disorder not otherwise specified.
Cluster A (odd or eccentric disorders)
- Paranoid personality disorderParanoid personality disorderParanoid personality disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by paranoia and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others....
(DSM-IV codeDSM-IV CodesDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision, also known as DSM-IV-TR, is a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association that includes all currently recognized mental health disorders...
301.0): characterized by irrational suspicions and mistrust of others. - Schizoid personality disorderSchizoid personality disorderSchizoid personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, and sometimes apathy, with a simultaneous rich, elaborate, and exclusively internal fantasy world...
(DSM-IV code 301.20): lack of interest in social relationships, seeing no point in sharing time with others, anhedoniaAnhedoniaIn psychology and psychiatry, anhedonia is defined as the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found enjoyable, e.g. hobbies, exercise, social interaction or sexual activity....
, introspectionIntrospectionIntrospection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious and purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one's soul...
. - Schizotypal personality disorderSchizotypal personality disorderSchizotypal personality disorder, or simply schizotypal disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a need for social isolation, anxiety in social situations, odd behavior and thinking, and often unconventional beliefs.-Genetic:...
(DSM-IV code 301.22): characterized by odd behavior or thinking.
Cluster B (dramatic, emotional or erratic disorders)
- Antisocial personality disorderAntisocial personality disorderAntisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
(DSM-IV codeDSM-IV CodesDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision, also known as DSM-IV-TR, is a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association that includes all currently recognized mental health disorders...
301.7): a pervasive disregard for the law and the rights of others. - Borderline personality disorderBorderline personality disorderBorderline personality disorder is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person , characterized by depth and variability of moods.The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the...
(DSM-IV code 301.83): extreme "black and white" thinking, instability in relationships, self-image, identity and behavior often leading to self-harm and impulsivity. Borderline personality disorder is diagnosed in three times as many females as males. - Histrionic personality disorderHistrionic personality disorderHistrionic personality disorder is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriately seductive behavior, usually beginning in early...
(DSM-IV code 301.50): pervasive attention-seeking behavior including inappropriately seductive behavior and shallow or exaggerated emotions. - Narcissistic personality disorderNarcissistic personality disorderNarcissistic personality disorder is a personality disorder in which the individual is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity...
(DSM-IV code 301.81): a pervasive pattern of grandiosityGrandiosityGrandiosity is chiefly associated with narcissistic personality disorder, but also commonly features in manic or hypomanic episodes of bipolar disorder....
, need for admirationNarcissistic supplyNarcissistic supply is a concept in some psychoanalytic theories which describes a type of admiration, interpersonal support or sustenance drawn by an individual from his or her environment ....
, and a lack of empathy.
Cluster C (anxious or fearful disorders)
- Avoidant personality disorderAvoidant personality disorderAvoidant personality disorder is a personality disorder recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders handbook in a person characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, and avoidance of...
(DSM-IV codeDSM-IV CodesDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision, also known as DSM-IV-TR, is a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association that includes all currently recognized mental health disorders...
301.82): social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation and avoidance of social interaction. - Dependent personality disorderDependent personality disorderDependent personality disorder , formerly known as asthenic personality disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a pervasive psychological dependence on other people...
(DSM-IV code 301.6): pervasive psychological dependence on other people. - Obsessive-compulsive personality disorderObsessive-compulsive personality disorderObsessive–compulsive personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency.- Signs and symptoms :The primary symptoms of OCPD...
(not the same as obsessive-compulsive disorderObsessive-compulsive disorderObsessive–compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions...
) (DSM-IV code 301.4): characterized by rigid conformity to rules, moral codes and excessive orderliness.
Appendix B: Criteria Sets and Axes Provided for Further Study
Appendix B contains the following disorders. They are still widely considered amongst psychiatrists as being valid disorders, for example by Theodore MillonTheodore Millon
Theodore Millon is an American psychologist known for his work on personality disorders.-Biography:Millon was born in 1928, the only child of immigrant Jewish parents from Lithuania and Poland. His 19th-century ancestors came from the town of Valozhyn, then a part of the Russian Empire...
.
- Depressive personality disorderDepressive personality disorderDepressive Personality Disorder is a controversial psychiatric diagnosis that denotes a personality disorder with depressive features....
– is a pervasive pattern of depressive cognitions and behaviors beginning by early adulthood. - Passive-aggressive personality disorder (negativististic personality disorder) – is a pattern of negative attitudes and passive resistance in interpersonal situations.
