Akademik

personality disorder n a psychopathological condition or group of conditions in which an individual's entire life pattern is considered deviant or nonadaptive although the individual shows neither neurotic symptoms nor psychotic disorganization

a deeply ingrained and maladaptive pattern of behaviour, persisting through many years. It is usually manifest by the time the individual is adolescent. The abnormality of behaviour must be sufficiently severe that it causes suffering, either to the patient or to other people (or to both). Some individuals with such personalities mature into happier people. Most forms of psychotherapy claim to be of therapeutic value, but the worth of any treatment remains debatable. See anankastic, antisocial personality disorder, avoidant, borderline, hysterical, paranoid, schizoid personality.