Abrasive Personality Disorder

A Personality Type
​BY: T. Franklin Murphy | September 1,  2022 (Modified January 18, 2023)
Man unshaved, laughing loudly and smoking cigarette. Article on abrasive personalities
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Definition and criteria for abrasive personality disorder

In 1994, Stuart B. Litvak, Ph.D. proposed a newly identified type of personality disorder. He suggested including the abrasive personality disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders   (DSM). While abrasive personality disorder shared many characteristics of other Axis II disorders, he felt the abrasive personality possessed sufficient idiosyncratic features to warrant a separate classification (p. 7).

The call for a new classification for abrasive people generated a great deal of attention. Perhaps, because we all deal with a handful of coworkers, family members, and discourteous drivers that we are certain would qualify for a certified "abrasive" diagnosis—a certified (@$$).

While we are nearing thirty years since Litvak's call for inclusion of the new personality type, it still has not made the exclusive list of Axis II superstars, sharing the the stage with other delightful personality diagnoses such as Narcissistic, Sadistic, Antisocial, and Passive-Aggressive.
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Abrasive Personality Disorder is a personality disorder not included in the DSM. People with this disorder typically are overbearing, manipulative, nocuous, domineering, obnoxious, intimidating, forceful, and prove extremely difficult in any type of relationship.

​Abrasive Personalities

For our everyday interactions, we don't need a DSM diagnosis to determine who we should limit our interaction with for our own mental sanity. The diagnosis, at least with personality disorders, has limited functional uses. Personality disorders are historically difficult to treat. Even when properly diagnosed, personality disorder patients are extremely resistant to treatment.

The abrasive personality type encompasses the "control freaks," and a host of other "difficult: and "nasty people." This personality type often includes "the inexpugnable, overbearing individual, who typically can be manipulative, nocuous, domineering, obnoxious, intimidating, forceful and downright impossible" (Litvak, 1994, p. 7).
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​Personality Disorders
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​Personality disorders diverge from the medical model of disease. Personality disorders do not fit into the classic patterns of disease, making them difficult to diagnose and treat. Personality disorders do not have a specific onset time, a period of disease, and a treatment that promotes healing (Trifu, et al. 2019).

Because of this oddity of personality orders, many doctors and professors argue they don't qualify as a mental illness. Robert Hirschfeld, Professor of Psychiatry Weill Cornell Medical College at Cornell University, explains " It is not completely clear from this [DSM III-R] definition [of mental disorder] whether personality disorders are mental disorders because of the requirement that deviant behavior, often the hallmark of personality disorders, cannot be considered a mental disorder unless it is a symptom of dysfunction in the person" (Litvak, 1994).

​And thus it goes with the proposed abrasive personality disorder. The proposed criteria for the disorder is a list of behaviors, with no known underlying biological dysfunction.

Most likely there are biological causes (or at least associated biological factors). T. Franklin Murphy wrote in an article on personality disorders that "research for causes of personality disorders continues. Many elements remain unknown. However, scientists are certain heredity and environmental factors play an important role" (2022).

However, we can assume there is a biological structure that is stress activated that leads to personalities that  create personality characteristics that diverge from societal and cultural norms, leading to a variety of dysfunctional social behaviors. This explanation fits into the general adaptation stress model and epigenetics.

Until these underlying mechanisms can be pinpointed, we are just left with lists of bad behaviors that are grouped into clusters and labeled. When a cluster of behaviors occurs together often enough in research, then the behavior cluster may be considered as a specific disorder.
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Proposed Characteristics of  Abrasive Personality Disorder

