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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffPersonality is the combination of thoughts, emotions and behaviors that makes you unique. It's the way you view, understand and relate to the outside world, as well as how you see yourself. Personality forms during childhood, shaped through an interaction of two factors:
- Inherited tendencies, or your genes. These are aspects of your personality passed on to you by your parents, such as shyness or having a happy outlook. This is sometimes called your temperament. It's the "nature" part of the nature vs. nurture debate.
- Environment, or your life situations. This is the surroundings you grew up in, events that occurred, and relationships with family members and others. It includes such things as the type of parenting you had, whether loving or abusive. This is the "nurture" part of the nature vs. nurture debate.
Personality disorders are thought to be caused by a combination of these genetic and environmental influences. You may have a genetic vulnerability to developing a personality disorder and your life situation may trigger the actual development of a personality disorder.
References
- Personality disorders. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed May 11, 2010.
- Personality disorders. In: Hales RE, et al., eds. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2008. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed May 11, 2010.
- Lenzenweger MF. Epidemiology of personality disorders. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 2008;31:395.
- Cohen P. Child development and personality disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 2008;31:477.
- Devens M. Personality disorders. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. 2007;34:445.
- Silk KR. Personality disorders. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 11, 2010.
- Skodol AE, et al. The future of personality disorders in DSM-V? American Journal of Psychiatry. 2009;166:388.
- Livesly WJ. Research trends and directions in the study of personality disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 2008;31:545.
- Staying well when you have a mental health condition. Mental Health America. http://www.nmha.org/go/mental-health-month/staying-well-when-you-have-a-mental-illness. Accessed May 11, 2010.
- Shipman K, et al. Mental health treatment of child abuse and neglect: The promise of evidence-based practice. Pediatric Clinics of North America. 2009;56:417.
- Hall-Flavin DK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 12, 2010.
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