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Annals of Psychophysiology                                                                                                        Volume 3, October 2016                  
©Advance Educational Institute & Research Centre                                                                    www.aeirc-edu.com 

ISSN 2412 - 3188 
 

Original Article 

Evaluate Personality Disorders Symptoms  

In Different Individuals 
Naima Akhlaq* Urooj Asghar, Tanzeela Gul, Syeda Yusra Ali,Noma Shah 

Jinnah University for women 

Corresponding Author: Tanzeela608@gmial.com 

 

Abstract 

A personality disorder is a disorder described by unchangeable patterns of thinking, feeling, or disclose to others that 

causes problems in personal, communal, and work situations.  They are characterized into three types: those 

characterized by odd/eccentric behavior, those characterized by suspenseful/erratic behavior, and those characterized 

by anxious/inhibited behavior. (catalog) BPD is widely diagnosed up to 20% of psychiatric patients have the 

borderline personality disorder, and it may occur in up to 2% of the general population. Biological and 

environmental factors are both implicated in the improvement of antisocial personality disorder. A survey was 

conducted in city of lights Karachi to ascertain the knowledge of building a character or how to build a character. 

The Personality Disorder test was administered by 500 persons who included mostly students, some Physicians, 

some older persons and single and married persons from age below 20 -above 30. The questionnaire was based on 

MCQs asking people to give fair opinion about what they feel about their emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, risk-

taking behavior, irritability, feelings of emptiness, suicide, self-injury and fear of abandonment, as well as 

changeable interpersonal relationships. Thus, this study examined the temporal dynamics of emotions, self-esteem, 

anger, social relationships with others and ability speaks about your rights.  Some of the questions asked by us 

included: They have difficulty in trusting others, His/her need is more important than others, Usually Mood swings, 

Feeling Depressed. This survey study show that personality disorder is mostly seen in females of age between 20 -

30. 

 

Keywords 

Personality Disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Self-Harming, Mood swings, ADHD 

 

Purpose of study 

To know the personality disorder in normal 

individual and how PD effect their lives. 

 

Introduction 

People vary in the ways that they view themselves 

and others, secure in relationships. It is quite 

common for these characteristics to periodically 

inhibit with a person’s skill to cope with life, and 

may also lead to difficulties in social 

communications. When these difficulties are severe 

and endless, and when they lead to significant 

personal or social problems, they are described as 

personality disorders. (Nic Alvin, et al. 2006) 

Personality disorders are common situation in our 

society. Epidemiological estimates suggest that 

between 5% to 13% of people living in the 

community have problems that would meet the 

diagnostic criteria for PD (Coid, J et al., 2006)Among 

30% to 40% of psychiatric out-patients and 40% to 

50% of psychiatric in-patients are thought to meet the 

principles for PD.8 Some 50 to 78% of prisoners 

have been found to have PD.(Casey p. 2000)Risk of 

suicide and accidental death is high and it is predicted 

that between 47% to 77% of people who commit 

suicide have PD.( Moran & Alvin ,2002, 

2006)Suicide rates in prison remain many times 

higher than for the normal population. Because some 

people with PD enroll in dangerous way of acting, 

they have a higher risk of abnormal or accidental 

death. (Martin, Cloninger, et al 1985) Personality 

disorders are over the most frequent of psychiatric 

disorders, and they regularly co-exist with each other 

as well as with other psychiatric disorders. (Oldham , 

et al. 1995) having no psychiatric disability appeared 

in an OR for life span substance reliance of 1.0; 

having one disorderliness 2.7, two disorders 3.9, and 

three or more shambles 9.1 (95% CI). (Glantz el at., 

2009)Therefore, having a psychiatric disability at all 

and/or having more than one psychiatric disorder 

occur to increase the relative risk for life span 

individual dependence. A personality disorder is a 

disorder described by unchangeable patterns of 

thinking, feeling, or disclose to others that causes 

problems in personal, communal, and work 

situations. They are characterized into three types: 

those characterized by odd/eccentric behavior, those 

characterized by dramatic/erratic behavior, and those 

characterized by anxious/inhibited behavior. 

