Personality Disorders (Psychology)

A set of maladaptive and stable characteristics that are characterized by ongoing and rigid patterns of thought. These behavioral patterns are often inflexible, causing personal and social difficulties, as well as impairment in normal functioning. These behavioral deviations are manifested in cognition, affect, interpersonal functioning, or impulse control. Personalities are generally described as dramatic, antisocial, or obsessive. Individuals suffering from these disorders do not view their behavior as strange but as normal and beneficial—especially to them. Personality disorders have been grouped into three major clusters by psychologists. Cluster A includes those disorders that are marked by odd, eccentric behavior, including paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders. Cluster B consists of those disorders that are marked by dramatic, emotional behavior and include histrionic, narcissistic, antisocial, and borderline personality disorders. Cluster C disorders are characterized by anxious and fearful behaviors that include obsessive-compulsive, avoidant, and dependent personality disorders. There is no cure for personality disorders, and they are for the most part untreatable. Therapy and medication can help control them to a certain extent if the individual makes the conscious decision to take control of his or her own life. This is necessary to break the enduring pattern of a personality disorder. Some risks that have been found to act as precursors to the development of personality disorders are childhood abuse and neglect. Additionally, most personality disorders begin as problems in personal development that become prominent during adolescence. For example, a strong genetic link has been found with antisocial and borderline personality disorders. For more information, see Marshall and Serin (1997).