🧠 Personality Disorders — According to DSM-5-TR and ICD-11
The category of Personality Disorders (PDs) is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) — a standard issued by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
According to DSM-5-TR, personality disorders are grouped into three main clusters, totaling 10 distinct types 👇
🧩 Cluster A — Odd / Eccentric Personalities
Common features: Unusual thoughts or behaviors that deviate from social norms.
Often linked with paranoia or eccentric beliefs.
- Paranoid Personality Disorder — Deep distrust and suspicion of others; constant belief that others intend harm or betrayal.
- Schizoid Personality Disorder — Social detachment; prefers isolation; shows limited emotional expression.
- Schizotypal Personality Disorder — Strange beliefs (e.g., magical thinking), odd speech or dress; resembles schizophrenia but less severe.
🔥 Cluster B — Dramatic / Emotional / Erratic Personalities
Common features: Emotional instability, impulsivity, and difficulty regulating behavior or relationships.
4️⃣ Antisocial Personality Disorder — Disregard for social norms; deceitful, manipulative, exploitative; lack of remorse (common among criminals).
5️⃣ Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) — Intense mood swings, fear of abandonment, chronic emptiness, and unstable self-image.
6️⃣ Histrionic Personality Disorder — Seeks attention excessively; dramatic, flirtatious, or overly emotional behavior.
7️⃣ Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) — Inflated self-importance, craving admiration, and lack of empathy for others.
🌫 Cluster C — Anxious / Fearful Personalities
Common features: Chronic fear, insecurity, and avoidance.
8️⃣ Avoidant Personality Disorder — Avoids social contact due to fear of rejection; desires relationships but feels unworthy.
9️⃣ Dependent Personality Disorder — Excessive reliance on others; fear of separation or making independent decisions.
🔟 Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) — Preoccupation with order, perfectionism, and control (different from OCD, which is an anxiety disorder).
📘 Additional Notes
Personality disorders are not simply “bad behavior”, but deeply ingrained patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that develop from adolescence and cause long-term distress or dysfunction.
Treatment often requires long-term psychotherapy, such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for BPD.
Many patients exhibit overlapping traits from multiple disorders.
🧠 1️⃣ DSM-5-TR System (APA, 2022)
Used primarily in the United States and medical settings worldwide.
Categorized into three clusters (A, B, C) with 10 major types, as listed above.
- Cluster A: Paranoid, Schizoid, Schizotypal
- Cluster B: Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic
- Cluster C: Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive
🧩 2️⃣ ICD-11 System (World Health Organization, 2022)
Used across Europe and countries following WHO health frameworks.
ICD-11 (2022) abolished the “10 fixed types” model and replaced it with a dimensional system that evaluates severity and trait domains instead.
Main Diagnosis:
“Personality Disorder” (single category)
Severity Levels:
- Mild
- Moderate
- Severe
Trait Qualifiers (Dominant Personality Features):
- Negative Affectivity — Strong negative emotions (similar to BPD)
- Detachment — Social withdrawal (similar to Schizoid)
- Dissociality — Coldness, lack of empathy (similar to Antisocial/Narcissistic)
- Disinhibition — Impulsivity, poor self-control (similar to Histrionic)
- Anankastia — Perfectionism and over-control (similar to OCPD)
ICD-11 also includes a “Borderline pattern qualifier” to specify BPD-like traits.
👉 In simple terms:
The WHO’s new model views personality disorders as highly individualized, with hundreds of possible combinations depending on severity and dominant traits — rather than just 10 fixed types.
💡 3️⃣ Emerging Perspectives in Modern Psychology
Some proposed disorders are not officially recognized in DSM or ICD but are found in research and clinical discussions, such as:
| Emerging Concept | Key Characteristics | Closely Related To |
|---|---|---|
| Passive-Aggressive Personality | Indirect resistance, sarcasm, intentional inefficiency | Dependent / Avoidant |
| Sadistic Personality | Pleasure from harming others | Antisocial |
| Depressive Personality | Persistent pessimism, self-criticism | Mood-related |
| Self-Defeating Personality | Self-sabotaging behaviors | Borderline |
| Psychopathic Personality | Cold, manipulative, intelligent but amoral | Antisocial / Narcissistic |
Some of these types appeared in DSM-IV (before 2013) but were removed due to insufficient scientific evidence.
📚 Summary
| Classification System | Number of Types | Conceptual Model |
|---|---|---|
| DSM-5-TR (APA, 2022) | 10 types (3 clusters) | Categorical “box-type” model |
| ICD-11 (WHO, 2022) | 1 main disorder + 5 trait domains | Dimensional model |
| Modern Research Approaches | 15–20+ potential variants | Flexible, trait-based hybrid model |
📖 References
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). DSM-5-TR: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., Text Revision).
- World Health Organization. (2022). ICD-11: Personality Disorders and Related Traits.
- Widiger, T. A., & Costa, P. T. (2013). Personality Disorders and the Five-Factor Model of Personality.
- Krueger, R. F., & Hobbs, K. A. (2020). Dimensional Models of Personality Pathology.
- Mayo Clinic. (2023). Personality Disorders — Symptoms and Causes.
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
🔖 Hashtags
#PersonalityDisorders #ICD11 #DSM5TR #Psychology #NeuroNerdSociety #MentalHealth #BPD #NPD #Psychiatry #TraitModel
0 Comments