Types of personality disorder

There are three traditional ‘clusters’ of different types of personality disorder A, B & C. There is also a somewhat controversial diagnosis of Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder which falls at the more extreme end of the spectrum of personality disorder.

Cluster A

Paranoid personality disorder
The person with a paranoid personality disorder essentially has an ongoing, unjustified suspiciousness and distrust of people. Along with this they are emotionally detached. Some one with this type of disorder will hold beliefs about others:

  • suspicion that others are exploiting or deceiving them
  • belief that others may not be loyal or trustworthy
  • beliefs that there are threats or attacks on their character in innocent statements that others do not see
  • holds persistent grudges

It is commonly reported that those with paranoid personality disorders can be very draining to be around, as their constant habit of blame and suspicion makes you feel the need to reassure them on an ongoing basis. Unfortunately when reassurances are made, those with this disorder take this as further evidence that the person mean harm. They tend to drive people away from them, and so have few friends, which they interpret as reinforcing their beliefs that there is a conspiracy against them. This often leads people with this disorder to have a very lonely life.

Schizoid personality disorder
 A person with schizoid personality disorder has minimal social relationships, expresses few emotions (especially those of warmth and tenderness), and appears to not care about the praise or criticism of others. They may appear absent minded and aloof, but are actually very shy. While they do not do well with contact in groups, they may excel when placed in positions where they have minimal contact with others.

Schizotypal personality disorder
 Schizotypal personality disorder is characterised by a lack social and interpersonal relationships. This disorder also affects the way a person thinks and may make come across quite eccentric in their behaviour. They often have magical thinking (‘if I think this, I can make that happen’), paranoia, and other seemingly strange thoughts. They may talk to themselves, dress inappropriately, and are very sensitive to criticism.

Cluster B

Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder affects 2-3% of the population. It is more common among men than women, in younger people, those of low socio-economic status (finances and educational level), single individuals, the poorly educated and those living in urban areas.

Antisocial personality disorder results in what is commonly known as a sociopath. This disorder is defined by an ongoing disregard for the rights of others, from the age of 15 years.

Some examples of signs of this disorder are:
  • reckless disregard for the safety of themselves or others
  • failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviours
  • deceitfulness such as repeated lying or deceit for personal profit or pleasure
  • lack of remorse for actions that hurt other people in any way
Borderline personality disorder
Borderline personality disorder refers to the symptoms being on the borderline between psychosis and neurosis. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) occurs in approximately 2% of the population. It accounts for 10% of all mental health outpatients and 20% of psychiatric inpatients. 75% of those diagnosed are women.
It is a disorder in which a person has
  • a pattern of unstable personal relationships
  • a self-image that is not well formed and poor impulse control in areas such as spending, sexual conduct, driving, eating, and substance abuse
Additionally, the person suffering from BPD fears being abandoned and will go to any length to prevent this.

Up to 75% of people with BPD have experienced sexual or physical abuse, which shows a strong link.

There may be suicidal threats, gestures or attempts made by the person with BPD, and often self harm occurs. Their mood may be badly affected by stress, with feelings of depression and anger readily provoked, with anxiety also a common occurrence. With extreme stress, the person with BPD may experience paranoid ideation (thoughts), or feel disconnected from reality.

Histrionic personality disorder
Histrionic personality disorder is characterised by a person who is always calling attention to themselves, who are lively and overly dramatic.

As they are overly dramatic minor situations can cause wild swings in emotions. They easily become bored with normal routines, and crave new, novel situations and excitement.

In relationships, they form bonds quickly, but the relationships are often shallow, with the person demanding increasing amounts of attention.

Narcissistic personality disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder is a disorder in which a person has
  • a grandiose (inflated) self-importance
  • preoccupation with fantasies or unlimited success
  • a driven desire for attention and admiration
  • an intolerance of criticism
  • and disturbed self-centred interpersonal relations
They are often referred to as being conceited, and they generally have a low self-esteem as well. They act selfish interpersonally, with a sense of entitlement over others.

Cluster C

Dependent personality
Dependent personality is evident by passively allowing others to assume responsibility for major areas of ones life due to lack of self-confidence or lack of ability to function independently. This leads to the person making their own needs secondary to the needs of others, and then becoming dependent on them.

While everyone is dependent on others in some parts of their lives, those with dependent personality disorder are dependent on almost all major areas of their lives, and view themselves poorly and good only through an extension of others.

Avoidant personality disorder
Avoidant personality disorder is where a person has an extreme fear of being judged negatively by other people, and suffers from a high level of social discomfort as a result.

They tend to only enter into relationships where uncritical acceptance is almost guaranteed, undergo social withdrawal, suffer low self-esteem, but have a great desire for affection and acceptance. However, they do not want the affection as much as they fear the rejection.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is characterised by a person who has
  • a decreased ability to show warm and tender emotions
  • a perfectionism that decreases the ability to see the larger picture
  • difficulty in doing things any way but their own
  • and an excessive devotion to work, as well as indecisiveness
Essentially, everything must be just right, and nothing can be left to chance. Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is different from obsessive-compulsive disorder and the latter must be ruled out.

Dangerous and severe personality disorder

The government first introduced the term dangerous and severe personality disorder in a consultation paper in 1999, which suggested how to detain and treat a small minority of offenders with mental disorders who pose a significant risk of harm to others and themselves.

The term DSPD has no legal or medical basis. DSPD is thought to be an extreme form of antisocial personality disorder - the diagnosis most commonly associated with psychopathy.