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Flashcards in Week 6 Personality Disorders Deck (29)
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1
Q

In your own words, what is ‘personality disorder’?

A

A personality disorder is a serious condition, which the exact causes are not well understood.

A person will be diagnosed with having a personality disorder if they extreme thought and behaviours - so extreme they have trouble coping with day to day life.

People with Personality Disorders get strong feelings they cannot ignore, which cause them to act in a way they cannot control.

2
Q

What are some potential causes of Personality Disorder?

A
  • Family Hx of the illness
  • Abuse or neglect in childhood
  • Unstable family growing up
  • Diagnosed with childhood conduct disorder
  • loss or parents through death or traumatic divorce
  • Other significant trauma
  • Genetic Variations
3
Q

What is the difference between a Personality Trait and a Personality Disorder?

A

A personality trait = habitual pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving. You will have this trait, but it might not affect all of your life, and it is possible that it will change.

A personality disorder is a way of seeing the world that deviates from the norm and means you have certain behaviours that negatively affect all of your life, all of the time, since adolescent or early adulthood

4
Q

Which is NOT true regarding the development of a personality disorder?

A. Symptoms are non-existent in childhood
B. Can occur post brain trauma
C. Can have biological or genetic origins
D. Becomes fixated in the early 20s

A

A. Symptoms are non-existent in childhood

Personality Begins to take shape in childhood and is fixated by early 20s.

  • People with Borderline PD, for example, had especially high rates of childhood sexual trauma.
  • Children who experienced verbal abuse were 3x more likely to develop borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive or paranoid personality disorders in adulthood.
5
Q

Which of the Personality Disorder clusters contains personalities characterised by eccentric behaviour or others view them as odd, or peculiar?

A. Cluster A
B. Cluster B
C. Cluster C
D. Cluster D

A

A. Cluster A - Odd, Bizare, Exentric

Types include:

  • Paranoid PD
  • Schizotypal PD
  • Schizoid - PD
6
Q

What are some potential Neuroanatomy changes in people with Personality Disorders?

A

Volume reduction in cortical structure
Amygdala and limbic system variations
Problematic functioning in prefrontal cortices
Serotonin level changes

7
Q

Which of the following is NOT true with the ‘Paranoid Personality Disorder’ ?

A. Is a Cluster A type Personality Disorder 
B. The are suspicious of others
C. Projects blame onto others
D. Exhibits dramatic behaviour 
E. Perceived Attacks
A

D. Exhibits dramatic behaviour (is a trait associated with Cluster B type Personality Disorders)

Traits of Paranoid PD include:

S - Spouse infidelity suspected
U - Unforgiving (bear grudges)
S - Suspicious of Others
P - Perceived Attacks 
E - Enemy in everyone
C - Confiding in others feard
T - Threats seen in benign events
8
Q

True or False

Cluster A: Paranoid Personality Disorder is a precusor for Schizonphrenia!

A

True

Such a pervasive mistrust of others can also be seen in schizophrenia and the two conditions share similar symptoms such as withdrawing from others and preferring isolation.

Other disorders Paranoid PD can be associated with:

  • Chronic CNS impairment
  • Amphetamine Use
  • Depression
  • OCD
9
Q

Which is NOT correct regarding Schizoid Personality Disorder?

A. Absence of close friends
B. Is a Cluster B PD
C. Have an odd appearance and style
D. Indifferent to praise or criticism 
E. Low Birth Weight and Malnutrition increase risk
A

B. Is a Cluster B PD

Schizoid PD is a Cluster A PD and Traits of Schizoid PD include:

D - Detached Affect
I - Indifferent to praise or criticism 
S - Sexually Uninterested
T - Tasks are done solitarily
A - Absence of close friends
N - Neither desire nor enjoys relationships
T - Takes please in few activities
10
Q

Which is not true about Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD)

A. A sufferer of social anxiety
B. Unusual thinking and speech
C. Reduced activation in the prefrontal cortex
D. Highly social
E. Cluster A type PD
A

D. Highly social

Schizotypal Personality Disorder Traits:

M - Magical Thinking
E - Eccentric Behaviour or Appearance

P - Paranoid Ideation
E - Experiences unusual perception
C - Constricted (or inappropriate) affect
U - Unusual thinking and speech
L - Lacks Friends
I - Ideas of reference 
A - Anxiety (Socially)
R - Rule our psychosis and Paranoid PD
11
Q

Cluster B of the personality disorders includes which disorders?

A. Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic
B. Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal
C. Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive
D. Schizoid, Avoidant, Antisocial

A

A. Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic

12
Q

For diagnosis of an Anti-Social Personality Disorder, DSM-5 requires that individual shows a pattern of ___ out of seven of the possible behaviours

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

  • Failure to conform to social norms
  • Deceitfulness
  • Impulsivity
  • Aggressiveness
  • Disregard for safety for self or others
  • Irresponsibility
  • Lack of Remorse
A

C. 3

For diagnosis of an Anti-Social Personality Disorder, DSM-5 requires that individual shows a pattern of 3/7 of the possible behaviours

  • Failure to conform to social norms
  • Deceitfulness
  • Impulsivity
  • Aggressiveness
  • Disregard for safety for self or others
  • Irresponsibility
  • Lack of Remorse
13
Q

Which is not correct for Anti-Social Personality Disorder?

A. Childhood is marked with horrible parental behaviour
B. Mutation of gene Monoamine Oxidase A 
C. Women more common than Men
D. Often spend time in jail
E. Cluster B Personality
A

C. Women more common than Men

Anti-Social PD: Males are severely more affected than females

C - Cannot Follow Law including childhood
O - Obligations Ignored
R - Remorselessness
R - Recklessness
U - Underhanded
P - Planning Deficit (Impulsive)
T - Temper (irritable, aggressive)

Others points of note
- Mutation of gene Monoamine Oxidase A leads to excess levels of dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline in CNS

14
Q

Which is true regarding Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?

A. Persuasive patterns of poor impulse control and mood instability
B. Characteristics viewed as odd, unusual, or peculiar
C. The individual is unduly suspicious of others
D. None of the above

A

A. A pervasive pattern of poor impulse control and instability in mood, interpersonal relationships, and self‐image

BPD’s central feature is that of instability
The way that people with BPD relate to others is termed “splitting”

15
Q

Which is not true of Cluster B: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?

A. Experiences unusual perception
B. Hyperactivity of the HPA axis from childhood sex abuse
C. High Heritability 
D. Disturbances in own Identity
E. Feel quite empty
A

A. Experiences unusual perception (this is from Schizotypal PD)

BPD Mnuemonic

A - Abandonment Fears
M - Mood Instability

S - Suicide
U - Unstable, intense relationships
I - Impulsivity
C - Comtrol of anger is poor
I - Identity Disturbances
D - Dissociative/paranoid symptoms
E - Emptiness

There are also abnormalities in the Amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Negative emotional leads to increase blood flow to Amygdala –> HPA axis –> a heightened sense of fear.

16
Q

Individuals with which personality disorder will do anything to be the centre of attention?

A. Narcissitic PD (Cluster B)
B. Histrionic PD (Cluster B)
C. Paranoid PD (Cluster A)
D. Avoidant PD (Cluster C)

A

B. Histrionic PD (Cluster B)

  • Exaggerated emotional reactions approaching theatrical behaviour
  • Show extreme pleasure being the centre of attention and will behave in whatever way to necessary to achieve it
  • Extremely concerned with their physical appearance
17
Q

The Mneumonic PRAISE ME is attributed to which Personality Disorder?

A. Narcissitic PD (Cluster B)
B. Histrionic PD (Cluster B)
C. Paranoid PD (Cluster A)
D. Avoidant PD (Cluster C)

A

B. Histrionic PD (Cluster B)

P - Provocative Behaviour
R- Relationships, considered more intimate than they are
A - Attention seeking
I - Influenced Easily
S - Style of Speech, lacks detail, wants to impress
E - Emotionally shallow

M - Made up or heavy makeup to get attention
E - Exaggerated emotions

18
Q

True or False

Neural correlations to Histrionic PD are unknown.

A

True

They have not been investigated, however, there are some alterations in cortical thickness.

19
Q

Which Personality Disorder is associated with an ‘unrealistic inflated sense of self-importance’?

A. Narcissitic PD (Cluster B)
B. Histrionic PD (Cluster B)
C. Defendant PD (Cluster C)
D. Avoidant PD (Cluster C)

A

A. Narcissistic PD (Cluster B)

Mneumonic -
S - Special (believes they are)
P - Preocuppied with fantasies of success
E - Envious, Entitled, Excessive 
C - Conceited
I - Interpersonally Exploitive
A - Arrogant
L - Lacks Empathy
20
Q

Which personality is associated with
- ‘maintaining superficial exploitative relationships with others’
- ‘having unrealistic self-expectations’
- ‘impulsive’
and want to a considered a ‘special person”

A. Histrionic PD (Cluster B)
B. Avoidant PD (Custer C)
C. Schizotypal PD (Cluster A)
D. Narcissistic PD (Cluster B)

A

D. Narcissistic PD (Cluster B)

Furthermore, people suffering from Narcissistic PD have structural abnormalities of the amygdala and “reduced feedback modulation of fusiform gyrus by the amygdala during fear processing”

i.e. Deficits in recognition and affective responding to fearful expressions

21
Q

Cluster C Personality Disorders are associated with:

A. Anxious and Fearful Behaviour
B. Odd and Eccentric Behaviour
C. Dramatic and Erratic Behaviour
D. All the above

A

A. Anxious and Fearful Behaviour

Cluster C Personalities include

  • Avoidant PD
  • Dependent PD
  • Obsessive Compuslive PD
22
Q

Cluster C: Avoidant Personality Disorder (PD) is associated with:

A. ‘having unrealistic self-expectations’
B. ‘want to a considered a special person’
C. ‘fearful of new people’
D. ‘sexually uninterested’

A

C. ‘fearful of new people’

A - Avoids Occupational Activities
V - Views self as socially inept
O - Occupied with being criticised or rejected
I - Inhibited in new interpersonal situations
D - Declines to get involved with new people
E - Embarrassed by engaging in new activities
R - Refrains from intimate relationships

These people generally suffer from loneliness as they want to have friends and social networks but unfortunately suffer from Social Phobia

23
Q

Which is not a characteristic of Cluster C: Dependent Personality Disorder:

A. Difficulty making own decisions
B. Exaggerated by fears of caring for own self
C. Hypersensitive to criticism
D. Refrains from intimate relationships

A

D. Refrains from intimate relationships

Cluster C: Dependent PD Mneumonic

D - Difficulty making everyday decisions
E - Excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others
P - Preoccupied with fears or being left to take care of self
E - Exaggerated concerns of being unable to care for seld
N - Needs others to assume responsibility
D - Difficulty expressing disagreement
E - End of close relationship = beginning of another
N - Noticeable difficulties in starting/doing own things
T - Take care of me

24
Q

Which is true of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)?

A. PD involving intense perfectionism
B. Do not experience obsessions and compulsions
C. Indecisive and demanding
D. Have increased metabolic activity in the cortico-basal ganglia network

A

D. All the above

25
Q

In Cluster C: Avoidant Personality Disorder the individuals cognitive avoidance typically serves to avoid thinking about things that lead to ____ feelings?

A. Dysphoric
B. Intense
C. Elevated
D. Unpredictable

A

A. Dysphoric

Dysphoria is the opposite: it’s a negative feeling, especially about life in general. When someone is full of dysphoria, they’re dysphoric: unhappy. Being dysphoric is a lot like being depressed.

26
Q

Typical behaviours or strategies found in __________ personality disorder might include being deceptive/exploitive or stealing?

A. Anti-Social (Cluster B)
B. Avoidant (Custer C)
C. Schizotypal (Cluster A)
D. Narcissistic (Cluster B)

A

A. Anti-Social PD (Cluster B)

Remember that prison type and criminal behaviour is prevalent in Anti-Social PD.

C - Cannot Follow Law including childhood
O - Obligations Ignored
R - Remorselessness
R - Recklessness
U - Underhanded
P - Planning Deficit (Impulsive)
T - Temper (irritable, aggressive)
27
Q

Typical core beliefs about self found in __________ personality disorder might include,” I am supernaturally gifted, a loner, vulnerable, unreal.”

A. Schizoid
B. Antisocial
C. Narcissistic
D. Schizotypal

A

D. Schizotypal

These people have magical thinking, experiences unusual perceptions and are a loner

28
Q

Typical core beliefs about others found in __________ personality disorder might include, “ they are untrustworthy, malevolent.”

A. Schizotypal
B. Dependent
C. Avoidant
D. Antisocial

A

A. Schizotypal - A Cluster A PD

These people are generally suspicious of others, paranoid, etc

29
Q

____________ is characterized by a pattern of preoccupations with orderliness, perfectionism, and control:

A. Paranoid personality disorder
B. Dependent personality disorder
C. Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorder
D. Anti-Social Personality disorder

A

C. Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorder