Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder 679
5. Is unable to discard worn-out or worthless objects even when they have no sentimental
value.
6. Is reluctant to delegate tasks or to work with others unless they submit to exactly his
or her way of doing things.
7. Adopts a miserly spending style toward both self and others; money is viewed as
something to be hoarded for future catastrophes.
8. Shows rigidity and stubbornness.
Diagnostic Features
The essential feature of obse ssive-compulsive personality disorder is a preoccupation
with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control, at the expense of
flexibility, openness, and efficiency. This patt ern begins by early adulthood and is present
in a variety of contexts.
Individuals with obse ssive-compulsive personality disorder attempt to maintain a
sense of control through painstaking attention to rules, trivial details, procedures, lists,
schedules, or form to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost (Criterion 1). They
are excessively careful and prone to repetiti on, paying extraordinary attention to detail
and repeatedly checking for possible mistakes. They are oblivious to the fact that other
people tend to become very annoyed at the de lays and inconveniences that result from this
behavior. For example, when such individuals misplace a list of things to be done, they
will spend an inordinate amount  of time looking for the list  rather than spending a few
moments re-creating it from memory and proceeding to accomplish the tasks. Time is
poorly allocated, and the most important tasks are left to the last moment. The perfection-
ism and self-imposed high standards of performance cause significant dysfunction and
distress in these individuals. They may beco me so involved in maki ng every detail of a