Nature and Extent of Personality Disorder
10 types of PD categorised in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)
American Psychiatric Association, 2000
Put into three clusters
● Cluster A - ‘odd/eccentric cluster’
○ Paranoid - suspicious and mistrustful
○ Schizoid - high preference fro being alone or solitary activities, lack of understanding
of social cues, restricted emotions
○ Schizotypal - fear of social relationships, peculiar, eccentric or unusual thinking,
limited or inappropriate emotional responses
● Cluster B - ‘dramatic/erratic’
○ Antisocial - disregard for the rights of others, irresponsible, criminal behaviour
○ Borderline - unstable relationships/emotions, identity disturbance, dissociation,
self-harm
○ Histrionic - dramatic, attention-seeking, inappropriately sexually provocative
○ Narcissistic - grandiosity, superiority, self-centred, lack of empathy, feelings of envy
and arrogance
■ Histrionic and Narcissistic highly correlated
■ Psychopathy highly related to ASPD and NPD
● Cluster C - ‘anxious/fearful’
○ Avoidant - hypersensitivity to rejection, leading to avoidance of intimacy
○ Dependent - subordination of personal needs, lack of self-confidence, extreme
reliance on others for nurturance and support
○ Compulsive - emotional constriction, need for control
Also International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10, 1990) European version referred to somewhat
less than DSM
Numerous surveys of general population show around 1 in 10 people have diagnosable PD
● Ekselius, Tillfors, Furmark & Fredrikson (2001)
○ Personality disorders in the general population: DSM-V and ICD-10 defined
prevalence as related to sociodemographic profile
○ Swedish community sample of 1000 randomly selected participants
○ Prevalence of any PD 11% using either tool (right across all types of PD)
○ Co-Morbidity between PDs VERY high
○ Significantly more diagnoses in younger participants esp. STUDENTS!
○ More psychiatric treatment, more isolated, more psychosocial and environmental
problems in the last year
10 types of PD categorised in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)
American Psychiatric Association, 2000
Put into three clusters
● Cluster A - ‘odd/eccentric cluster’
○ Paranoid - suspicious and mistrustful
○ Schizoid - high preference fro being alone or solitary activities, lack of understanding
of social cues, restricted emotions
○ Schizotypal - fear of social relationships, peculiar, eccentric or unusual thinking,
limited or inappropriate emotional responses
● Cluster B - ‘dramatic/erratic’
○ Antisocial - disregard for the rights of others, irresponsible, criminal behaviour
○ Borderline - unstable relationships/emotions, identity disturbance, dissociation,
self-harm
○ Histrionic - dramatic, attention-seeking, inappropriately sexually provocative
○ Narcissistic - grandiosity, superiority, self-centred, lack of empathy, feelings of envy
and arrogance
■ Histrionic and Narcissistic highly correlated
■ Psychopathy highly related to ASPD and NPD
● Cluster C - ‘anxious/fearful’
○ Avoidant - hypersensitivity to rejection, leading to avoidance of intimacy
○ Dependent - subordination of personal needs, lack of self-confidence, extreme
reliance on others for nurturance and support
○ Compulsive - emotional constriction, need for control
Also International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10, 1990) European version referred to somewhat
less than DSM
Numerous surveys of general population show around 1 in 10 people have diagnosable PD
● Ekselius, Tillfors, Furmark & Fredrikson (2001)
○ Personality disorders in the general population: DSM-V and ICD-10 defined
prevalence as related to sociodemographic profile
○ Swedish community sample of 1000 randomly selected participants
○ Prevalence of any PD 11% using either tool (right across all types of PD)
○ Co-Morbidity between PDs VERY high
○ Significantly more diagnoses in younger participants esp. STUDENTS!
○ More psychiatric treatment, more isolated, more psychosocial and environmental
problems in the last year
