A 29-year-old man declines a promotion that would require presenting to clients. He says he longs for close friendships but avoids colleagues because he is certain they will find him inferior and reject him. He feels inadequate and socially inept despite normal competence. Which personality disorder best fits this presentation?

• A Schizoid personality disorder
• B Dependent personality disorder
• C Avoidant personality disorder ✓
• D Paranoid personality disorder

Explanation

Avoidant personality disorder is defined by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, with a genuine desire for connection that fear of rejection suppresses. The discriminating fact against schizoid disorder is the desire for relationships: schizoid patients are indifferent to social contact and do not want friends, whereas avoidant patients want them but avoid them out of fear.

Reference: Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, 12th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.