Introduction
A personality disorder is a personality type or behavioral tendency characterized by significant discomfort and deviations from norms. It involves personal and social disintegration, which causes the individual to experience difficulties in many areas of life. Personality disorders are typified into three clusters, varying in emotional expression and perception of their environment. The paper considers Clusters A and B, which differ in their behavioral changes and manifest differently in criminal activity.
Comparison of Clusters A and B
Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) belongs to cluster A and is characterized by an over-sensitivity to frustration, suspiciousness, and a tendency to blame. Persons with this disorder tend to perceive others inappropriately and believe that they can harm them (Sleep & Sellbom, 2018). Cluster A is characterized by eccentricity, vagueness, and volatility because all individuals tend to be prejudiced. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) belongs to cluster B and is characterized by a belief in one’s uniqueness and the prevalence of one’s feelings. Persons with this disorder often have God complexes and put their own needs above others. Cluster B is characterized by impulsivity and drama because all individuals devalue others and elevate their personalities.
Cluster A disorders are associated with erratic behavior, which causes people to have impaired communication needs. These people also focus on their personalities, but the main thought is that everyone wants to hurt them. In contrast to these disorders, cluster B is characterized by drawing attention to one’s persona. In addition, these people are also prone to manipulation and lying.
All of the personality disorders present in perpetrators and victims make it difficult to solve crimes. PPD is associated with crimes with a background of persecution and controlling tendencies (Fakhrzadegan et al., 2017). If the victim has PPD, it is challenging to determine the crime and the prejudice. NPD is more often inherent in criminals because these people want power (Schug & Fradella, 2016). One of the problems in solving such crimes is unpredictability.
Conclusion
Clusters A and B differ in their relation to the environment. Individuals with PPD try to protect themselves because they have a lot of prejudice. In contrast, individuals with NPD try to attract as much attention as possible. It leads to differences in solving crimes related to personality disorders. In the case of PPD, it is difficult to establish the truth of what people have done. In the case of NPD, it is challenging to determine the future actions of the perpetrators.
References
Schug, R. A. & Fradella, H. F. (2016). Mental illness and crime. SAGE Publications.
Fakhrzadegan, S., Gholami-Doon, H., Shamloo, B., & Shokouhi-Moqhaddam, S. (2017). The relationship between personality disorders and the type of crime committed and substance used among prisoners. Addiction & health, 9(2), 64–71.
Sleep, C. E., & Sellbom, M. (2018). F60.6 Avoidant personality disorder/F60.0 paranoid personality disorder: Categorical and dimensional approaches. In J. B. Schaffer & E. Rodolfa (Eds.), An ICD–10–CM Casebook and Workbook for Students: Psychological and behavioral conditions (pp. 177–190). American Psychological Association.