Personality Disorders

Abstract

According to the DSM-5, “A personality disorder is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 645, emphasis in the original). The definition has some important elements. Personality disorders (PDs) persist over time, often for decades, sometimes for a lifetime. To determine whether or not an individual has a personality disorder, the characteristics must be considered to deviate markedly from the individual’s culture or subculture. It must be pervasive, characterizing the individual, rather than a quirk or an isolated symptom. Signs of the disorder must also be present reasonably early in life. Given that personality traits have a fairly strong genetic basis (Bockian, 2006), and experiences that put one at risk for a personality disorder rather frequently occur early in life, there are children who have developed personality disorders (Kernberg, Weiner, & Bardenstein, 2000); there are no age restrictions on the diagnosis.