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Subjective experience of the origin and development of avoidant personality disorder
Author(s) -
Sørensen Kristine D.,
Wilberg Theresa,
Berthelsen Eivind,
Råbu Marit
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.23013
Subject(s) - superordinate goals , psychology , personality , typology , interpretative phenomenological analysis , theme (computing) , developmental psychology , qualitative research , social psychology , sociology , social science , anthropology , computer science , operating system
Objective To better understand how persons diagnosed with avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) make sense of the origin and development of their current everyday struggles. Methods Persons with AVPD ( N = 15) were interviewed twice using semi‐structured qualitative interviews, which were analyzed through interpretative‐phenomenological analysis. Persons with the first‐hand experience of AVPD were included in the research. Results The superordinate theme, “a story of becoming forlorn,” encompassed three main themes: “it goes all the way back to when I was little,” “there was a distance between others and me,” and “transitions made it worse.” Conclusions Though the results are not necessarily specific to AVPD, the findings clarify how people with AVPD can make sense of their current struggles by constructing developmental life stories in the interplay between themselves as persons and the growing demands of their social world. Furthermore, childhood relational vulnerabilities may challenge the ongoing development of social cognition and skills.