Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision Personality Disorders > Introduction > Cluster A Personality Disorders > 301.22 Schizotypal Personality Disorder Topics Discussed: schizotypal personality disorder. Excerpt: "The essential feature of Schizotypal Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of social and interpersonal deficits marked by acute discomfort with, and reduced capacity for, close relationships as well as by cognitive or perceptual distortions and eccentricities of behavior. This pattern begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts.Individuals with Schizotypal Personality Disorder often have ideas of reference (i.e., incorrect interpretations of casual incidents and external events as having a particular and unusual meaning specifically for the person) (Criterion A1). These should be distinguished from delusions of reference, in which the beliefs are held with delusional conviction. These individuals may be superstitious or preoccupied with paranormal phenomena that are outside the norms of their subculture (Criterion A2). They may feel that they have special powers to sense events before they happen or to read others' thoughts. They may believe that they have magical control over others, which can be implemented directly (e.g., believing that their spouse's taking the dog out for a walk is the direct result of thinking an hour earlier it should be done) or indirectly through compliance with magical rituals (e.g., walking past a specific object three times to avoid a certain harmful outcome). Perceptual alterations may be present (e.g., sensing that another person is present or hearing a voice murmuring his or her name) (Criterion A3). Their speech may include unusual or idiosyncratic phrasing and construction. It is often loose, digressive, or vague, but without actual derailment or incoherence (Criterion A4). Responses can be either overly concrete or overly abstract, and words or concepts are sometimes applied in unusual ways (e.g., the person may state that he or she was not "talkable" at work)...." DOI: 10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349.3831; 10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349.3913 The content above is only an excerpt. For full access subscribe now or log into your account below. You can also purchase 24- or 48-hour access; learn more Username: Password:     Athens Login FORGOT your subscriber username and/or password? Get a reminder via email: The email I registered with is:  Not a subscriber? Subscribe Today PsychiatryOnline is a powerful website that features DSM-IV-TR® and The American Journal of Psychiatry as the cornerstones of an unsurpassed collection of psychiatric references, including books, journals, and self-assessment tools. PsychiatryOnline’s innovative platform makes these resources easy and convenient to use, offering Precise and powerful searching across books and journals. Quick pathways to related material. Mobile access from any computer with a Web connection. Ability to download any book section to PDA. Links from bibliographic references to the full text of journal articles. References to material not located in the PsychiatryOnline collection lead you to PubMed. Learn more about PsychiatryOnline Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing PsychiatryOnline@psych.org or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).