Diagnosing Dylan Klebold

I was looking through and clearing out notes that I got during my mental health and disorders class last semester and I came across this:

"Explosive Sadist.

This type of sadistic personality is known for being unpredictably violent because they are disappointed and/or frustrated with their lives. When they are feeling humiliated or hopeless, they lose control and seek revenge for the mistreatment and deprecation to which they feel subjected. These violent behaviors are revealed through tantrums, fearsome attacks on others, and uncontrollable rage. Explosive sadists do not appear to be bad-tempered or unfriendly, and aren't the ones picking out fights or appear easily irritated so it is impossible to know when or what will set them off. While the violence that is released is almost always directed at someone, it mainly serves as an emotional release and a way to get out all the feelings they are holding inside themselves. Studies have found other types of illnesses, such as alcoholism, to have a high rate of comorbidity with sadistic personality disorder."

Doesn't seem that far off to me, but then again I'm not an expert.

Thoughts?

Never heard of that Disorder.
Building up emotions to a point, until they explodes is also a common symptom of people with Schizotypal Personality Disorder, a diagnosis that might also fit for Dylan:

Theodore Millon wrote:

Many schizotypals have stored up intense repressed
anxieties and hostilities throughout their lives. Once
released, these feelings burst out in a rampaging flood.
The backlog of suspicions, fears, and animosities has
been ignited and now explodes in a frenzied cathartic
discharge.41

You might find this topic interesting, too:

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Hale-Bopp wrote:

You might find this topic interesting, too:

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Thanks! Should have looked around first.

The main thing to remember when talking about Dylan and Eric in terms of diagnosis is that as adolescents, one really cannot yet assign a particular diagnosis, at least not in terms of a DSM-IVTR (now DSM-5) type of classification because almost all of them pertain to adults. That being said, with my own education on the subject, I tend to think Dylan had schizotypal tendencies.

ThoughtBox wrote:

The main thing to remember when talking about Dylan and Eric in terms of diagnosis is that as adolescents, one really cannot yet assign a particular diagnosis, at least not in terms of a DSM-IVTR (now DSM-5) type of classification because almost all of them pertain to adults.  That being said, with my own education on the subject, I tend to think Dylan had schizotypal tendencies.

Like I said in your Introduction-thread, I am particular interested, in what you might have to say about especially this topic, since you are a professional. Could you explain in more detail what you think about the schizotypal diagnosis of Dylan?

Hale-Bopp wrote:

ThoughtBox wrote:

The main thing to remember when talking about Dylan and Eric in terms of diagnosis is that as adolescents, one really cannot yet assign a particular diagnosis, at least not in terms of a DSM-IVTR (now DSM-5) type of classification because almost all of them pertain to adults.  That being said, with my own education on the subject, I tend to think Dylan had schizotypal tendencies.

Like I said in your Introduction-thread, I am particular interested, in what you might have to say about especially this topic, since you are a professional. Could you explain in more detail what you think about the schizotypal diagnosis of Dylan?

Here is the new DSM5 criteria for schizotypal personality disorder, when I get time (if ever--or better yet, if someone else wants to do it!) I may go through each and every criterion and try to make a reference to Dylan directly through the 11k, but a lot of it seems pretty spot-on to me...

The essential features of a personality disorder are impairments in personality (self and interpersonal) functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits. To diagnose schizotypal personality disorder, the following criteria must be met:

A. Significant impairments in personality functioning manifest by:
1. Impairments in self functioning:
a. Identity: Confused boundaries between self and others; distorted self-concept; emotional expression often not congruent with context or internal experience.
b. Self-direction: Unrealistic or incoherent goals; no clear set of internal standards.
2. Impairments in interpersonal functioning:
a. Empathy: Pronounced difficulty understanding impact of own behaviors on others; frequent misinterpretations of others‟ motivations and behaviors.
b. Intimacy: Marked impairments in developing close relationships, associated with mistrust and anxiety.

B. Pathological personality traits in the following domains:
1. Psychoticism, characterized by:
a. Eccentricity: Odd, unusual, or bizarre behavior or appearance; saying unusual or inappropriate things.
b. Cognitive and perceptual dysregulation: Odd or unusual thought processes; vague, circumstantial, metaphorical, over-elaborate, or stereotyped thought or speech; odd sensations in various sensory modalities.
c. Unusual beliefs and experiences: Thought content and views of reality that are viewed by others as bizarre or idiosyncratic; unusual experiences of reality.
2. Detachment, characterized by:
a. Restricted affectivity: Little reaction to emotionally arousing situations; constricted emotional experience and expression; indifference or coldness.
b. Withdrawal: Preference for being alone to being with others; reticence in social situations; avoidance of social contacts and activity; lack of initiation of social contact.
3. Negative Affectivity, characterized by:
a. Suspiciousness: Expectations of – and heightened sensitivity to – signs of interpersonal ill-intent or harm; doubts about loyalty and fidelity of others; feelings of persecution.

C. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟s personality trait expression are relatively stable across time and consistent across situations.

D. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟s personality trait expression are not better understood as normative for the individual‟s developmental stage or socio-cultural environment.

E. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟s personality trait expression are not solely due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., severe head trauma).

IMO, perhaps the most interesting subject of Columbine is/was/always will be Dylan Klebold.