1) Personality disorders (PD) consist of a loosely-bound cluster of sub-types. Which of the following common features are evident in PD?
2) Which of the following is the most well-known of the Personality disorders ?
3) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of individuals with paranoid personality disorder
4) An Individual with a schizotypal personality disorder will usually exhibit which of the following characteristics?
5) Which of the following is a subtype of Dramatic/Emotional Personality Disorders (Cluster B)
6) The term 'sociopath' or 'psychopath' is sometimes used to describe which type of personality disorder
7) An individual with narcissistic personality disorder will routinely overestimate their abilities and inflate their accomplishments, and this is characterized by which of the following?
8) The apparent lack of empathy and the tendency to exploit others for self-benefit, has lead psychologists to compare narcissistic personality disorder with which one of the following?
9) Which of the following are considered to be the main features of avoidant personality disorder?
10) Some clinicians have come to believe that antisocial personality disorder and social phobia are both components of a broader spectrum called:
11) An Individual with Dependent Personality Disorder will exhibit which of the following?
12) An Individual with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder will exhibit which of the following characteristics?
13) Which of the following is NOT considered to be a risk factors for personality disorders ?
14) The formalistic similarities between Cluster A disorders and schizophrenia have led researchers to argue that they are part of a broader
15) According to psychodynamic theory which of the following is NOT deemed to be characteristic of the parents of an individual with paranoid personality disorder
16) Antisocial Personality Disorder is closely associated with criminal and antisocial behaviour. Because of this, considerable effort has been invested in attempting which of the following?
17) Personality disorders are an enduring patterns of behaviour that persist from childhood into adulthood and because of this fact, one of the best predictors of APD in adulthood is a diagnosis of
18) Behaviour of individuals with Antisocial Personality Disorder often appears impulsive and unpredictable due to switching quickly and unpredictably between:
19) More recent research has linked Borderline Personality Disoder (BPD) with bipolar disorder, and the two are often comorbid. Some individuals with BPD belong to a broader:
20) Evidence suggests that individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder have a number of brain abnormalities that may give rise to impulsive behaviour. There is evidence for dysfunction in brain:
21) According to psychodynamic theory individuals are sometimes motivated to respond to the world through the perspectives they have learnt from important other people in their developmental past. This is called:
22) Psychodynamic theories of personality disorders that individuals with weak egos engage in a defence mechanism called:
23) Narcissistic personality disorder is also closely associated with antisocial personality disorder (APD),. Which of the following is not a way in narcissistic individuals will regularly act:
24) Which of the following is not usually associated with Avoidant Personality Disorder?
25) Which of the following is a particular example of psychodynamic treatment which attempts to strengthen the individual's weak ego so that they are able to address issues in their life without constantly flipping from one extreme view to another:
26) There is one particular form of therapy that has been successfully used to treat individuals with personality disorders and involves providing them with insight into their dysfunctional ways of thinking, and is designed to provide them with the necessary skills to overcome these problematic ways of thinking and behaving. Which of the following is this therapy ?
27) Cognitive behavioural therapy may be used to treat an individual with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder by challenging:
28) In the treatments of individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder a therapist may change dysfunctional schemata by:
29) Which of the following could be described as a stage of schemata therapy for personality disorder?
30) Which of the following is not a DSM-IV-TR criterion for schizoid personality disorder?
