antisocial personality disorder

Personality disorder defined by the absence of concern for others’ feelings or social norms, a pervasive pattern of rule-breaking, and presence of conduct disorder by age 15.

avoidant personality disorder

Personality disorder defined by aloofness and extreme sensitivity to potential rejection, despite an intense desire for affiliation and affection.

borderline personality disorder

Personality disorder defined by impulsiveness and unpredictability, an uncertain self-image, intense and unstable social relationships, and extreme swings of mood.

dependent personality disorder

A disorder in which people are overly concerned about maintaining relationships. People with this disorder often allow others to make decisions for them and are reticent to make demands that could challenge relationships.

dialectical behavior therapy

A therapeutic approach to borderline personality disorder that combines clientcentered empathy and acceptance with behavioral problem solving, social skills training, and limit setting.

five-factor model

A personality theory that isolates five major dimensions of personality: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

histrionic personality disorder

Personality disorder defined by overly dramatic behavior, emotional excess, and sexually provocative behavior.

narcissistic personality disorder

Personality disorder defined by extreme selfishness and self-centeredness, a grandiose view of one’s uniqueness, achievements, and talents, an insatiable craving for admiration and approval from others, willingness to exploit to achieve goals, and expectation of much more from others than she or he is willing to give in return.

object-relations theory

Variant of psychoanalytic theory that focuses on the way children internalize (introject) images of the people who are important to them (e.g., their parents), such that these internalized images (object representations) become part of the ego and influence how the person reacts to the world.

obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Personality disorder defined by inordinate difficulty making decisions, hyperconcern with details and efficiency, and poor relations with others due to demands that things be done just so, as well as their unduly conventional, serious, formal, and stingy emotions.

paranoid personality disorder

Personality disorder defined by expectation of mistreatment at the hands of others, suspicion, secretiveness, jealousy, argumentativeness, unwillingness to accept blame, and cold and unemotional affect.

personality disorders

A group of disorders, listed separately on Axis II of the DSM-IV-TR, regarded as longstanding, inflexible, and maladaptive personality traits that impair social and occupational functioning.

psychopathy

A personality syndrome related to antisocial personality disorder, but defined by an absence of emotion, impulsivity, manipulativeness, and irresponsibility.

schizoid personality disorder

Personality disorder defined by emotional aloofness, indifference to the praise, criticism, and feelings of others, maintenance of few, if any, close friendships, and solitary interests.

schizotypal personality disorder

Personality disorder defined by eccentricity, oddities of thought and perception (magical thinking, illusions, depersonalization, derealization), digressive speech involving overelaborations, and social isolation; under stress, behavior may appear psychotic.