Deleted
The following disorders are still considered to be valid disorders by Millon. They were in DSM-III-R but were deleted from DSM-IV. Both appeared in an appendix entitled “Proposed diagnostic categories needing further study”, and so did not have any concrete diagnostic criteria.- Sadistic personality disorderSadistic personality disorderSadistic personality disorder is a diagnosis which appeared only in an appendix of the revised third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . The current version of the DSM does not include it, so it is no longer considered a valid...
– is a pervasive pattern of cruel, demeaning and aggressive behavior. - Self-defeating personality disorderSelf-defeating personality disorderSelf-defeating personality disorder is a personality disorder that was never formally admitted into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . It was discussed in an appendix of the manual's revised third edition...
(masochistic personality disorder) – is characterised by behaviour consequently undermining the person's pleasure and goals.
Cause
A study of almost 600 male college students, averaging almost 30 years of age and who were not drawn from a clinical sample, examined the relationship between childhood experiences of sexual and physical abuse and currently reported personality disorder symptoms. Childhood abuse histories were found to be definitively associated with greater levels of symptomatology. Severity of abuse was found to be statistically significant, but clinically negligible, in symptomatology variance spread over Cluster A, B and C scales.Child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
and neglect
Neglect
Neglect is a passive form of abuse in which a perpetrator is responsible to provide care for a victim who is unable to care for himself or herself, but fails to provide adequate care....
consistently evidence themselves as antecedent risks to the development of personality disorders in adulthood. In the following study, efforts were taken to match retrospective reports of abuse with a clinical population that had demonstrated psychopathology from childhood to adulthood who were later found to have experienced abuse and neglect. In a study of 793 mothers and children, researchers asked mothers if they had screamed at their children, and told them that they didn’t love them or threatened to send them away. Children who had experienced such verbal abuse were three times as likely as other children (who didn't experience such verbal abuse) to have borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive or paranoid personality disorders in adulthood The sexually abused
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
group demonstrated the most consistently elevated patterns of psychopathology. Officially verified physical abuse
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
showed an extremely strong role in the development of antisocial and impulsive behavior. On the other hand, cases of abuse of the neglectful type that created childhood pathology were found to be subject to partial remission in adulthood.
Diagnosis
According to ICD-10, the diagnosis of a personality disorder must satisfy the following general criteria, in addition to the specific criteria listed under the specific personality disorder under consideration:- There is evidence that the individual's characteristic and enduring patterns of inner experience and behaviour as a whole deviate markedly from the culturally expected and accepted range (or "norm"). Such deviation must be manifest in two or more of the following areas:
- cognition (i.e., ways of perceiving and interpreting things, people, and events; forming attitudes and images of self and others);
- affectivity (range, intensity, and appropriateness of emotional arousal and response);
- control over impulses and gratification of needs;
- manner of relating to others and of handling interpersonal situations.
- The deviation must manifest itself pervasively as behaviour that is inflexible, maladaptive, or otherwise dysfunctional across a broad range of personal and social situations (i.e., not being limited to one specific "triggering" stimulus or situation).
- There is personal distress, or adverse impact on the social environment, or both, clearly attributable to the behaviour referred to in criterion 2.
- There must be evidence that the deviation is stable and of long duration, having its onset in late childhood or adolescence.
- The deviation cannot be explained as a manifestation or consequence of other adult mental disorders, although episodic or chronic conditions from sections F00-F59 or F70-F79 of this classification may coexist with, or be superimposed upon, the deviation.
- Organic brain disease, injury, or dysfunction must be excluded as the possible cause of the deviation. (If an organic causation is demonstrable, category F07.- should be used.)One tool of diagnosing personality disorder, is a process involving interviews with scoring systems. The patient is asked to answer questions in a questionnaire, and depending on their answers, the trained interviewer tries to code what their responses were. This process is fairly time consuming.
Normal personality and personality disorders
The issue of the relationship between normal personality and personality disorders is one of the important issues in personality and clinical psychology. The personality disorders classification (DSM IV TR and ICD-10ICD-10
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision is a medical classification list for the coding of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases, as maintained by the...
) follow categorical approach whereas the trait personality approach follows the dimensional approach. Thomas Widiger
Thomas Widiger
Thomas A. Widiger is currently a faculty member at the University of Kentucky in the Department of Psychology. His research interests are concerned generally with the diagnosis and classification of psychopathology...
has contributed to this debate significantly. He discussed the constraints of the categorical approach and argued for the dimensional approach to the personality disorders. The Five Factor Model of personality has been proposed as an alternative to the classification of personality disorders. Many studies across cultures have explored the relationship between personality disorders and the Five Factor Model This talks about Five-factor translations of DSM-III-R and DSM-IV personality disorders and expounds relevance of the FFM to a variety of patient populations, including patients with borderline personality disorder, narcissism, and bulimia nervosa as well as substance abusers, psychopaths, and sex offenders.
