Personality disorders flashcards
4 high-yield MRCP Part 1 cards from the Intellect Medicos Psychiatry course. Try to answer each question before you open it — then study them properly with spaced repetition, which brings each card back just before you would forget it.
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Which personality disorder cluster contains borderline, antisocial, histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders?
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Cluster B (dramatic, emotional, erratic).
Why? Cluster A is odd or eccentric (paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal); cluster C is anxious or fearful (avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive).
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What is the first-line treatment for borderline personality disorder?
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Structured psychological therapy, e.g. dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) for women in whom reducing recurrent self-harm is a priority.
Why? Features include emotional instability, impulsivity, unstable relationships, fear of abandonment and recurrent self-harm.
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A man avoids social contact because he fears criticism and rejection, but he wishes he had close friends. Which personality disorder fits best?
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Avoidant (anxious) personality disorder.
Why? In schizoid personality disorder the person is indifferent to relationships and prefers to be alone; in avoidant personality disorder they want relationships but are too fearful.
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What best distinguishes obsessive-compulsive personality disorder from OCD?
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In OCPD the rigid perfectionism feels right to the person (ego-syntonic, little insight); in OCD the obsessions feel intrusive and unwanted (ego-dystonic, insight usually kept).
Why? OCD causes marked anxiety from intrusive thoughts relieved by compulsions; OCPD is a lifelong trait of control, order and perfectionism.