This is the official diagnostic criteria which psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists use to diagnose all personality disorders. This criteria comes from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, version 5. The person must meet the overall criteria for a Personality Disorder then meet the diagnostic criteria for the specific personality disorder, e.g. antisocial, narcissistic, or borderline.
The essential features of a personality disorder are impairments in personality (self and interpersonal) functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits. To diagnose a personality disorder, the following criteria must be met:
- A. Significant impairments in self (identity or self-direction) and interpersonal (empathy or intimacy) functioning.
- B. One or more pathological personality trait domains or trait facets.
- C. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual's personality trait expression are relatively stable across time and consistent across situations.
- D. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual's personality trait expression are not better understood as normative for the individual's developmental stage or socio-cultural environment.
- E. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual's personality trait expression are not solely due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., severe head trauma).