Personality Disorders – Cluster A & B Overview

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms, disorders, clinical features, developmental theories, and risk factors discussed in the lecture on Cluster A and Cluster B personality disorders.

Cluster A Personality Disorders

Group of disorders (Paranoid, Schizoid, Schizotypal) characterized by odd or eccentric behavior.

Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD)

Pattern of pervasive distrust and suspiciousness; reads hidden threats into benign remarks, bears grudges, avoids confiding in others, more common in men.

Treatment for Paranoid Personality Disorder

Interpersonal or psychoanalytic therapy; antipsychotics if transient psychotic symptoms occur.

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Detachment from social relationships and restricted emotional expression; prefers solitary activities, lacks close friends, little interest in sex.

Schizoid PD – Etiology

Linked to cold, unempathetic early childhood environments; no clear hereditary pattern.

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Latent form of schizophrenia marked by social deficits, cognitive / perceptual distortions, magical thinking, and odd speech without full psychosis.

Ideas of Reference

Belief that casual or unrelated events have special personal meaning.

Bodily Illusions

Distorted perception of one’s own body, common in schizotypal PD.

Cluster B Personality Disorders

Group of disorders (Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic) marked by dramatic, emotional, or erratic behavior. (Narcissistic not covered in these notes.)

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

Socially irresponsible, exploitative behavior, disregard for others’ rights; diagnosis requires age ≥18 with evidence of conduct problems before 15.

ASPD – Risk Factors

Child abuse, neglect, antisocial home environment, ADHD, reading disorder, low socioeconomic status, family history of ASPD.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

Pattern of angry, defiant behavior in children 2–10 yrs; possible precursor to conduct disorder and ASPD.

Conduct Disorder

Persistent violation of rules and rights of others in youths 10–17 yrs; often progresses to ASPD in adulthood.

Serotonergic Dysregulation

Imbalance of serotonin activity (e.g., in septohippocampal system) implicated in the impulsivity of ASPD.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Excessive emotionality and attention-seeking; dramatic, seductive, self-centered behavior.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Instability of mood, self-image, and relationships; marked impulsivity, fear of abandonment, recurrent self-harm, and transient paranoia.

Neurosis

Emotional distress and anxiety that interfere with daily functioning without loss of reality testing.

Psychosis

Severe mental disturbance with hallucinations or delusions and impaired reality testing.

Mahler’s Theory of Object Relations

Developmental model outlining phases of separation–individuation from birth to ~3 yrs; disruptions may contribute to BPD.

Autistic Phase (0–1 mo)

Mahler’s first phase where the infant is inwardly focused and unaware of external world.

Symbiotic Phase (1–5 mo)

Infant begins to perceive the caregiver but still experiences fused identity.

Differentiation Phase (5–10 mo)

Infant starts distinguishing self from caregiver, e.g., through looking away or physical distancing.

Practicing Phase (10–16 mo)

Increased mobility and exploration; child feels omnipotent yet returns to caregiver as secure base.

Rapprochement Phase (16–24 mo)

Toddler recognizes separateness, seeks independence but also reassurance, leading to possible anxiety.

Object Constancy

Child’s internal, stable mental image of caregiver; failure to develop may underlie BPD.

Splitting

Primitive defense in BPD involving viewing people or events as all-good or all-bad with rapid shifts.

Clinging and Distancing

BPD interaction pattern alternating desperate attachment with sudden withdrawal to avoid perceived abandonment.

Manipulation (BPD & ASPD)

Use of deceit or charm to control or exploit others for personal gain or to avoid abandonment.

Latent Schizophrenic

Descriptive term for schizotypal PD indicating sub-threshold schizophrenic-like traits without full psychosis.