According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders handbook, avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) affects persons who display a pattern of social inhibition, often considering themselves to be socially inept, which is why they avoid social interaction for fear of being rejected, ridiculed or humiliated. They are also extremely sensitive to negative feedback and evaluation, and feels inadequate and inferior. Passive aggressiveness is a form of avoidant personality, which helps define the disorder.
Causes of (AvPD)
It is unclear what causes avoidant personality, as it may be influenced by a combination of genetic psychological and social factors. It is also associated to …show more content…
Conflicted Avoidants
In his book Personality Disorders in Modern Life, psychologist Theodore Millon identified four adult subtypes of (AvPD), one of which is the conflicted avoidants. This subtype include negativistic features characterized by fear of dependence, hesitation confusion, unresolved angst, paroxysm, bitterness, and torment. They suffer internal discord and dissension.
This type of personality disorder causes a patient to long for intimacy, while fearing the vulnerability that comes with this kind of relationship. People who are passive-aggressive, or those with a negativistic personality, tends to be ambivalent about themselves and others. The conflicted avoidant pattern would experience withdrawal tendencies, and express them in a manner that matches their idea of “interpersonal guerilla warfare”.
Behavior of a conflicted avoidant
• Withdraw into