The Passive-Aggressive (Negativistic) Personality Disorder (PAPD) Case Study: Jim Choate

aluger at hushmail.com aluger at hushmail.com
Mon Mar 12 14:55:47 PST 2001


>On Mon, 12 Mar 2001, Sunder wrote (referring to Jim Choate):
>
>> I'd wish that:
>> 
>> 1. he'd stick to on-topic articles and not give us any random shit 
>he likes

Mr. Choate replied:

>Every post I send is 'on topic' to crypto, civil liberties, or economics.

Sunder continues, along with Mr. Choate's replies:

>> 2. he'd post a one or two paragraph quote from the article describing 
>> it under the urls.
>
>Keep wanting.
>
>> 3. put all the news stories from one site (slashdot for example) in 
>> one email as if it were a digest.
>
>Keep wanting.
>
>> The way he "helps" us is annoying at best and only one or two notches 
>> removed from spam.
>
>What makes you think I'm wanting to 'help' you or whatever 'us' you're
>refering to.
>
>> What pisses me off is that I actually do read slashdot regularly, 
>>and don't
>
>You just want to be pissed off, and if you can make me the target so 
>much the better.
>
>    ____________________________________________________________________
>
>      Legislators and Judges are the pimps of modern American society.
>      Police, lawyers, and reporters are their whores.
>      The people are their 'John's'. Democracy is dead.
>
>                                   Copyright 2001 All Rights Reserved
>
>       The Armadillo Group       ,::////;::-.          James Choate
>       Austin, Tx               /:'///// ``::>/|/      ravage at ssz.com
>       www.ssz.com            .',  ||||    `/( e\      512-451-7087
>                           -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'-
>    ----------------------------------------------------------------

end quotation...

Discussion:

Essential Feature-

The passive-aggressive (negativistic) personality disorder is located in 
Appendix B: "Criteria Sets and Axes Provided for Further Study" of the DSM-
IV.  Millon (1996, p. 198) proposes a comprehensive concept of a negativistic 
personality.  He asserts that the negativistic personality reflects both 
this general contrariness and disinclination to do as others wish but also 
presents with a capricious impulsiveness, an irritable moodiness, and an 
unaccommodating, fault-finding pessimism.

The DSM-IV (1994, p. 733) describes the PAPD essential feature as a pervasive 
pattern of negativistic attitudes and passive resistance to demands for 
adequate performance in social and occupational settings. 

The subject, Choate, demonstrates these traits clearly, particularly in 
the context of responses to otherwise reasonable requests from the electronic 
social group "cypherpunks" from which the above samples are taken.

The general criteria of a personality disorder coupled with at least five 
of the following is sufficient to warrant a diagonsis of Passive-Aggressive 
Personality Disorder: procrastination and delay in completing essential 
tasks -- particularly those that others seek to have completed; unjustified 
protests that others make unreasonable demands; sulkiness, irritability 
or argumentativeness when asked to do something that the individual does 
not want to do; unreasonable criticism or scorn for authority figures; deliberately 
slow or poor work on unwanted tasks; obstruction of the efforts of others 
even as these individuals fail to do their share of the work; and avoidance 
of obligations by claiming to have forgotten them.

Examing the small sample above it is clear that Choate meets at least four 
of these subset criteria.  (This author has little doubt that a fifth will 
quickly emerge with further study).   Procrastination and delay in completing 
any of the tasks requested of him (the addition of more substantive summaries 
which acompany his rote contributions to the mailing list), unjustified 
protests that others make unreasonable demands (in the case of Sunder above,
 Choates responses to Sunder's request for a more digest format illustrates 
this), irritability or argumentativeness when asked to do something that 
the individual does not want to do (while Choate could easily have ignored 
the request, he chose instead to reply in an increasingly inflamatory and 
argumentative tone), unreasonable criticism or scorn for authority figures 
(as evidenced by material in his signature - "Legislators and Judges are 
the pimps of modern American society.")

The passive-aggressive personality disorder was first introduced in a U.S. 
War Department technical bulletin in 1945. The term was coined by wartime 
psychiatrists who found themselves dealing with reluctant and uncooperative 
soldiers who followed orders with chronic, veiled hostility and smoldering 
resentment. Their style was a mixture of passive resistance and grumbling 
compliance (Stone, 1993, p. 361). 

Choate's response seems to mirror this type of response quite closely and 
further study under the reference of Stone's work should be pursued.

