Case Study A
Sloan is an eighteen-year-old girl who is pregnant and has gone in search for her biological father for the first time in her life. Her father's friends are disgruntled when she behaves oddly to them. They perceive her as attention-seeking, reacting very exaggeratedly to any push-back to her requests, and even going so far as to behave seductively toward her father's 40-year-old friend because he was busy at his job in an effort to regain his attention.
Which disorder would Sloan most likely to be diagnosed with?
Histrionic personality disorder
If Johan is describing believing he is the next coming of Jesus Christ and is previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, what kind of symptoms of schizophrenia is he displaying?
Delusions, "positive" symptoms
When do personality disorders start manifesting in a person's behavior?
Childhood!
A cluster B personality disorder characterized by irresponsible, impulsive, deceitful behavior, a lack of a conscience, empathy, and remorse, and the failure to comply with social norms.
Antisocial personality disorder.
If you had a question about the exam between now and Sunday night, what would you do to get into contact with Mickey?
Email them!
Dr. Brooks has a new patient, Jackson, who has been referred to her because of his numerous previous suicide attempts. He is also a "adrenaline junkie," known for his impulsive dare-devil stunts that often get him sent to the ER. In his relationships, his ex-girlfriends describe him as clingy, demanding, and in need of reassurance that they still loved him. When asked, Jackson says that it's because he is afraid that his girlfriend will leave him, and they always have.
Which disorder would you be most likely to diagnose Jackson with?
Borderline personality disorder
What symptom is Lena exhibiting and which cluster of symptoms does it belong to?
Affective flattening/flat affect, "negative" symptom cluster
What causes might contribute to the development of schizotypal personality disorder?
Possibly a phenotype of a schizophrenia genotype (i.e., a kind of expression of the genes that cause schizophrenia), childhood maltreatment, or generalized brain deficits.
A negative symptom of schizophrenia characterized by an absence of speech.
Alogia
What is one possible cause of schizotypal personality disorder?
Potential expression of the genes related to schizophrenia, childhood maltreatment, generalized brain deficits.
Camilla has found that her new girlfriend, Gabby, has low-self esteem and high anxiety. Gabby is a high achiever academically, but seeks Camilla's reassurance that she is indeed smart. When Camilla is very focused on her schoolwork, Gabby often takes that as a sign that Camilla is angry with her, and Gabby becomes upset and seeks Camilla's assurance that she is not angry with her. When Gabby notices that Camilla is a little more grumpy that usual, Gabby tip-toes around Camilla like she is waiting for Camilla to explode, even though Camilla does not have anger issues or has ever been unkind to Gabby. Camilla would like to better support Gabby because she is concerned that Gabby seems so anxious that she is doing something 'wrong' all the time.
Which disorder would Gabby be most likely diagnosed with?
Avoidant personality disorder
Ricardo's family has sought help from doctors after they began noticing that he engaged in long staring periods, would not communication with his family members, and, when they tried to move him, he would begin to hold the position.
Which disorder would you most likely diagnose Ricardo with?
Sorry! A trick question. Ricardo is exhibiting symptoms of catatonia. However, catatonia is its own disorder PLUS used to diagnose schizophrenia. Ricardo is not exhibiting any other signs of schizophrenia, so he'd most likely be diagnosed with catatonia.
What is one potential cause for borderline personality disorder?
A cluster A personality disorder that is characterized by a pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships.
Schizoid personality disorder.
A negative symptom of schizophrenia characterized by a lack of pleasure or indifference.
Anhedonia
Kimberly reports to her psychologist of feeling like spiders are crawling up her legs and up her arms, but not seeing them. She is adamant that there are spiders, even when Dr. Rivers takes photos and videos and proves to Kimberly that she is not experiencing spiders crawling up her extremities. What symptom is this and what disorder is it related to?
Hallucinations (physical), schizophrenia
Miranda is struggling with needing to maintain her surgical tray. Each tool must be exactly straight or she feels as if she cannot begin her surgery. She becomes extremely upset when someone disrupts the organization of her surgical tray, and feels as if she must fix it before continuing the surgery.
What disorder would you most likely diagnose Miranda with?
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
What is one potential cause of schizoid personality disorder?
Possibly childhood shyness, a history of abuse or neglect.
A disorder characterized by an exaggerated and unreasonable sense of self-importance and a preoccupation with receiving attention.
Narcissistic personality disorder
If a patient sat down with a psychologist and began rambling, their communication running off into tangents, their speech seemingly not related to the questions asked or the previous sentences, which cluster of symptoms would you identify these behaviors as?
Alyssa is finding it very difficult to cope with decision-making. She finds it overwhelming and terrifying to choose things, and is dreadfully terrified of picking the wrong thing and driving her boyfriend, Evan, away. She begs him to pick things for her all the time, such as her college major or job offer.
Which disorder would you most likely diagnose Alyssa with?
Dependent personality disorder
Derek is known for his wacky sense of style. He tends to wear layer after layer of clothing and, when distressed, strips them off. Derek does not like meeting new people, and will interrogate them to determine if they are a spy or not when being introduced. He prefers to spend his time decoding the newspaper, searching for the cure to cancer.
Which disorder would you most likely diagnose Derek with?
Schizotypal personality disorder
Which two disorders may be caused by the failure to learn empathy as a child?
Narcissistic and histrionic personality disorders
Which personality disorder outside of cluster A disorders may have a relationship to schizophrenia, because people related to those with schizophrenia have a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with this disorder?
Which two disorders are often diagnosed as 'boy' and 'girl' versions of the same behaviors?
Histrionic personality disorder for girls; antisocial personality disorder for boys.