Paranoid Personality Disorder

Paranoid personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by paranoia and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others. Symptoms include hypersensitivity and a tendency to scan the environment for clues or suggestions that might validate underlying fears or biases, with adverse childhood experiences and possibly social stress identified as risk factors. Prevalence is estimated to range from 2.1 to 4.4 percent, and while the DSM classifies it as a Cluster A personality disorder, newer frameworks such as the Alternative DSM-5 Model and ICD-11 favor dimensional trait-based approaches over a discrete diagnosis.