Clinical Characteristics of Personality and Schizophrenia Types

Personality Disorders Classification

Cluster A: Odd or Eccentric Disorders

• Paranoid Personality Disorder

  Suspicion, mistrust, resentment, self-conceited hypersensitivity; partners may be unaware of the disorder.

• Schizoid Personality Disorder

  Insensitive to partners, lonely, avoids close relationships.

• Schizotypal Personality Disorder

  Extravagant, magical thinking, suspicious, low affective life.

Cluster B: Dramatic, Emotional, or Erratic Disorders

• Histrionic Personality Disorder

  Theatrical behavior, obsession for attention, often manipulative (more common in women).

• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

  Unstable, panic regarding abandonment, low self-esteem, self-injurious behavior, uncontrollable impulses.

• Narcissistic Personality Disorder

  Vanity, belief in superiority; expects preferential treatment.

• Antisocial Personality Disorder (Conduct/Psychopathic)

  Reckless (temerarious), malicious, fearless, lacks noble sentiments, often unaware of their problem.

Cluster C: Anxious or Fearful Disorders

• Avoidant Personality Disorder

  Fear of rejection; avoids new experiences and situations, leading to avoidance behaviors.

• Dependent Personality Disorder

  Intense fear of abandonment; seeks to please others; constantly dependent on others for decisions.

• Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (Anankastic)

  Perfectionists, rigid righteousness, preoccupied with trivial issues, continuous doubting.

Other Specified Personality Traits

• Self-Defeating (Masochistic)

  Avoids pleasure; drawn to painful situations.

• Sadistic Personality

  Obtaining power through psychological or physical violence.

• Depressive Personality

  Characterized by pervasive sadness.

• Passive-Aggressive Personality

  Rebels against authority while remaining dependent on it.

Impulse Control Disorders

• Intermittent Explosive Disorder

  Inability to control impulses, which are intermittent.

• Kleptomania

  Compulsion to steal objects, often of little value; more common in women.

Cognitive Disorders

• Amnesic Syndrome

  Retains immediate memory and remote (old) memory, but struggles with recent memory.

• Alzheimer's Disease

  Note regarding lack of clear initial evidence of abnormality.

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Key Alterations in Schizophrenia

• Thought Alterations

  Slowing of thought, unrelated words (word salad), delusions, unfounded beliefs.

• Perceptual Alterations

  Hallucinations, such as hearing voices, which can be compelling.

• Psychomotor Alterations

  Expressionless face, slow movement, or, conversely, hyperactivity.

• Affective Alterations

  Apathetic; inability to convey or share joy or sadness (flat affect).

• Behavioral Alterations

  Oddities and eccentricities.

Types of Schizophrenia

• Paranoid Schizophrenia

  Delusions predominate.

• Catatonic Schizophrenia

  Psychomotor symptoms predominate.

• Residual Schizophrenia

  The disease becomes chronic.

Incidence is similar in men and women, though unmarried men are often noted. Higher prevalence among the poor. Occurs in all cultures.

Related Conditions

• Delirium Tremens

  Always associated with alcohol withdrawal; can produce hallucinations or delusions.

• Flashback Phenomenon

  Disorder related to the consumption of certain drugs (e.g., hallucinogens).