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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–13Cite as

Personality Disorders

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Synonyms

Mental illness; Psychological disorder; Psychopathology

Definition

A personality disorder is a pervasive and stable pattern of behavior that emerges in adolescence or early adulthood, in which distressing and impairing behaviors deviate from the expectations of the individual’s society.

Introduction

The ten personality disorders (PDs) discussed in this chapter are divided into three clusters based on phenotypic similarity, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association 2013). Cluster A PDs (paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal) present with weak or nonexistent social attachments and odd/eccentric behavior, which may be an alternative expression of a schizophrenia predisposition (Miller et al. 2001). Cluster B PDs (antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic) share common features with one another, such as impulsive acting out,unpredictable behaviors, and dramatic presentation (Sutker and Allain 2002...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Talia Hashmani

Authors
  1. Talia Hashmani
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Correspondence to Talia Hashmani .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada

    Doug P. VanderLaan

  2. Child, Youth and Family Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Doug P. VanderLaan

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Hashmani, T. (2018). Personality Disorders. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_673-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_673-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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