Final answer:
Clients with personality disorders display enduring patterns of thought and behavior that may include impaired social skills and repetitive behaviors, which lead to significant distress or impairment. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) categorizes these disorders and trait theorists use models like the Five Factor Model to understand characteristic ways of behaving.
Step-by-step explanation:
Clients diagnosed with a personality disorder may exhibit a variety of pathological personality characteristics. These can include but are not limited to impaired social skills, repetitive motor behaviors, strict adherence to certain rituals, and preoccupation with specific subjects. Personality disorders are enduring, inflexible patterns of thought and behavior that lead to significant distress or impairment. These patterns are not due to substance use or another medical condition. Traits such as depression, anger, hostility, and anxiety, which can be associated with personality disorders, are known to affect overall health and well-being.
The American Psychological Association uses the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to guide diagnosis and classification of mental disorders. Despite controversy, the DSM's latest version maintained the original ten categories of personality disorders, offering also an alternative model. Overall, the classification of personality disorders is complex and subject to change as new research emerges.
Trait theorists, in understanding personality, identify characteristic ways of behaving through the Five Factor Model, which includes factors like openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These characteristic ways of behaving exist along a continuum and can help in forming a broader picture of an individual's personality profile.