U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

Histrionic personality disorder

MedGen UID:
9276
•Concept ID:
C0019681
•
Mental or Behavioral Dysfunction
Synonym: Histrionic personality disorder (disease)
SNOMED CT: Histrionic personality disorder (55341008)
 
HPO: HP:0012077
Monarch Initiative: MONDO:0002613

Definition

A personality disorder characterized by shallow and labile affectivity, self-dramatization, theatricality, exaggerated expression of emotions, suggestibility, egocentricity, self-indulgence, lack of consideration for others, easily hurt feelings, and continuous seeking for appreciation, excitement and attention. [from HPO]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVHistrionic personality disorder

Professional guidelines

PubMed

The Utility of Clinical Psychology Concepts for Judgment and Decision-Making Research: The Case of Histrionic Features.
Posavac SS, Kardes FR, Posavac HD, Gaffney DR
Pers Soc Psychol Bull 2022 Jan;48(1):65-77. Epub 2021 Jan 29 doi: 10.1177/0146167220980887. PMID: 33514279
First treatment contact for ADHD: predictors of and gender differences in treatment seeking.
Dakwar E, Levin FR, Olfson M, Wang S, Kerridge B, Blanco C
Psychiatr Serv 2014 Dec 1;65(12):1465-73. Epub 2014 Oct 31 doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201300298. PMID: 25081894Free PMC Article
The treatment of personality disorder in Jamaica with psychohistoriographic brief psychotherapy.
Hickling FW
West Indian Med J 2013;62(5):431-6. doi: 10.7727/wimj.2013.093. PMID: 24756656

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Modern-Day Relics of Psychiatry.
Tripathi S, Messias E, Spollen J, Salomon RM
J Nerv Ment Dis 2019 Sep;207(9):701-704. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001059. PMID: 31464983
Facial emotion recognition deficits and alexithymia in borderline, narcissistic, and histrionic personality disorders.
Ritzl A, Csukly G, Balázs K, Égerházi A
Psychiatry Res 2018 Dec;270:154-159. Epub 2018 Sep 13 doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.09.017. PMID: 30248486
A bright side, facet analysis of histrionic personality disorder: the relationship between the HDS Colourful factor and the NEO-PI-R facets in a large adult sample.
Furnham A
J Soc Psychol 2014 Nov-Dec;154(6):527-36. doi: 10.1080/00224545.2014.953026. PMID: 25280168
Hypomanic symptoms predict an increase in narcissistic and histrionic personality disorder features in suicidal young adults.
Shahar G, Scotti MA, Rudd MD, Joiner TE
Depress Anxiety 2008;25(10):892-8. doi: 10.1002/da.20363. PMID: 17932897
MMPI assessment of the DSM-III-R histrionic personality disorder.
Schotte C, De Doncker D, Maes M, Cluydts R, Cosyns P
J Pers Assess 1993 Jun;60(3):500-10. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa6003_7. PMID: 8336265

Diagnosis

Change processes in psychotherapy for patients presenting with histrionic personality disorder.
Babl A, Gómez Penedo JM, Berger T, Schneider N, Sachse R, Kramer U
Clin Psychol Psychother 2023 Jan;30(1):64-72. Epub 2022 Jul 6 doi: 10.1002/cpp.2769. PMID: 35776063Free PMC Article
Sexual Coercion by Women: The Influence of Pornography and Narcissistic and Histrionic Personality Disorder Traits.
Hughes A, Brewer G, Khan R
Arch Sex Behav 2020 Apr;49(3):885-894. Epub 2019 Oct 7 doi: 10.1007/s10508-019-01538-4. PMID: 31591667Free PMC Article
Modern-Day Relics of Psychiatry.
Tripathi S, Messias E, Spollen J, Salomon RM
J Nerv Ment Dis 2019 Sep;207(9):701-704. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001059. PMID: 31464983
Pseudoseizures: an overview.
Volow MR
South Med J 1986 May;79(5):600-7. doi: 10.1097/00007611-198605000-00020. PMID: 3518074
Hysteria.
Reed JL
Br J Psychiatry 1975;Spec No 9:141-9. PMID: 1102011