The current criteria for the passive-aggressive personality disorder as 
proposed by the Personality Disorders Work Group for the DSM-IV includes: 

1. passive resistance to fulfilling social and occupational tasks through 
procrastination and inefficiency;
2. complaints of being misunderstood, unappreciated, and victimized by others;
3. sullenness, irritability, and argumentativeness in response to expectations;
4. angry and pessimistic attitudes toward a variety of events;
5. unreasonable criticism and scorn toward those in authority;
6. envy and resentment toward those who are more fortunate;
7. self-definition as luckless in life and an inclination to whine and grumble 
about being jinxed;
8. alternating behavior between hostile assertion of personal autonomy and 
dependent contrition (Millon & Radovanov, Livesley, ed., 1995, p. 321).

Millon suggests that the most essential features of PAPD are irritable affect; 
behavioral contrariness, obstructiveness, and sulking; discontented self-
image, e.g. feels unappreciated and misunderstood; deficient regulatory 
control, i.e. poorly modulated emotional expression; and interpersonal ambivalence. 
They are noted for their interpersonal conflict, verbal aggressiveness, 
and manipulative behavior. Suicidal gestures and a lack of attention to 
everyday responsibilities are common (Millon, 1996, p. 198). 

Little study is needed to recognize the diagnosis as a strong one for the 
subject Choate.

PAPD resistance to external demands is manifested in oppositional and obstructive 
behaviors. These individuals resent having to conform to the standards set 
by others. On the other hand, they fear direct confrontation. The combination 
of resentment and fear leads to passive, provocative behavior (as in the 
case of the subject Choate and Sunder exchange- wherein subject Choate incites 
Sunder and seeks to create a situation in which Sunder will escalate the 
rhetoric).

Individuals with PAPD view themselves as self-sufficient but feel vulnerable 
to control and interference from others (Pretzer & Beck, Clarkin & Lenzenweger,
 eds., 1996, p. 60). They believe that they are misunderstood and unappreciated,
 a view that is exacerbated by the negative responses they receive from 
others for their consistent defeatist stance. They expect the worst in everything,
 even situations that are going well, and are inclined toward anger and 
irritability (Beck & Freeman, 1990, p. 339) (DSM-IV, 1994, p. 734).  Subject 
Choate demonstrates this classically, particularly in the context of his 
often sardonicly defeatist and pessimistic inclusions in the titles of his 
contributions).

Individuals with PAPD are often disgruntled and declare that they are not 
treated as they should be. On the other hand, they are just as likely to 
express feeling unworthy of good fortune. They have a basic conflict concerning 
their self-worth; they oscillate between self-loathing and entitlement or 
moral superiority. Either side of this oscillation can be projected onto 
the environment. The chaotic nature of this experience of self and others 
often leads to people beginning to avoid or minimize contact with people 
with PAPD out of self-protection (Richards, 1993, p. 259).

Individuals with PAPD see others as intrusive, demanding, interfering, controlling,
 and dominating. They believe that other people interfere with their freedom. 
They experience control by others as intolerable; they have to do things 
their own way (Pretzer & Beck, Clarkin & Lenzenweger, eds., 1996, p. 60). 
These individuals are determined that they will not be subject to the rules 
of others (Beck & Freeman, 1990, p. 227). They resent, oppose, and resist 
demands to meet expectations from others in a behavioral pattern seen in 
both work and social settings (DSM-IV, 1994, p. 733). Their main coping 
strategies are passive resistance, surface submissiveness, evasion, and 
circumventing of rules (Pretzer & Beck, Clarkin & Lenzenweger, eds., 1996,
 p. 60). 

Individuals with passive-aggressive (negativistic) personality disorder 
are ambivalent within their relationships and conflicted between their dependency 
needs and their desire for self-assertion. They waver between expressing 
hostile defiance toward people they see as causing their problems and attempting 
to mollify these people by asking forgiveness or promising to do better 
in the future (DSM-IV, 1994, p. 734). 

These individuals are noted for the stormy nature of their interpersonal 
relationships. They engage in a combination of quarrelsomeness and submissiveness. 
Their affect is sullen and they engage in deliberate rudeness. They are 
resentfully quarrelsome and irritable. They often feel like a victim. Central 
to the disorder is a pervasive pattern of argumentativeness and oppositional 
behavior with defeatist and negative attitudes (Millon & Radovanov, Livesley,
 ed., 1995, p. 317). Richards (1993, p. 260) believes that PAPD may be the 
most miserable personality disorder. These individuals inflict a great deal 
of discomfort on others through the use of their anxiety and emotional symptoms. 
They can become so destructive in their attitudes and so unable to provide 
rewards to others that they become socially isolated. 

