Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
Personality disorder - passive-aggressive
Symptoms
People with this disorder resent responsibility and show it through their behaviors, rather than by openly expressing their feelings. They often use procrastination, inefficiency, and forgetfulness to avoid doing what they need to do or have been told by others to do.
Some common symptoms of passive-aggressive personality disorder include:
- Acting sullen
- Avoiding responsibility by claiming forgetfulness
- Being inefficient on purpose
- Blaming others
- Complaining
- Feeling resentment
- Having a fear of authority
- Having unexpressed anger or hostility
- Procrastinating
- Resisting other people's suggestions
A person with this disorder may appear to comply with another's wishes and may even demonstrate enthusiasm for those wishes. However, they:
- Perform the requested action too late to be helpful
- Perform it in a way that is useless
- Sabotage the action to show anger that they cannot express in words
Signs and tests
Personality disorders are diagnosed by psychological evaluation and a careful history of the symptoms.
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Review Date: 10/17/2008
Reviewed By: Linda Vorvick, MD, Seattle Site Coordinator, Lecturer,
Pathophysiology, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant
Studies, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Timothy
A. Rogge, MD, private practice in Psychiatry, Kirkland, Washington.
Also reviewed byDavid Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M.,
Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