Litvak in his call for inclusion of the abrasive personality disorder proposed the following criteria:
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  1. Engaging in behavior which most laypersons or clinicians would describe as obnoxious or discourteous (rudeness).
  2. Overbearing, dominating, authoritarian, inflexible.
  3. Has an almost compulsive tendency to control others and situations.
  4. Power-driven, often with a contempt for authority, yet may crave approval from others.
  5. May be over-aggressive and intimidating of others. Some types are commonly referred to as bullies.
  6. Must win at all costs. This principle will apply in all or most interpersonal situations, major or minor. An ancillary to this proclivity is the need to always be right.
  7. Often engages in projection. Since they cannot admit to being wrong, they typically blame others.
  8. Must be top-dog; does not easily defer or submit to others.
  9. May have a tendency to break rules, and may make up the rules as they go along, to suit their needs. Yet, may be the first to report others who violate rules.
  10. Is manipulative, may set up "double-binds," and may breed uncertainty in others by intermittently behaving overly friendly and then cold or distant. May first build others up then "cut them down."
  11. May be hostile aggressive, use disguised threats, resort to playing on others' guilt, and may display anger ("temper tantrums") if his/her manipulations are self-perceived as not succeeding. Can be highly vindictive and will typically not hesitate to use punishment or retribution as a means of control or aggression.
  12. (Optional). While this is not a criterion for describing persons afflicted with Aversive Personality disorder, one relatively "sure proof" criterion relates to how others feel in the presence of such disordered individuals; over a given period of time (brief or sometimes lengthy) others will report feeling highly uncomfortable in their presence. After considerable contact, others may report the interpersonal experience so aversive, that they will find themselves increasingly attempting to avoid these persons.

(Litvak, 1994)
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Follow Up Research
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The case for inclusion of the abrasive personality disorder hasn't been completely ignored. The disorder has been included in books. Some researchers have taken upon the task of testing Litvak's 1994 criteria to determine if the clustering of behaviors create a unique grouping apart from some of the other personality disorders.

In 2018, a group of researchers conducted experiments to test Litvak's hypothesis. They used the Abrasive Personality Traits Scale (APT). The APT scale is a 33 item Likert-type scale (Coolidge, et al., p. 117). 

Fredrick L. Coolidge and his colleagues determined from there research that "the results preliminarily demonstrate that abrasiveness may constitute a reliable and valid personality symptom cluster." Based on their research they state "the traits do appear to meet the general criterion for a personality disorder in that the disorder must cause significant personal, social, and occupations/educational problems" (p. 122).
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A Few Words from Flourishing Life Society

Abrasive personality disorder may never make the pages of the DSM. Not that it doesn't meet the requirements for inclusion, but its functional purpose beyond the personality orders already included is limited. Antisocial and sadistic personality disorders have high overlap with the proposed abrasive personality disorder.

​Delroy L. Paulhus's work on "dark personalities" provides insightful understanding of the taxonomy of hurtful and abrasive people. Outside of the clinic, we tend to call all of these difficult personalities 'narcissists,' ignoring the variety of subtle differences.

Whether abrasive personality disorder is ever included in the DSM or not doesn't matter. We, as individuals, need to figure out our own path to living among others that are difficult, limiting our exposure of vulnerabilities that they ruthlessly extort, and then, we must establish a way to maintain our own sanity in the face of all of their hurtful bombardment of our wellness.
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T. Franklin Murphy
T. Franklin Murphy
Wellness. Writer. Researcher.
​T. Franklin Murphy has a degree in psychology. He tirelessly researches scientific findings that contribute to wellness. In 2010, he began publishing his findings.

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​Resources:

Coolidge, F., Valenzuela, I., Segal, D., Feliciano, L., & , (2018). An Empirical Investigation of a New Measure to Assess Abrasive Personality Disorder Traits. Psychology.

Litvak, S. (1994/2006). Abrasive personality disorder: Definition and diagnosis. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 24(1), 7-14.

​Murphy, T. Franklin (2022) Personality Disorders. Psychology Vocabulary. Published 3-17-2022. Retrieved 9-1-2022.

Paulhus, D. (2014). Toward a Taxonomy of Dark Personalities. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(6), 421-426.

Paulhus, D., Buckels, E., Trapnell, P., & Jones, D. (2021). Screening for Dark Personalities. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 37(3), 208-222.

Trifu, Simona; Iliescu, Ioana, Dorina; , Mateescu, Roxanna Daniela; and Trifu, Antonia Ioana (2019) Anti Social Personality Disorder. In Journal of Health and Medical Sciences, Vol. 2, No. 4, 509-515.
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​Other Flourishing Life Society articles of interest on this topic: