personality disorders are qualit atively distinct clinical synd romes. An alternative to the
categorical approach is the dimensional perspective that personality disorders represent
maladaptive variants of personality traits that merge imperceptibly into normality and
into one another. See Section III for a full description of a dimensional model for person-
ality disorders. The DSM-IV personality disord er clusters (i.e., odd-eccentric, dramatic-
emotional, and anxious- fearful) may also be viewed as dimensions representing spectra of
personality dysfunction on a continuum with other mental disorders. The alternative di-
mensional models have much in common and together appear to cover the important ar-
eas of personality dysfunction. Their integration, clinical utility, and relationship with the
personality disorder diagnostic categories and various aspects of personality dysfunction
are under active investigation.
General Personality Disorder
Criteria
A. An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the
expectations of the individual’s culture. This pattern is manifested in two (or more) of
the following areas:
1. Cognition (i.e., ways of perceiving and interpreting self, other people, and events).
2. Affectivity (i.e., the range, intensity, lability, and appropriateness of emotional re-
sponse).
3. Interpersonal functioning.
4. Impulse control.
B. The enduring pattern is inflexible and per vasive across a broad range of personal and
social situations.
C. The enduring pattern leads to clinically signi ficant distress or impairment in social, oc-
cupational, or other important areas of functioning.