(Widiger, 2006). The personality disorders are highly 

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Naima Akhlaq 63 

  

Annals of Psychophysiology                                                                                                        Volume 3, October 2016                  
©Advance Educational Institute & Research Centre                                                                    www.aeirc-edu.com 

ISSN 2412 - 3188 
 

comfort; if a person has one, it’s likely that he or she 

has others personality disorder as well. Also, the 

number of people with personality disorders is 

predicted to be as high as 15% of the population. 

(Grant et al, 2004) PD characterized into clusters. 

(American Psychiatric Association. 2000) 

 

Cluster A: Odd/eccentric (schizotypal, Paranoid and 

schizoid) 
Schizotypal: weird manners of speaking or dressing. 

They have difficulty to forming relationships. May 

react strangely in conversation, not answer back, or 

talk to self. Speech elaborate or difficult to follow. (It 

may be a mild form of schizophrenia) (Mayo clinic 

staff, 2016)  

Paranoid: suspicion in others. Apart to challenge the 

honesty of friends and read hateful intentions into 

others’ actions. Flat to anger and aggressive outbreak 

but otherwise emotionally cold. Often jealous, over 

careful, reserved, overly serious. (Bressert, S. 2016) 

Schizoid: Extreme self-questioning and withdrawal 

from relationships. Wish to be alone, little interest in 

others. Self-opinionated, distant, fantasizer. Fearful 

of close to others, with poor social skills, often seen 

as a “loner”.  (mayo clinic staff 2016) 

 

Cluster B: Erratic/ Dramatic (Antisocial, Histrionic, 

Narcissistic, Borderline)  

Antisocial: conscience History of betrayal, crime, 

legal problems, emotional and cruel behavior. Regret 

for hurting others. Cautious, careless, insensitive. At 

high risk for substance exploitation and alcoholism.  

Histrionic: steady attention seeking. Egoistic 

language, inspirational dress, melodramatic illnesses, 

all to gain attention. Believes that everyone loves 

him. Affecting, lively, overly dramatic, fascinated, 

and excessively flirty. (American Psychiatric 

Association, et al., 2014) 

Narcissistic: show feel of self-importance, absorbed 

by fantasies of self and success. Overestimate own 

achievement, Imagine others will recognize they are 

great. Good first impressions but poor longer-term 

relationships. Dishonest to others. Borderline: 

unsteady moods and extreme, stormy personal 

relationships. Self harm or suicidal threats. Self-

image variation and an ability to see others as “all 

good” or “all bad.”  

 

Cluster C: Inhibited/Anxious (Avoidant, Dependent, 

Obsessive-compulsive) 

Avoidant: psychologically anxious and distressed 

except for he or she is assured of being liked. In 

comparison with schizoid person, thirst for social 

communication. Fears disapproval and fear about 

being abashed in front of others. Avoids social 

communication due to fear of rejection. 

Dependent: Obedient, dependent, requiring Extra 

approval, Help, and advice. Be true to people and 

worried in losing them. Lacking self-confidence. 

Depressed when alone. May be suicidal if separation 

is threatened. 

 

Obsessive-compulsive: careful, well behaved, 

perfectionist. Extra need to do everything correct. 

Fear of failure can make this person accurate and 

controlling. Less expression of emotions. 

Borderline personality disorder is a continued 

disorder of personality followed by mood swings, 

unstable personal relationships, and identifying 

problems and it is generally associated with suicide. 

Since 1980, the year of the initial similarity of the 

criteria for personality disorders are indicated that 

BPD is clearly more common in women than men. 

According to the most recent edition of the book. 

