Definition
Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is characterized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association 2013) by a pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking, beginning in early adulthood and present across contexts. Criteria include using physical appearance to draw attention to self; discomfort when not the center of attention; inappropriate provocative or seductive behavior; self-dramatization and theatricality; rapidly shifting, shallow, exaggerated expression of emotion; impressionistic speech with paucity of details; suggestibility in relationships; and overestimation of intimacy in relationships.
Categorization
HPD is classified with the cluster B personality disorders in DSM-5.
Current Knowledge
Prevalence
Prevalence rates hover around 1.8% of the population, with HPD most commonly diagnosed in women.
Clinical Correlates
Individuals with HPD struggle to achieve intimacy in both...
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References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
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Rolston, C. (2017). Histrionic Personality Disorder. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_9203-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_9203-1
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