Brains, Patterns, and Breakdowns

Interpreting the DSM-5:

A Creative Exploration of Personality Disorders

Test your DSM-5 Knowledge

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Have you ever thought about how personality disorders are diagnosed or how they are distinguished and grouped from one another? Clinicians use Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria to evaluate symptoms .

Did you know that roughly 9.1% of adults are diagnosed with a mental disorder from the DSM-5 book? That equals 1 in 11 people who are considered mentally disoriented. Below, you can check the prevalence of these disorders, divided within this 9% ratio among mature individuals.

The manual contains over 300 distinct mental disorders classified into 20 main diagnostic categories. The manual includes 10 specific disorders that are categorized into 3 main clusters.

Cluster A: marked by odd/eccentric behaviors.

Cluster B: by dramatic, emotional, or erratic behaviors

Cluster C: Cluster C by anxious or fearful behaviors

The prevalence of different types of personality disorders varies. Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder has the highest rate of occurrence among these disorders; however, Dependent and Histrionic Personality Disorders have the lowest occurrence rates. As these disorders have different occurrence rates, they are viewed, studied, and treated differently from one another and from all other personality disorders.

Why is Cluster C more prevalent?

Why is prevalence higher in the U.S.?

The prevalence of Cluster C disorders is the highest due to their association with anxiety-based characteristics such as fear and perfectionism that exist in large numbers and can be more easily diagnosed. Because the United States has a higher level of awareness of mental health issues and more access to services, along with many high-stress jobs that increase anxiety-related behavioral patterns, the rates for these types of disorders are significantly higher than those found in other countries.

Each Personality Disorder Designated to its Respective Cluster:

Cluster A:

• Paranoid PD: Distrust and suspiciousness.

• Schizoid PD: Detachment from social relationships and limited emotional expression.

• Schizotypal PD: Acute discomfort in relationships, cognitive/perceptual distortions, and eccentric behavior

  
  

  Cluster B:

• Antisocial PD: Disregard for and violation of the rights of others.

• Borderline PD: Instability in relationships, self-image, and emotions (impulsive).

• Histrionic PD: Excessive emotionality and attention-seeking.

• Narcissistic PD: Grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.

Cluster C:

• Avoidant PD: Social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity.

• Dependent PD: Submissive/clinging behavior related to an excessive need to be taken care of.

• Obsessive-Compulsive PD: Preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control.

Basis For Designation:

Symptomatology: Disorders are grouped based on similar clinical symptoms(e.g., eccentric behavior in Cluster C).

Genetic/Environmental Risk Factors: Genetic, developmental, or environmental factors often are similar among individuals within any particular cluster; thus, individuals who fall within the Cluster A group commonly share similar genetic and developmental roots.

Clinical Presentation: They are arranged based on how they appear to clinicians(e.g., anxious, overly dramatic, or excessively eccentric).

Limitations: Even though these clusters are found in the DSM-5, they are somewhat debated, as many people who have a personality disorder meet the diagnostic criteria for multiple disorders across clusters.

We hope you found some insight and interest information regarding the DSM-5 manual!

Test what you just learned with our DSM-5 Quiz:

DSM-5 Quiz

References:

National Institute Of Mental Health (NIMH)., "Personality Disorders"

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/personality-disorders

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