Cluster B Personality Disorders

Overview

• Cluster B includes borderline, antisocial, narcissistic, and histrionic personality disorders.
• Known as the 'wild cluster' due to emotional instability.
• Commonly seen in clinical settings.
• Core features: emotional instability, poor self-esteem, unstable identity, sensitivity to rejection.
• Tendency towards negative emotions, linked to high neuroticism.

Common Traits

• Emotional instability with feelings of sadness, anger, irritability, and emptiness.
• Often misdiagnosed as mood disorders.
• Low self-esteem and an unstable sense of identity.
• Sensitive to rejection or criticism.
• Differences in clinical presentation mainly due to severity and gender.
• Gender differences: Borderline & histrionic more common in women; antisocial & narcissistic more common in men.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

• Key Features: Chronic instability, identity disturbance, emotional instability, self-harm, and impulsivity.
• Mnemonic: I DESPAIR.
• Symptoms: Identity issues, dysphoria, emotional swings, self-harm, dissociation, anger, impulsivity, unstable relationships.
• Diagnosis: More common in women.
• Treatment: Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

• Key Features: Persistent pattern of violating others' rights.
• Mnemonic: ACID LIAR.
• Symptoms: Criminality, impulsivity, recklessness, deceit, irresponsibility, aggression, lack of remorse.
• Diagnosis: More common in men.
• Challenges: Difficult to treat due to low motivation.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

• Key Features: Inflated self-importance, entitlement, need for admiration.
• Symptoms: Arrogance, fantasies of success, envy, lack of empathy, manipulation.
• Diagnosis: More common in men.
• Levels of Severity: Less impairing than BPD or ASPD.
• Social Challenges: Relationship difficulties due to need for validation.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

• Key Features: Need to be center of attention, dramatic behaviors.
• Symptoms: Seductiveness, emotional expression, suggestibility, intimate relationship misperception.
• Diagnosis: More common in women.
• Severity: Least impairing of cluster B.
• Cultural Influence: Behavior reflects societal gender expectations.

Conclusion

• Cluster B disorders share core pathologies but differ in severity and cultural gender expressions.
• Upcoming discussions will cover the final cluster of personality disorders.