In children and adolescents
Early stages and preliminary forms of personality disorders need a multi-dimensional and early treatment approach. Personality development disorder is considered to be a childhood risk factor or early stage of a later personality disorder in adulthood.In executives
In 2005, psychologists Belinda Board and Katarina Fritzon at the University of SurreyUniversity of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
, UK, interviewed and gave personality tests to high-level British executives and compared their profiles with those of criminal psychiatric patients at Broadmoor Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is the best known of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth and Rampton...
in the UK. They found that one out of eleven personality disorders were actually more pronounced in executives than in the disturbed criminals:
- Histrionic personality disorderHistrionic personality disorderHistrionic personality disorder is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriately seductive behavior, usually beginning in early...
: including superficial charmSuperficial charmSuperficial charm is "the tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, slick, and verbally facile."The phrase often appears in lists of attributes of psychopathic personalities, such as in Hervey Cleckley's The Mask of Sanity and Robert Hare's Hare Psychopathy Checklist.Associated expressions are...
, insincerity, egocentricity and manipulationPsychological manipulationPsychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
Furthermore, they found no significant difference in the average scores of executives and the disturbed criminal offenders on two out of the eleven scales:
- Narcissistic personality disorderNarcissistic personality disorderNarcissistic personality disorder is a personality disorder in which the individual is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity...
: including grandiosityGrandiosityGrandiosity is chiefly associated with narcissistic personality disorder, but also commonly features in manic or hypomanic episodes of bipolar disorder....
, self-focused lack of empathyEmpathyEmpathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
for others, exploitativeness and independence. - Obsessive-compulsive personality disorderObsessive-compulsive personality disorderObsessive–compulsive personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency.- Signs and symptoms :The primary symptoms of OCPD...
: including perfectionismPerfectionism (psychology)Perfectionism, in psychology, is a belief that a state of completeness and flawlessness can and should be attained. In its pathological form, perfectionism is a belief that work or output that is anything less than perfect is unacceptable...
, excessive devotion to work, rigidity, stubbornness and dictatorial tendencies.
According to leading leadership academic Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries is a clinical professor of leadership development at INSEAD, where he holds the Raoul de Vitry d'Avaucourt Chair of Leadership Development...
, it seems almost inevitable these days that there will be some personality disorders in a senior management team.
History
Personality disorder is a term with a distinctly modern meaning owing in part to its clinical usage and the institutional character of modern psychiatry. The currently accepted meaning must be understood in the context of historical changing classification systems such as DSM-IV and its predecessors. Although highly anachronistic, ignoring radical differences in the character of subjectivity and social relations, some have suggested similarities to other concepts going back to at least the ancient Greeks.Further reading
- American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. (text revision). (DSM-IV-TR). Arlington, VA.
- Häcker, H. O. Stapf (2004). Dorsch Psychologisches Wörterbuch, Verlag Hans Huber, Bern
- Marshall, W. & Serin, R. (1997) Personality Disorders. In Sm.M. Turner & R. Hersen (Eds.) Adult Psychopathology and Diagnosis. New York: Wiley. 508–541
- Murphy, N. & McVey, D. (2010) Treating Severe Personality Disorder: Creating Robust Services for Clients with Complex Mental Health Needs. London: Routledge
- Millon, TheodoreTheodore MillonTheodore Millon is an American psychologist known for his work on personality disorders.-Biography:Millon was born in 1928, the only child of immigrant Jewish parents from Lithuania and Poland. His 19th-century ancestors came from the town of Valozhyn, then a part of the Russian Empire...
(and Roger D. Davis, contributor) – Disorders of Personality: DSM IV and Beyond – 2nd ed. – New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1995 ISBN 0-471-01186-X - Yudofsky, Stuart C. M.D. (2005) Fatal Flaws: Navigating Destructive Relationships With People With Disorders of Personality and Character, by ISBN 1-58562-214-1
External links
- Interview with Dr. Martha Stout, author of The Sociopath Next Door on the Living Hero podcast, November 2010.
- The Institute for Advanced Studies in Personology and Psychopathology the official website for Theodore Millon, Ph.D., D.Sc.
- Personality Disorders Foundation
- National Personality Disorder website for England
- Dangerous severe personality disorder
- National Mental Health Association Personality Disorder Fact Sheet
- Personality Disorders information leaflet from mental health charity The Royal College of Psychiatrists