For individuals with PAPD, authority figures can become the focus of their 
discontentment. They often criticize and voice hostility toward authority 
figures with minimal provocation. Their resistance toward authority is expressed 
by procrastination, forgetfulness, stubbornness, and intentional inefficiency. 
These individuals are also envious of and resentful toward peers who succeed 
or are viewed positively by authority figures (DSM-IV, 1994, pp. 733-734). 

Authority figures are seen by individuals with passive-aggressive (negativistic) 
personality disorder as arbitrary and unfair. When they are faced with the 
consequences of not adequately meeting obligations, these individuals will 
become angry at those in authority rather than seeing how their own behavior 
has contributed to the situation (Beck & Freeman, 1990, p. 339). Authority 
figures are defined as intrusive, demanding, interfering, controlling, and 
dominating. On the other hand, individuals with PAPD also see authority 
figures as capable of being approving, accepting, and caring. A key issue 
for individuals with PAPD is the desire to get benefits from authority figures 
while exerting their freedom and autonomy (Beck & Freeman, 1990, p. 45). 

The conflict is intense. Individuals with PAPD have a tendency to see any 
form of power as inconsiderate and neglectful. They are also likely to believe 
that authorities or caregivers are incompetent, unfair, and cruel. Nevertheless,
 these individuals are not inclined to rebel directly. They will agree to 
comply with demands or suggestions but will often fail to perform (or they 
will perform while experiencing increasing resentment). Then, when there 
is trouble, these individuals will complain of unfair treatment. They envy 
and resent others who manage authority situations and who are able to relate 
to authorities with less difficulty. These individuals believe that their 
suffering indicts the negligent caregiver or authority figure. They fear 
control in any form but long for nurturing restitution from those they perceive 
as having power (Benjamin, 1993, p. 272). 

Origins of PAPD in the Subject Choate-

Stone (1993, p. 361) suggests that the contrary, sulking, and verbal nitpicking 
behaviors of PAPD appear to have their origin in unending power struggles 
with parents. The comparative helplessness of youth made it impossible to 
win in these struggles so the face-saving technique of passive resistance 
was employed. Parental overcontrol, neglect, or favoring of a sibling can 
all contribute to the development of the silent protest and grudging obedience 
associated with PAPD (Stone, 1993, p. 361). 

It is reasonable to assume that Subject Choate expereinced some level of 
paternal angst and the description of unending power struggles seems apt 
in this context.

Treatment-

There are two major ways for individuals with PAPD to enter treatment. The 
first, and most common, is externally leveraged treatment for those individuals 
who do not see themselves as having a problem. Someone forced them into 
treatment, e.g., family, employers, or the legal system. These clients with 
PAPD have minimal insight; they fail to admit that they are a major factor 
in the problems they have. The second method for individuals with PAPD to 
enter treatment is via self-referral for vague complaints, e.g. "I'm just 
not getting anywhere" (Turkat, 1990, pp. 87-88). 

All of the personality disorders are composed mostly of abrasive traits 
that are negative in nature. Maladaptive traits are usually favored over 
adaptive traits (though there are adaptive traits within all personality 
disorders) (Kantor, 1992, p. 10). PAPD is a particularly abrasive personality 
and interpersonal problems are readily identifiable. However, individuals 
with PAPD do not frequently seek treatment for relationship issues as they 
consistently blame others for the problems they have. Even if they do come 
in for treatment for a marital or parent and child problem, they will uniformly 
demand that the treatment providers "fix" the other person or persons who 
are at fault for the problems within the relationship. 

Treatment for individuals with PAPD involves openly exploring the ways they 
indirectly and unassertively express aggression and neediness toward others 
by being contrary. Understanding this aggression can allow discovery of 
the depressive and invalidating experiences underneath -- which lead to 
a fear of loss of autonomy when others want to be close and a fear of loss 
of connectedness when others want to be alone (Kubacki & Smith, Retzlaff,
 ed., 1995, p. 175).

This author believes that Subject Choate is unlikely to seek treatment individually 
and should be compelled to seek treatment in whatever fashion is most likely 
to produce results.

Study continues...
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