Personality Disorders

Summary

This encyclopedia entry provides an overview of personality disorders, defined as enduring, inflexible patterns of inner experience and behavior that deviate from cultural expectations and cause distress or impairment. The authors describe both categorical and dimensional approaches to classification and discuss the limitations of traditional categorical diagnosis. They summarize contemporary dimensional models and their relationship to broader personality trait frameworks. Consistent with the encyclopedia's focus, the entry also considers connections between personality pathology and religious or spiritual functioning.