Avoidant Personality Disorder

Avoidant personality disorder, also called anxious personality disorder, is a personality disorder characterized by marked social inhibition and avoidance accompanied by feelings of inadequacy and a strong sensitivity to rejection or negative evaluation. People with the condition tend to avoid social interaction while simultaneously desiring involvement with others, and its causes remain incompletely understood but are thought to involve both genetic and environmental factors. Symptoms typically appear early in childhood and can increase in severity through adolescence and early adulthood; prevalence is estimated at 1.5 to 2.5 percent, and the DSM-5 classifies it as a Cluster C, anxious or fearful, personality disorder, while ICD-11 has replaced the discrete diagnosis with a dimensional severity and trait-domain classification.