(Rhee & Waldman, 2002) there is a 3:1 female to 

male gender ratio.  Biological and environmental 

factors are both implicated in the improvement of 

antisocial personality disorder (Huesmann, et al., 

2007) Biological abnormalities include low 

autonomic activity during stress, schizophrenia, right 

hemisphere abnormalities, sexual disorder, 

biochemical imbalances and reduced gray matter in 

the frontal lobes. (Lyons-Ruth et al., 2007) People 

with schizotypal personality disorder are usually 

termed as odd, if any, nearest relationships. They 

usually don't understand the result of their behavior 

on others. They establish expressive mistrust of 

others. These problems may start to serious anxiety 

and a set to turn incoming in social setting. (mayo 

clinic staff 2011) Schizoid personality disorder is a 

state in which people avoid social actions and 

normally shy away from inter-communication with 

others. They also have a finite range of emotional 

verbalization. (mayo staff 2016) Narcissistic 

personality disorder is a psychological disorder in 

which people have a bloated sense of their self-

importance, extra need for adoration and a lack of 

pity for others. But afterwards this mask of over-

confidence lies a weak self-esteem that's sensitive to 

the smallest judgment. (mayo staff 2014) All of the 

personality clusters have been recorded in case with 

element offense, with unfriendly personality usually 

being the most frequent; borderline personality is 

commonly the second most frequent cacciola et al,. 

2001) 

We all have different manners of thinking, feeling 

and behaving and these are the segments that make us 

who we are, our personality. We don’t always behave 

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Naima Akhlaq 64 

  

Annals of Psychophysiology                                                                                                        Volume 3, October 2016                  
©Advance Educational Institute & Research Centre                                                                    www.aeirc-edu.com 

ISSN 2412 - 3188 
 

in the same way, as our thinking, feelings and 

behaviors will often depend on the situation. But 

most of the time, we behave in totally a predictable 

way, or pattern. These patterns are those that make up 

our personality and express us as kind, shy, selfish, 

ambitious, and loving and so on. (Memiah limited 

2016) 

 

Methodology 

A survey was conducted in city of lights Karachi to 

ascertain the knowledge of building a character or 

how to build a character .The Personality Disorder 

test was administered by 500 persons which included 

mostly students, some Physicians, some older 

persons and single and married persons from age 

below 20 -above 30, to determine the rate of 

personality disorder in Pakistan .The questionnaire 

was based on MCQs asking people to give fair 

opinion about what they feel about their emotion dys-

regulation, impulsivity, risk-taking attitude, 

irritability, feelings of emptiness, suicide, self-injury 

and fear of abandonment, as well as changeable 

interpersonal relationships. which shows more 

prevalent in the general community than previously 

thoughts, and thus represents an important public 

health issue. Thus, this study examined the temporal 

dynamics of emotions, self-esteem, anger, social 

relationships with others and ability speak about your 

rights. 

 

Result 

The personality diagnostic questionnaire is a self-

report questionnaire derived from personality 

disorder section. The survey based study of 

personality disorder symptoms have produced 

inconsistent results, the result show that the females 

most affected by personality disorder i.e.: 78% 

female and 22% males affected by personality 

disorder shows in fig 1. By the help of survey this is 

observed that in the age of 20-30 mostly females 

affected i.e.: 39% whereas 22% males affected in this 

age which shows in fig 2. The survey showed that 

mostly people have difficulty to trust the people 

which show paranoid personality disorder i.e.: 41% 

people have difficulty, 28% people have no difficulty 

and 31% people sometimes feel difficulty to trusting 

on people which shows in fig 3. Those people that 

thinks that their needs are most important than others 

have narcissistic personality disorder. In this survey 

27% people say yes, 46% people say no and 27% 

people say sometimes which shows in fig 4. Mood 

swings, depression, afraid of being alone, thoughts of 

suicide and self-harming are the symptoms of 

borderline personality disorder. We observed that in 

people mood swings are most common i.e.: 42% that 

show in fig 5 and few people have depression i.e.: 

41% that show in fig 6. The highly educated people 

not think to suicide or self-harming by frustrated to 

life. Therefore, in our survey mostly people say no 

thoughts for suicide i.e.: 70% and for no self-harming 

are 64% that show in fig 8 & 9.

