People with schizoid personality disorder often prefer solitary activities.
Pronunciation
/ˈskɪtsɔɪd,ˈskɪdzɔɪd,ˈskɪzɔɪd/
Specialty
Psychiatry, clinical psychology
Symptoms
Pervasive emotional detachment, reduced affect, lack of close friends, apathy, anhedonia, unintentional insensitivity to social norms, sexual abstinence, preoccupation with fantasy,[1] autistic thinking without loss of skill to recognize reality[2]
Family history; cold, indifferent, or intrusive parenting; traumatic brain injury; low birth weight; prenatal malnutrition
Risk factors
Family history[3]
Diagnostic method
Based on symptoms
Differential diagnosis
Other mental disorders with psychotic symptoms (schizophrenia, delusional disorder, and a bipolar or depressive disorder with psychotic features), personality change due to another medical condition, substance use disorders, autism spectrum disorder, other personality disorders and personality traits
Not general practice but may include low dose benzodiazepines, β-blockers, nefazodone, bupropion[4]
Prognosis
Typically poor[5][6][7]
Frequency
0.8%[3][5][8]
Personality disorders
Cluster A (odd)
Paranoid
Schizoid
Schizotypal
Cluster B (dramatic)
Antisocial
Borderline
Histrionic
Narcissistic
Cluster C (anxious)
Avoidant
Dependent
Obsessive–compulsive
Not otherwise specified
Depressive
Depressive
Cyclothymic
Others
Passive–aggressive
Masochistic
Sadistic
Psychopathy
Haltlose
Immature
Post-traumatic organic
v
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Schizoid personality disorder (/ˈskɪtsɔɪd,ˈskɪdzɔɪd,ˈskɪzɔɪd/, often abbreviated as SzPD or ScPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships,[9] a tendency toward a solitary or sheltered lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, detachment, and apathy. Affected individuals may be unable to form intimate attachments to others and simultaneously possess a rich and elaborate but exclusively internal fantasy world.[10][11] Other associated features include stilted speech, a lack of deriving enjoyment from most activities, feeling as though one is an "observer" rather than a participant in life, an inability to tolerate emotional expectations of others, apparent indifference when praised or criticized, a degree of asexuality, and idiosyncratic moral or political beliefs.[12]
Symptoms typically start in late childhood or adolescence.[10] The cause of SzPD is uncertain, but there is some evidence of links and shared genetic risk between SzPD, other cluster A personality disorders, and schizophrenia.[13][14][15][16][17] Thus, SzPD is considered to be a "schizophrenia-like personality disorder".[3][18] It is diagnosed by clinical observation, and it can be very difficult to distinguish SzPD from other mental disorders or conditions (such as autism spectrum disorder, with which it may sometimes overlap).[19][20]
The effectiveness of psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments for the disorder has yet to be empirically and systematically investigated. This is largely because people with SzPD rarely seek treatment for their condition.[10] Originally, low doses of atypical antipsychotics were also used to treat some symptoms of SzPD, but their use is no longer recommended.[21] The substituted amphetamine bupropion may be used to treat associated anhedonia.[4] However, it is not general practice to treat SzPD with medications, other than for the short-term treatment of acute co-occurring disorders (e.g. depression).[22] Talk therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may not be effective, because people with SzPD may have a hard time forming a good working relationship with a therapist.[10]
SzPD is a poorly studied disorder, and there is little clinical data on SzPD because it is rarely encountered in clinical settings. Studies have generally reported a prevalence of less than 1%.[3][8][23] It is more commonly diagnosed in males than in females.[8] SzPD is linked to negative outcomes, including a significantly compromised quality of life, reduced overall functioning even after 15 years, and one of the lowest levels of "life success" of all personality disorders (measured as "status, wealth and successful relationships").[5][24][25] Bullying is particularly common towards schizoid individuals.[26][27] Suicide may be a running mental theme for schizoid individuals, though they are not likely to attempt it.[28] Some symptoms of SzPD (e.g. solitary lifestyle, emotional detachment, loneliness, and impaired communication), however, have been stated as general risk factors for serious suicidal behavior.[29][30]
^ ab"F60 Specific personality disorders" (PDF). The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders – Diagnostic criteria for research. Geneva: World Health Organization. p. 149.
^American Psychiatric Association (1968). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2nd ed.). Washington, D. C. p. 42. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890420355.dsm-ii (inactive 31 January 2024). ISBN 978-0-89042-035-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ abcdEsterberg ML, Goulding SM, Walker EF (December 2010). "Cluster A Personality Disorders: Schizotypal, Schizoid and Paranoid Personality Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence". Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. 32 (4): 515–528. doi:10.1007/s10862-010-9183-8. PMC 2992453. PMID 21116455.
^ abSonny J (1997). "Chapter 3, Schizoid Personality Disorder". Personality Disorders: New Symptom-Focused Drug Therapy. Psychology Press. pp. 45–56. ISBN 978-0-7890-0134-4.
^ abcEmmelkamp P, Kamphuis J (19 December 2013). Personality Disorders. Taylor & Francis (published December 19, 2013). p. 54. ISBN 978-1-317-83477-9.
^Cite error: The named reference :12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcTriebwasser J, Chemerinski E, Roussos P, Siever LJ (December 2012). "Schizoid personality disorder". Journal of Personality Disorders. 26 (6): 919–926. doi:10.1521/pedi.2012.26.6.919. PMID 23281676. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022.
