Toward a More Nuanced Perspective on Detachment: Differentiating Schizoid and Avoidant Personality Styles through Qualities of the Self-Representation

Abstract

Avoidant personality disorder was introduced in DSM-III (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1980), and debate persists regarding the utility of having two separate variants of the “detached personality.” The present study addressed this issue through ratings of open-ended self-descriptions provided by community adults with high scores on schizoid versus avoidant personality traits (N = 229). The self-concept of individuals with avoidant personality style reflected a lack of positive self-regard and low self-efficacy/agency. Regarding schizoid personalities, neither positive nor negative self-regard, self-complexity, or self-efficacy/agency was found. Examination of specific variables yielded a relationship between avoidant personality styles, depression, and anxiety, consistent with literature noting simultaneous desire and fear of interpersonal relationships in avoidant patients (APA, 1980; Sheldon & West, 1990). Similarly, examination of individual variables yielded a negative association between schizoid personality styles and tolerance for contradictory aspects of the self, consistent with theoretical writings in this area (Kernberg, 1976; McWilliams, 2006). Results support the argument that these two personality styles represent distinct constructs. Findings support the utility of self-concept assessment to assist treatment planning and differential diagnosis. Treatment implications include using open-ended descriptions of patients’ self-concepts to explore changes that may not be accessible via more structured forms of patient self-report.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Society for Personality Assessment Student Research Grant to Shannon M. Thomson.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in conducting this research and reporting its results.

Data availability statement

All data are available from the first author upon reasonable request.

Notes

1 ASD variables were excluded from the current study if the construct was already assessed through a variable on the AOR or D-R, or if it was not applicable due to the method of administration. Only one variable was excluded for the latter reason: The ASD has a measure of relatedness to the examiner, but data were collected through MTurk, making it impossible to derive scores for this variable.

2 Some ORI researchers include no mention of which strategy they used for variables that could not be scored (e.g., Besser & Blatt, 2007; Hernandez et al., 1998; Manashko et al., 2009). 

3 Without direct examination of individual variables this finding would not have been highlighted, as depression loads negatively onto the variable of self-efficacy, while anxiety did not load onto any of the ORI factors.