Therapy

Hypomanic symptoms predict an increase in narcissistic and histrionic personality disorder features in suicidal young adults.
Shahar G, Scotti MA, Rudd MD, Joiner TE
Depress Anxiety 2008;25(10):892-8. doi: 10.1002/da.20363. PMID: 17932897
Pharmacotherapy for personality disorders.
Hori A
Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 1998 Feb;52(1):13-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.1998.tb00967.x. PMID: 9682928
Obsessions and compulsions in the community.
Nestadt G, Samuels JF, Romanoski AJ, Folstein MF, McHugh PR
Acta Psychiatr Scand 1994 Apr;89(4):219-24. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1994.tb01504.x. PMID: 8023687
Histrionic disorder among Iranian high school and college students.
Makaremi A
Psychol Rep 1990 Jun;66(3 Pt 1):835-8. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1990.66.3.835. PMID: 2377700
Pseudoseizures: an overview.
Volow MR
South Med J 1986 May;79(5):600-7. doi: 10.1097/00007611-198605000-00020. PMID: 3518074

Prognosis

Sexual Coercion by Women: The Influence of Pornography and Narcissistic and Histrionic Personality Disorder Traits.
Hughes A, Brewer G, Khan R
Arch Sex Behav 2020 Apr;49(3):885-894. Epub 2019 Oct 7 doi: 10.1007/s10508-019-01538-4. PMID: 31591667Free PMC Article
Facial emotion recognition deficits and alexithymia in borderline, narcissistic, and histrionic personality disorders.
Ritzl A, Csukly G, Balázs K, Égerházi A
Psychiatry Res 2018 Dec;270:154-159. Epub 2018 Sep 13 doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.09.017. PMID: 30248486
A bright side, facet analysis of histrionic personality disorder: the relationship between the HDS Colourful factor and the NEO-PI-R facets in a large adult sample.
Furnham A
J Soc Psychol 2014 Nov-Dec;154(6):527-36. doi: 10.1080/00224545.2014.953026. PMID: 25280168
Hypomanic symptoms predict an increase in narcissistic and histrionic personality disorder features in suicidal young adults.
Shahar G, Scotti MA, Rudd MD, Joiner TE
Depress Anxiety 2008;25(10):892-8. doi: 10.1002/da.20363. PMID: 17932897
Hysteria.
Reed JL
Br J Psychiatry 1975;Spec No 9:141-9. PMID: 1102011

Clinical prediction guides

Sexual Coercion by Women: The Influence of Pornography and Narcissistic and Histrionic Personality Disorder Traits.
Hughes A, Brewer G, Khan R
Arch Sex Behav 2020 Apr;49(3):885-894. Epub 2019 Oct 7 doi: 10.1007/s10508-019-01538-4. PMID: 31591667Free PMC Article
Facial emotion recognition deficits and alexithymia in borderline, narcissistic, and histrionic personality disorders.
Ritzl A, Csukly G, Balázs K, Égerházi A
Psychiatry Res 2018 Dec;270:154-159. Epub 2018 Sep 13 doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.09.017. PMID: 30248486
Hypomanic symptoms predict an increase in narcissistic and histrionic personality disorder features in suicidal young adults.
Shahar G, Scotti MA, Rudd MD, Joiner TE
Depress Anxiety 2008;25(10):892-8. doi: 10.1002/da.20363. PMID: 17932897
Histrionic personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder: sex-differentiated manifestations of psychopathy?
Cale EM, Lilienfeld SO
J Pers Disord 2002 Feb;16(1):52-72. doi: 10.1521/pedi.16.1.52.22557. PMID: 11881161
Pseudoseizures: an overview.
Volow MR
South Med J 1986 May;79(5):600-7. doi: 10.1097/00007611-198605000-00020. PMID: 3518074

Recent systematic reviews

Psychology of plastic and reconstructive surgery: a systematic clinical review.
Shridharani SM, Magarakis M, Manson PN, Rodriguez ED
Plast Reconstr Surg 2010 Dec;126(6):2243-2251. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e3181f445ae. PMID: 21124167
The efficacy of various modalities of psychotherapy for personality disorders: a systematic review of the evidence and clinical recommendations.
Verheul R, Herbrink M
Int Rev Psychiatry 2007 Feb;19(1):25-38. doi: 10.1080/09540260601095399. PMID: 17365156

Supplemental Content

Table of contents

    Clinical resources

    Practice guidelines

    • PubMed
      See practice and clinical guidelines in PubMed. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.
    • Bookshelf
      See practice and clinical guidelines in NCBI Bookshelf. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.

    Consumer resources

    Reviews

    Related information

    • MeSH
      Related Medical Subject Headings
    • PMC Articles
      Related information in PubMed Central Links
    • PubMed
      Related literature resources in PubMed

    Recent activity

    Clear Turn Off Turn On

    Your browsing activity is empty.

    Activity recording is turned off.

    Turn recording back on

    See more...