^Dierickx S, Dierckx E, Claes L, Rossi G (July 2022). "Measuring Behavioral Inhibition and Behavioral Activation in Older Adults: Construct Validity of the Dutch BIS/BAS Scales". Assessment. 29 (5): 1061–1074. doi:10.1177/10731911211000123. hdl:10067/1775430151162165141. PMID 33736472. S2CID 232302371.
^ abcd"Schizoid Personality Disorder". MedlinePlus. U.S. National Library of Medicine. 2014. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022.
^Reber A, Allen R, Reber E (2009) [1985]. The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology (4th ed.). London; New York: Penguin Books. p. 706. ISBN 978-0-14-103024-1. OCLC 288985213.
^Akhtar S (2000-01-01). Broken Structures: Severe Personality Disorders and Their Treatment. Jason Aronson, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-4616-2768-5.
^Kendler KS, Czajkowski N, Tambs K, Torgersen S, Aggen SH, Neale MC, et al. (November 2006). "Dimensional representations of DSM-IV cluster A personality disorders in a population-based sample of Norwegian twins: a multivariate study". Psychological Medicine. 36 (11): 1583–1591. doi:10.1017/S0033291706008609. PMID 16893481. S2CID 21613637. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022.
^Arciniegas DB (2015). "Psychosis". CONTINUUM: Lifelong Learning in Neurology. 21 (3): 715–736. doi:10.1212/01.CON.0000466662.89908.e7. ISSN 1080-2371. PMC 4455840. PMID 26039850. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022.
^Kendler KS, Myers J, Torgersen S, Neale MC, Reichborn-Kjennerud T (May 2007). "The heritability of cluster A personality disorders assessed by both personal interview and questionnaire". Psychological Medicine. 37 (5): 655–665. doi:10.1017/S0033291706009755. PMID 17224098. S2CID 465473. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021.
^Raine A, Allbutt J (February 1989). "Factors of schizoid personality". The British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 28 (1): 31–40. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8260.1989.tb00809.x. PMID 2924025.
^Collins LM, Blanchard JJ, Biondo KM (October 2005). "Behavioral signs of schizoidia and schizotypy in social anhedonics". Schizophrenia Research. 78 (2–3): 309–322. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2005.04.021. PMID 15950438. S2CID 36987880.
^Charney DS, Nestler EJ (2005-07-21). Neurobiology of Mental Illness. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-19-518980-3.
^Lugnegård T, Hallerbäck MU, Gillberg C (May 2012). "Personality disorders and autism spectrum disorders: what are the connections?". Comprehensive Psychiatry. 53 (4): 333–340. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2011.05.014. PMID 21821235. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022.
^Cook ML, Zhang Y, Constantino JN (February 2020). "On the Continuity Between Autistic and Schizoid Personality Disorder Trait Burden: A Prospective Study in Adolescence". The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 208 (2): 94–100. doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000001105. PMC 6982569. PMID 31856140.
^Thylstrup B, Hesse M (2009-04-01). ""I am not complaining"--ambivalence construct in schizoid personality disorder". American Journal of Psychotherapy. 63 (2): 147–167. doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2009.63.2.147. PMID 19711768. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022.
^"Schizoid personality disorder - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic". www.mayoclinic.org. August 17, 2017. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
^"Schizoid Personality Disorder (pp. 652–655)". Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (2013). American Psychiatric Association. 2013. ISBN 978-0-89042-555-8 – via Internet Archive.
^Skodol AE, Bender DS, Morey LC, Clark LA, Oldham JM, Alarcon RD, et al. (April 2011). "Personality disorder types proposed for DSM-5". Journal of Personality Disorders. 25 (2): 136–169. doi:10.1521/pedi.2011.25.2.136. PMID 21466247. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021.
^Ullrich S, Farrington DP, Coid JW (December 2007). "Dimensions of DSM-IV personality disorders and life-success". Journal of Personality Disorders. 21 (6): 657–663. doi:10.1521/pedi.2007.21.6.657. PMID 18072866. S2CID 30040457.
^Millon T, Millon CM, Meagher S (2004). Personality Disorders in Modern Life. [electronic resource]. Library Genesis. Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons (published November 8, 2004). ISBN 978-0-471-66850-3.
^Descriptions from DSM-III (1980) and DSM-5 (2013):"Schizoid PD, Associated features (p. 310)" and "Schizoid PD (p. 652–655)".
^Masterson J, Klein R (17 June 2013). Disorders of the Self – The Masterson Approach. New York: Taylor & Francis (published June 17, 2013). pp. 25–27, pp. 54–55, pp. 95–143 (therapy). ISBN 978-0-87630-786-1. LCCN 95020920. OL 788549M. Alt URL
^Levi-Belz Y, Gvion Y, Levi U, Apter A (April 2019). "Beyond the mental pain: A case-control study on the contribution of schizoid personality disorder symptoms to medically serious suicide attempts". Comprehensive Psychiatry. 90: 102–109. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2019.02.005. PMID 30852349.
^Attademo L, Bernardini F, Spatuzzi R (2021). "Suicidality in Individuals with Schizoid Personality Disorder or Traits: A Clinical Mini-Review of a Probably Underestimated Issue" (PDF). Psychiatria Danubina. 33 (3): 261–265. doi:10.24869/psyd.2021.261. PMID 34795159. S2CID 244385145. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 22, 2022.
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