Schizophrenia & Personality Disorders?

[HA]

Can a person have a personality disorder as well as a schizophrenia?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Definitely. It's not at all uncommon, in fact.

A psychiatrist I know believes there is a strong link between obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (note: not OCD) and schizophrenia...

 

[HA]

What other personality disorders can people with schizophrenia have? How common are these personality disorders in people with schizophrenia?

Does the same apply to Bipolar?

What causes personality disorders?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

What other personality disorders can people with schizophrenia have?

I suppose many are possible. See personality disorders and schizophrenia - Google Search for some information as well as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision | Behavenet

How common are these personality disorders in people with schizophrenia?

I'm not sure, exactly... as I said, I don't think it's uncommon but IO don't have statistics...

Does the same apply to Bipolar?

Yes. Disorders like scizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, etc., are all known as Axis I diagnoses in the DSM multiaxial system. Recognizing that Axis I disorders can and often do coexist with personality disorders, DSM allows for coding personality disorders on Axis II (Axis III is used for medical conditions, illnesses, or injuries which may be affecting the Axis I diagnosis; Axis IV is for life events or problems like loss of employment or end of relationship or conflict with children that may affecy the Axis I condition; Axis V is used to estimate the GAF: "The overall level at which an individual functions includes social, occupational, academic, and other areas of personal performance and may be expressed as a numerical score.").

What causes personality disorders?

That's a matter of some dispute (especially with respect to antisocial personality disorder) but most likely it is a combination of biological factors and experiential/developmental factors.

 

[HA]

Thank you.

I have done this google search but could not find anything that specifically discussed the diagnosis of schizophrenia and each of the personality disorders.

I did see from reading the DSM IV link above that the cluster A disorders have this added note: "Does not occur exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia, a Mood Disorder With Psychotic Features, or another Psychotic Disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition."

I just wonder how the others would look when combined with schizophrenia.

The personality disorder due to medical condition is interesting as it breaks things down into the various symptoms that would effect personality. Some people with dementia have a drastic change in their personality in the areas that are included in this list but I don't think you would say it is dementia with a personality disorder or would you?
paraphilic coercive disorder | Behavenet

I find the term personality disorder to be so.......negative. This is the only word I can think of right now but that does not quite fit either. I guess the way I see it is that people in general, see personality as a very important part of the person. To say someone has a personality disorder is like saying they have a soul disorder....to me. Would it not be better to actually give a name to these conditions and use them on the Axis 1?

 

[HA]

Does a personality disorder just suddenly develop or is there a lifetime of some of the behaviours, then it changes at some point?

 

[Cat Dancer]

I find the term personality disorder to be so.......negative. This is the only word I can think of right now but that does not quite fit either. I guess the way I see it is that people in general, see personality as a very important part of the person. To say someone has a personality disorder is like saying they have a soul disorder....to me. Would it not be better to actually give a name to these conditions and use them on the Axis 1?

Oh, I agree with this so much.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I find the term personality disorder to be so.......negative. This is the only word I can think of right now but that does not quite fit either. I guess the way I see it is that people in general, see personality as a very important part of the person. To say someone has a personality disorder is like saying they have a soul disorder....to me.

In extreme cases (e.g., psychopathy, aka antisocial personality disorder), "soul disorder" isn't an innacurate description. But in most cases the word "disorder" is used because that's what it is... a personality profile/structure that is disordered to the point where it significantly interferes with effective personal and interpersonal functioning.

Would it not be better to actually give a name to these conditions and use them on the Axis 1?

No... they differ in type, quality, degree of interference, etc. And placing them on a separate Axis emphasizes that a personality disorder can co-exist with an Axis I disorder.

Does a personality disorder just suddenly develop or is there a lifetime of some of the behaviours, then it changes at some point?

It develops over time, typically with early evidence in childhood and obvious disturrbance of functioning by adolescence. However, in children and adolescents, a personality disorder is not diagnosed, though it may be described as a conduct disorder. The point is that during those years the personality is still forming so things may change. The diagnosis of a personality disorder requires that the symptoms are durable (persist over time) and that the individual be at least 18 years of age with symptoms appearing prior to that time.