Personality and Mood Disorders Q 25

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Which of the following characteristics or client histories substantiates a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder?

  

     A. Delusional thinking

     B. Feelings of inferiority

     C. Disorganized thinking

     D. Multiple criminal charges

    

    

Correct Answer: D. Multiple criminal charges

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Clients with antisocial personality disorder are often sent for treatment by the court after multiple crimes or for the use of illegal substances. Disregard for and the violation of others’ rights are common manifestations of this personality disorder, which displays symptoms that include failure to conform to the law, inability to sustain consistent employment, deception, manipulation for personal gain, and incapacity to form stable relationships.

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Option A: Delusions are often part of psychotic disorders. They may occur along with hallucinations, which involve perceiving something that isn’t really there, like hearing voices or feeling bugs crawling on your skin. The nature of the delusional symptoms may play a central role in the diagnosis. Delusional disorder, for example, is characterized by non-bizarre delusions that often involve the misinterpretation of an experience or perception. In schizophrenia, the delusions may be bizarre and not rooted in reality.

Option B: An inferiority complex occurs when the feelings of inferiority are intensified in the individual through discouragement or failure. Those who are at risk for developing a complex include people who: show signs of low self-esteem or self-worth or have low status in their peer group.

Option C: Disorganized thinking is one of the primary symptoms of schizophrenia and it can lead to a variety of thought process disorders that cause disjointed thoughts, a collapse or sudden stop in thought process, randomly spoken words, and complete incoherence.

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