Sadistic personality disorder is a personality disorder diagnosis involving sadism which appeared only in an appendix of the revised third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R). The current version of the DSM (DSM-IV) does not include it, so it is no longer considered a valid diagnostic category. The diagnosis Personality disorder not otherwise specified may be used instead. However, the disorder is still studied for research purposes.
Sadism is a behavioral disorder characterized by a callous, vicious, manipulative, and degrading behavior expressed towards other people. To date, the exact cause of sadism is not known clearly. However, many theories have been given to explain the possible reasons underlying the development of a sadistic personality in an individual.
Read more about Sadistic Personality Disorder: Definition of Sadism, Comorbidity With Other Personality Disorders, Familial Patterns/Childhood Experiences and Sadistic Personality Disorder, DSM-III-R Criteria For Sadistic Personality Disorder, Removal From The DSM, Millon’s Subtypes, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words sadistic, personality and/or disorder:
“The sadistic person is as dependent on the submissive person as the latter is on the former; neither can live without the other. The difference is only that the sadistic person commands, exploits, hurts, humiliates, and that the masochistic person is commanded, exploited, hurt, humiliated. This is a considerable difference in a realistic sense; in a deeper emotional sense, the difference is not so great as that which they both have in common: fusion without integrity.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)
“The great pines stand at a considerable distance from each other. Each tree grows alone, murmurs alone, thinks alone. They do not intrude upon each other. The Navajos are not much in the habit of giving or of asking help. Their language is not a communicative one, and they never attempt an interchange of personality in speech. Over their forests there is the same inexorable reserve. Each tree has its exalted power to bear.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)
“In a town-meeting, the great secret of political science was uncovered, and the problem solved, how to give every individual his fair weight in the government, without any disorder from numbers. In a town-meeting, the roots of society were reached. Here the rich gave counsel, but the poor also; and moreover, the just and the unjust.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)