Avoidant Personality Disorder
What is Avoidant Personality Disorder
Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) involves individuals to possess insufficient skills and confidence that are necessities to engage with others in social situations. People that are diagnosed with the disorder yearn to form relationships with other individuals. They are incapable to do so by withdrawing from social interactions in order to stay away from anticipated criticism or ridicule. AvPD may be similar to both schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders. Individuals with any of the two are inclined to sequestration from social situations. They are content with social isolation and don’t see anything wrong with it.
Diagnostic Criteria for Avoidant Personality Disorder
The standard reference guide to mental disorders, Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM – IV – TR), states there are seven diagnostic criteria for avoidant personality disorder.
1. The person disparages himself/herself by concerning own self as being socially inept. The disparagement is particularly evident when the person needs to make social contacts with strangers. People with AvPD see themselves as uninviting or lesser to others.
2. The person is engrossed with being either rejected or criticized. Plenty of energy – both mental and physical – is spent fretting about and avoiding social situations to look upon as dangerous.
3. The person always attempts to avoid any possible humiliation by being unwilling to take social risks. The alternative is to seek out interactions that pledge the greatest amount of acceptance while minimizing the chances of being shamed or rejected.
4. The person’s sentiments of deficiencies curb him/her willingness to communicate with others in unacquainted social situations. Low self-esteem may subvert a person’s confidence in facing and conversing with new acquaintances.
5. The person believes it’s best to assume others are not safe to rely on. Other people need to prove they can be dependable. Moreover, others must continuously offer encouragement and support in order to convince them to participate in a social event.
6. The person is afraid of being ridiculed or shamed in close relationships. The fear empowers a person to be overly alert to behavioral cues that may denote disapproval or rejection. A solution for a person to take is to run away from a situation that he/she thinks others might turn against him/her.
7. The person evades occupational activities that entail consequential interpersonal connection. He/She may not bother with going to job interviews or try to get promoted because of the person’s perceptions that his/her abilities are not up to par according to the job description.
Causes of Avoidant Personality Disorder
There is not exact cause of avoidant personality disorder. Yet, there are numerous theories suggest the possible causes of AvPD. Most professionals subscribe to a biopsychosocial model of causation. They believe the causes are most like due to psychological factors, social factors, biological and genetic factors. The complexity and intertwined nature of all three factors imposes each individual to display AvPD instead of thinking just one of the factors play a major role. Furthermore, research shows that a person with AvPD has a scant increased risk for their children to inherit the disease. It seems to be related to both personality and temperament traits that are influenced by environmental and heredity factors. There are many childhood and adolescence anxiety disorder that have been combined with a temperament distinguished by behavioral inhibitions. They basically are bashful, tearful, and withdraw in new social situations.
Genetics factors have been hypothesized to cause avoidant personality disorder. There was a study involving Norwegian young adults that scientists found a 35% genetic effect for AvPD. Also, 83% of these genes are related to other personality disorders. Environmental factors such as parenting behaviors also play a role in AvPD. Households with low parental affection or nurturing were associated with an increased risk of AvPD when these children reached adulthood.
Treatments for Avoidant Personality Disorder
Treating people with avoidant personality disorder may involve medications and/or psychotherapy. Each person would be evaluated to understand more about his/her needs. It is likely that they are willing to seek treatment due to being dissatisfied with their social and occupational skills. A social network that is capable of assisting them through personal problems hasn’t been developed makes the individuals look for alternative avenues to discuss problems.
There are different kinds of therapies that are available to assist people with avoidant personality disorder. Psychodynamically oriented therapy involves the therapist empathizes with the patient’s extreme sense of shame and inadequacy in order to form a relationship of trust. In cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), the focus is changing misled cognitive thinking patterns by testing the genuineness of the assumptions behind them. Patients with AvPD may be reluctant to enter group therapy, but it is a way for them to gain social experience in a directed and secure environment. A bonus for them is getting feedback from others. For a person that desires to break out of a family pattern that reinforces the avoidant behavior, there is family or couple therapy available to utilize.
Resources About Avoidant Personality Disorder
MedlinePlus: Trusted Health Information for You
Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Psych Central: Learn. Share. Grow
HealthyPlace: America’s Mental Health Channel
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