What Causes Histrionic Personality Disorder

The cause of histrionic personality disorder is actually unknown; however many professionals in the psychology field have narrowed down the most likely causes of this personality disorder. They were able to hypothesize various scenarios that could lead to HPD for their patients.

The symptoms of histrionic personality are known and used to diagnose the disorder; however, the cause of HPD remains unknown. So far the theories of the cause of histrionic personality disorder are widely accepted by psychiatrists but more research is needed. If the cause is definitively known then a preventative measure could be put in place.

The Hypothetical Causes of Histrionic Personality Disorder

The mental health professionals have narrowed down the possible causes of histrionic personality disorder for their patients into separate categories. The doctors believe that the cause could be biological, developmental, cognitive, or be caused by social factors. They also believe that the cause of an adult having histrionic personality disorder points back to scenarios in their past. It is believed that a chronic experience of an acute episode is enough to cause HPD later on in the persons life.

One cause that is theorized is the person gets histrionic personality disorder via genetics. This hypothesis is often made when it is learned that a family member of the patient also has HPD. The same professionals also can attest that HPD may not be inherited genetically but through environmental factors and their HPD is caused by learned behaviors. If a child grows up in a home with a person with histrionic personality disorder it is very likely that they will mimic the actions and personality of their parent or family member.

Some patients with histrionic personality disorder are thought to have manifested the disorder due to a traumatic event from their childhood. These events could be living through the death of an immediate family member, a chronic illness of a family member during their childhood, and even divorce during the patients childhood could possibly be the cause of their histrionic personality disorder.

The way the parent(s) raise the patient is also considered to be a factor in determining the cause of histrionic personality disorder. If the parent, usually the mother, does not provide the patient with a nurturing and loving bond the child is more likely to grow up and have the disorder. Since the patient was unable to get the necessary attention during adolescents they take on the personality disorder and become attention seeking people.

The parent could have been overbearing and setting the bar of achievement too high for the child to ever reach. On the other hand, a child born into a family that does not set rules or limitations could also be susceptible to having a personality disorder in their adult years. By not having boundaries the child grows us believing they do not have a standard set of ethical, moral, or responsible personality and thus take on the signs and symptoms of histrionic disorder.

Although there is no scientific study answer to what the cause of this personality disorder it is widely accepted in the mental health community that the aforementioned causes are used when diagnosing and treating histrionic personality disorder.

Sources:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/personality_disorders/hic_histrionic_personality_disorder.aspx

http://www.minddisorders.com/Flu-Inv/Histrionic-personality-disorder.html