What are "Cluster A" personality disorders?

What are "Cluster A" personality disorders?

Rhoda Hahn (Psychiatrist) gives expert video advice on: What is a "personality disorder"? and more...

The clusters were created more for discussion purposes rather than having any true clinical importance or significance. But cluster A consists of paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders. They are part of the so-called schizophrenia spectrum. In other words, they may actually represent milder variants of schizophrenia. So if you think about having schizophrenia out here, then maybe the personality disorder's here, with schizoaffective in there, they represent a continuum in terms of severity of illness. I think there's some evidence to suggest that people with paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders are seen more frequently in the first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia. They may actually also represent co-morbid diagnoses, in other words, patients who later go on and develop schizophrenia may actually have these personality disorders prior to actually developing schizophrenia. I think this particular cluster is the one in which there's probably the strongest argument for a genetic component to personality disorders, or some kind of biological basis.