Paranoid personality disorders is characterized by a pervasive pattern of unwarranted distrust and suspicion of others that involves interpreting their motives as malicious. Diagnosis is by clinical criteria. Treatment is with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Patients with paranoid personality disorder distrust others and
assume that others intend to harm or deceive them, even when they have no or insufficient justification for these feelings. From 2.3 to 4.4% of the general US population are estimated to have paranoid personality disorder. It is thought to be more common among men. There is some evidence of increased prevalence in families. Some evidence suggests a link between this disorder and emotional and/or physical abuse and victimization during childhood. Comorbidities are
common. Paranoid personality disorder is rarely the sole diagnosis. Common comorbidities include thought disorders (eg, schizophrenia
Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is characterized by psychosis (loss of contact with reality), hallucinations (false perceptions), delusions (false beliefs), disorganized speech and behavior, flattened affect... read more ),
anxiety disorders
Overview of Anxiety Disorders Everyone periodically experiences fear and anxiety. Fear is an emotional, physical, and behavioral response to an immediately recognizable external threat (eg, an intruder, a car spinning on... read more (eg, social phobia [social anxiety disorder]),
posttraumatic stress disorder
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is recurring, intrusive recollections of an overwhelming traumatic event; recollections last > 1 month and begin within 6 months of the event. The pathophysiology... read more ,
alcohol use disorders
Alcohol Toxicity and Withdrawal Alcohol (ethanol) is a central nervous system depressant. Large amounts consumed rapidly can cause respiratory depression, coma, and death. Large amounts chronically consumed damage the liver... read more , and another personality disorder (eg,
borderline
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Borderline personality disorder is characterized by a pervasive pattern of instability and hypersensitivity in interpersonal relationships, instability in self-image, extreme mood fluctuations... read more ).
Symptoms and Signs of PPD
Patients with paranoid personality disorder suspect that others are planning to exploit, deceive, or harm them. They feel that they may be attacked at any time and without reason. Even though there is little or no evidence, they persist in maintaining their suspicions and thoughts.
Often, these patients think that others have greatly and irreversibly injured them. They are hypervigilant for potential insults, slights, threats, and disloyalty and look for hidden meanings in remarks and actions. They closely scrutinize others for evidence to support their suspicions. For example, they may misinterpret an offer of help as implication that they are unable to do the task on their own. If they think that they have been insulted or injured in any way, they do not forgive the person who injured them. They tend to counterattack or to become angry in response to these perceived injuries. Because they distrust others, they feel a need to be autonomous and in control.
These patients are hesitant to confide in or develop close relationships with others because they worry that the information may be used against them. They doubt the loyalty of friends and the faithfulness of their spouse or partner. They can be extremely jealous and may constantly question the activities and motives of their spouse or partner in an effort to justify their jealousy.
Thus, patients with paranoid personality disorder can be difficult to get along with. When others respond negatively to them, they take these responses as confirmation of their original suspicions.
Clinical criteria (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition [DSM-5])
For a diagnosis of paranoid personality disorder, patients must have
A persistent distrust and suspiciousness of others
This distrust and suspicion are shown by the presence of ≥ 4 of the following:
Unjustified suspicion that other people are exploiting, injuring, or deceiving them
Preoccupation with unjustified doubts about the reliability of their friends and coworkers
Reluctance to confide in others lest the information be used against them
Misinterpretation of benign remarks or events as having hidden belittling, hostile, or threatening meaning
Holding of grudges for insults, injuries, or slights
Readiness to think that their character or reputation has been attacked and quickness to react angrily or to counterattack
Recurrent, unjustified suspicions that their spouse or partner is unfaithful
Also, symptoms must have begun by early adulthood.
Clinicians can usually distinguish paranoid personality disorder from other personality disorders by the pervasiveness of its paranoia regarding others (eg, as opposed to the more transient paranoia of borderline personality) and by the core feature of each disorder:
Paranoid personality disorder can be distinguished from delusional disorder Delusional Disorder Delusional disorder is characterized by firmly held false beliefs (delusions) that persist for at least 1 month, without other symptoms of psychosis. Delusions are distinguished from mistaken... read more (persecutory type), schizophrenia Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is characterized by psychosis (loss of contact with reality), hallucinations (false perceptions), delusions (false beliefs), disorganized speech and behavior, flattened affect... read more , and a depressive disorder or bipolar disorder Overview of Mood Disorders Mood disorders are emotional disturbances consisting of prolonged periods of excessive sadness, excessive joyousness, or both. Mood disorders can occur in children and adolescents (see Depressive... read more with psychotic features because in these disorders, episodes of psychotic symptoms (eg, delusions, hallucinations) are prominent.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
No treatments have been proved effective for paranoid personality disorder.
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