Do You Have a Schizoid Personality?

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I scored 7.

That's why I am the way I am, for the most part. I knew from the time I was a child that I had traits that weren't like most people. I didn't judge myself for being that way or learn how to distrust/fear people automatically until I was mistreated for being different.

Yep thats all too familiar. And it still goes on.

Of course the logic behind not dx'ing a PD until the onset of adulthood is because the personality and related cognitive abilities aren't fully developed, so alledged symptoms of a PD in a teen or preteen may simply be underdevelopment of the personality and mind. This is critical is distiguishing PDs from AS, because AS can be dx'd much earler, as its onset is normally before 5 years of age, since it's neurological. Furthermore, dx'ing someone with a PD or traits of a PD (in the US that is commonly called an "Axis II" dx), is pretty damning, since it's thought PDs are fixed and never truly overcome. So if you're clinically suspected once of a PD, wrongly or otherwise, it tends to stay with you via your clinical history.

Another distinction is that even though the primary traits of AS may set the stage for socialization and emotional issues down the road, normally someone with AS can learn coping skills and other behaviors whereas someone with a PD would find that extremely challenging, if not impossible. Or at least, that's the popular thinking on PDs. The logic behind that is PDs appear to more or less disorders of the ego within the psyche, for lack of better terminology. PDs effect how a person percieves themselves in relation to the rest of the world, and due to the distortion they cause, PDs are very difficult to treat. Often times people with PDs are very hard to convince there's anything wrong with them. Usually, they firmly believe something's wrong with everyone else (hence that ego-to-others distortion) and due to the PD, are unable to change their perspection. With AS, such change of perspection is possible, barring any volitional constraints or cognitive biases (like faulty reasoning, intellectual prejudice or sheer stubbornness).

Another thing that isn't quite spelled out about Schzoid Personality in these criteria is someone who's actually Schzoid normally lacks emotional response to the point of not having any sense of humor. I mean, these are very dysfunctional people, and not merely a bit odd or eccentric, as someone with AS tends to appear. This is why I tend to get frustrated with AS people talking about how their AS symptoms overlap with PDs, because inevitably someone walks away confused or thinking they have a PD instead of something neurological. I've even known people with self-dx'd AS decide that they probably have a PD instead, when in fact they can acknowledge they had symptoms since young childhood.

At any rate, to be a sport here's how I scored (although I've been clinically confirmed as not having any PD - which is how I came to know assuredly I have AS):

a)few, if any, activities, provide pleasure;

0 - When I thought about this, I realized a number of things give me pleasure, although, due to being chronically depressed my initial reaction was "not really"

(b)emotional coldness, detachment or flattened affectivity;

1 - emotional detachment to other adults, but not to animals or children. However, I don't think my way of attachment is very conventional. I can come off as cold too, as I often tend to prefer not expressing my feelings. As typical fo AS, I am uncomfortable with the chaos and irrationality of emotion and prefer to "live in my head." Yet this is volitional and I can control this, expressing emotion is various if unconventional, ways.

(c)limited capacity to express either warm, tender feelings or anger towards others;

1 - as a norm, I'm not comfortable expressing warm feelings towards other people. I don't like feeling vulnerable. Instead I lavish affection on my pets and any other animal. So I am capable, just reluctant. I have no problem, on the other hand, letting people know I'm p'd off. LOL.

(d)apparent indifference to either praise or criticism;

0 - actually I very, very sensitive to either. I have Executive Function Disorder in addition to AS, and being hypersensitive to critcism is a trait of that.

(e)little interest in having sexual experiences with another person (taking into account age);

1 - I like the idea of sex and I get pleasure from thinking about sex ( ) but honestly, I don't have a significant interest at the moment in having a real sexual encounter. However, on occasion I do find someone attractive to the point I am curious. But if there's not someone presently I'm attracted to, I'm largely disinterested in the actual thing.

(f)almost invariable preference for solitary activities;

1 - I do many thing alone and enjoy that, but there are things I enjoy doing with others. Yet what I do alone, I seem to need to do alone and can't vary from that. Does that count?

(g)excessive preoccupation with fantasy and introspection;

2 - yes. LOL.

(h)lack of close friends or confiding relationships (or having only one) and of desire for such relationships;

1 - I have one very close friend who I feel I can confide in, and another who I can confide is to a certain extent. I do wish I had more friends but have always lacked the ability to maintain friendships on a longterm basis, even though I can be friendly with people. It just doesn't seem to get past that "freindly but not quite friends" stage.

(i)marked insensitivity to prevailing social norms and conventions.

2 - to a fault, and it's cost me many times. However, to my defense, at least I can, from a purely intellectual standpoint, understand most norms and convention. It's just I disagree with them and see no reason why I should adhere to them.

So I scored 7.

Pardon my thread necromancy, but

There's been so little research on SPD that I think it's unreasonable to rule out a neurological factor, especially with the conjectured link to schizophrenia.


This doesn't apply to SPD, most schizoids are aware that something is off about them. Of course, they may be perfectly satisfied with themselves in spite of that.


The most profound schizoids maybe, but this isn't universal, or even common so far as I can tell (of course, selection bias and all that).


Hey, now.

I have a question, wouldn't mild be moderate???

I give myself 6 points, over 4 of the criteria (A, B, C, G) and think I'm likely to meet the general criteria too.

But there's a lot more certainty over me having AS, than the schizoid disorder. The schizoid disorder, I guess, is 'learned' over time, since for diagnosis the onset has to be in late teens or adulthood. However I know I've been on the autism spectrum since a young age.

I scored 13. Gee, another thing to add to the list. I do remember vaguely this being mentioned in a psychiatric report I had. It's somewhere, I just have to find it.

Diagnostic criterion is only properly understood by qualified trained medical professionals whom are of that specific study.

Sometimes criterion can imply regular human traits that are a normal part of the mind. That is why self-diagnostic rituals are not entertained by me.

I thonk that this type of comment should be put in perspective.

Yes, profesionals have training and experience related to more conditions than most non-professionals, but when I was getting diagnosed the proffesionals who I talked to admitted that they did not know a lot more either spd or as than was in the DMV IV.

I would also point out that on a wide range of subjects they often have not read the latest studies.

Further when I make points them similiar to what I said in this forum that people with as can ice off from others because they are tired of rejection: I have yet to find a profesional who is not astounded. They really never thought of that.

I also had to inform to professionals that people don't like me, is different from I don't like people. With As, I often find that people who like do not like me, and its a tough thing. Yet these professionals say that we have trouble telling self from other.

I have also seen professionals make tragic mistakes at diagnosis. Like the people who callled my sister schizophrenid and put her drugs that ruined her mind. She now icidently has a correct diagnosis (its AS the same as mine). I really wish that my parents had challenged the diagnosis.

The bottom line is that professionals are not infalable and letting them have the only opinion can be dangerous. It is wise to gain as much background in the subject as you can get when discussing diagnosis.

doing otherwise is dangerous.