 

 

 
 

Figure 1 

male

22%

female

78%

Gender

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Naima Akhlaq 65 

  

Annals of Psychophysiology                                                                                                        Volume 3, October 2016                  
©Advance Educational Institute & Research Centre                                                                    www.aeirc-edu.com 

ISSN 2412 - 3188 
 

 
Figure 1 

 

 
Figure 2 

 

 
Figure 3 

 

 
 

Figure 4 

7%
12%

3%

30%
39%

9%

below20 20-30 above 30

Age wise PD patient  

Male

female

41%

28%

31%

yes

no

sometime

Trust Problems

0
10

20
30

40
50

yes

no

some time

27
46

27

Importance of Need

0

20

40

60

yes no some time

Mood Swings

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Naima Akhlaq 66 

  

Annals of Psychophysiology                                                                                                        Volume 3, October 2016                  
©Advance Educational Institute & Research Centre                                                                    www.aeirc-edu.com 

ISSN 2412 - 3188 
 

 
Figure 5 

 
Figure 6 

 

 
 

 

Figure 7 

0

20

40

60

yes
no

some times

30
29

41

Depression

0

20

40

60

26

47

27

Afraid of being alone

yes

no

some times

Yes 

18%

no 

70%

sometime

12%

Thought of suicide

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Naima Akhlaq 67 

  

Annals of Psychophysiology                                                                                                        Volume 3, October 2016                  
©Advance Educational Institute & Research Centre                                                                    www.aeirc-edu.com 

ISSN 2412 - 3188 
 

 
Figure 8 

 

Figure 9 

Discussion 

A survey study which was conducted in the city 

Karachi in which many people participated and 

according to result people have difficulty in trusting 

others, they are afraid of being alone, they get 

depressed without a reason, sometimes they feel 

uncomfortable in a social gathering and try to avoid 

people these all are leading factors to destroy a 

person personality. which can lead to disorders in the 

person. (John M. Grohol, Psy. D. 2016) 

Personality disorder are circumstances in which an 

individual vary significantly from an average person, 

in terms of how they think, feel or relate to others.  

 

As the results show that among male and females 

mostly females between age 20-30 affected by 

disorders of personality. In a person personality 

different types of disorder can be developed. As we 

collected data we saw people facing fear of trusting 

others which can be symptoms leading towards 

paranoid personality disorder, among the participates 

there were people who thinks to fulfill their needs 

firstly and then of others those people are affected 

with narcissistic personality disorder, there were 

people fighting with stress , depression and 

uncontrollable  emotions and also cases of suicidal 

attempt were seen by people those people are 

affected by borderline personality disorder and 

commonly people were facing symptoms of 

borderline personality disorder in this survey 

participants are  those who fear of being alone are 

affected with dependent personality 

disorder.(mind.org. 2016) Despite of all of these 

types of disorders this studied shows that people are 

dealing with various faults in their character which 

need to be corrected by creating different schemes or 

test to polish their personality. 

 

Conclusion 

This survey study show that personality disorder is 

mostly seen in females of age between 20 -30. The 

result shows that people are facing through paranoid 

personality disorder and borderline personality 

disorder that is they have problem of trusting people, 

mood swings and depression mostly. survey study 

concluded that majority of people have personality 

disorder of age between 20 -30 due to stress, bipolar 

disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 

(ADHD), brain tumor and fear and genetically etc. 

 

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Self harming

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Cold behaviour by

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Naima Akhlaq 68 

  

Annals of Psychophysiology                                                                                                        Volume 3, October 2016                  
©Advance Educational Institute & Research Centre                                                                    www.aeirc-edu.com 

ISSN 2412 - 3188 
 

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http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizoid-personality-disorder/home/ovc-20214901
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizoid-personality-disorder/home/ovc-20214901
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizotypal-personality-disorder/home/ovc-20198939?p=1
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizotypal-personality-disorder/home/ovc-20198939?p=1
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizoid-personality-disorder/home/ovc-20214901
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizoid-personality-disorder/home/ovc-20214901

