Match each clinical vignette describing a patient's pervasive interpersonal and behavioral patterns to the most likely personality disorder diagnosis.
- A 35-year-old accountant is continually late submitting reports due to repeatedly checking them for formatting errors. He refuses to let his assistant help, insisting his method is the only correct one, and sees no issue with his behavior.Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
- A 28-year-old actor frequently belittles his peers and expects constant praise for his 'unique talent.' He manipulates friends to advance his career and lacks empathy, though he has no history of unlawful behavior.Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- A 41-year-old man lives alone, collects crystals he believes offer protection from 'negative energy fields,' and feels intensely anxious even around familiar people because he suspects they are secretly plotting against him.Schizotypal Personality Disorder
- A 24-year-old technician eats lunch alone in her car every day. She desperately wants to join her colleagues in the breakroom but is convinced they will find her boring and harshly judge her every word.Avoidant Personality Disorder
- A 30-year-old programmer works the night shift and has no friends by choice. He describes himself as indifferent to the praise or criticism of his supervisor and shows a restricted range of emotional expression.Schizoid Personality Disorder
Answer
The vignettes match as follows: The rigid accountant has Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder; the grandiose actor has Narcissistic Personality Disorder; the eccentric crystal collector has Schizotypal Personality Disorder; the fearful but lonely technician has Avoidant Personality Disorder; and the indifferent programmer has Schizoid Personality Disorder.
Each personality disorder is defined by specific, pervasive patterns of inner experience and behavior. Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder is marked by rigid perfectionism; Narcissistic Personality Disorder by grandiosity and lack of empathy; Schizotypal Personality Disorder by cognitive/perceptual distortions and eccentricities; Avoidant Personality Disorder by extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation; and Schizoid Personality Disorder by detachment from social relationships and restricted emotional expression.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Differentiating personality disorders requires identifying the underlying motivations for behavior (e.g., reason for social isolation, type of grandiosity, ego-syntonic vs. ego-dystonic nature of symptoms).