Editing Histrionic personality disorder (section)

== Causes ==
Little research has been done to find evidence of what causes histrionic personality disorder. Although direct causes are inconclusive, various theories and studies suggest multiple possible causes, of a neurochemical, genetic, psychoanalytic, or environmental nature. Traits such as extravagance, vanity, and seductiveness of [[hysteria]] have similar qualities to women diagnosed with HPD.<ref name="Barlow2">Barlow, H.D. & Durand, V.M. (2005). Personality Disorders. (pp. 443–444). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomas Wadsworth.</ref> HPD symptoms typically do not fully develop until late teens or early 20s,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Histrionic Personality Disorder: Who does histrionic personality disorder affect? |url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9743-histrionic-personality-disorder |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=clevelandclinic.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Histrionic personality disorder: Causes |url=https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/diseases-conditions/histrionic-personality-disorder |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=mountsinai.org |language=en}}</ref> while the onset of treatment only occurs, on average, at approximately 40 years of age.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Lumen Learning |title=Histrionic Personality Disorder |url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-abnormalpsych/chapter/histrionic-personality-disorder-2/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316151827/https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-abnormalpsych/chapter/histrionic-personality-disorder-2/ |archive-date=2018-03-16 |access-date=2018-03-13 |website=Lumen Learning}}</ref><ref name="Fancher2">Fancher, R.E. & Rutherford, A. (2012). Pioneers of psychology. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.</ref>

Although 80% of diagnosed cases are in females, it may be equally prevalent among men. Little is known about how this disorder affects males, but it is thought to be more difficult to detect in men.

=== Authoritarian parenting ===
There may be an association between having one or more parents with authoritarian or distant attitudes, and developing this disorder later in life.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-323-85837-3.00001-7 |chapter=Personality disorders |title=Global Emergency of Mental Disorders |date=2021 |last1=Moini |first1=Jahangir |last2=Koenitzer |first2=Justin |last3=Logalbo |first3=Anthony |pages=303–328 |isbn=978-0-323-85837-3 }}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moini |first=Jahangir |title=Global Emergency of Mental Disorders |year=2021 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-323-85837-3 }}{{page needed|date=February 2025}}</ref>

[[Psychoanalysis|Psychoanalytic]] theories incriminate [[Authoritarian Parent|authoritarian]] or distant attitudes by one (mainly the mother) or both parents, along with conditional love based on expectations the child can never fully meet.<ref name="WebMD2" /> Using psychoanalysis, [[Freud]] believed that lustfulness was a projection of the patient's lack of ability to love unconditionally and develop cognitively to maturity, and that such patients were overall emotionally shallow.<ref name="Pfohl2">Pfohl, B. (1995). Histrionic personality disorder. The DSM IV Personality Disorders, 173–192.</ref> He believed the reason for being unable to love could have resulted from a traumatic experience, such as the death of a close relative during childhood or divorce of one's parents, which gave the wrong impression of committed relationships. Exposure to one or multiple traumatic occurrences of a close friend or family member's leaving (via abandonment or mortality) could make the person unable to form true and affectionate attachments towards other people.<ref name="Nickert2">Nickert, J. (n.d.) Histrionic Personality Disorder.</ref>

=== Neurochemical/physiological ===
Studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between the function of certain hormones, neurotransmitters and the [[Personality disorder|Cluster B]] personality disorders such as HPD. This seems to be especially evident with respect to the [[catecholamines]]. Individuals diagnosed with HPD have a highly responsive noradrenergic system, which is responsible for the synthesis, storage, and release of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. High levels of norepinephrine lead to anxiety-proneness, dependency, novelty seeking, and high sociability.<ref name=":02" />{{Medical citation needed|date=August 2021}}

=== Genetic ===
Twin studies have aided in breaking down the [[Nature vs. Nurture|genetic vs. environment]] debate. A twin study conducted by the Department of Psychology at the [[University of Oslo]] attempted to establish a correlation between genetics and [[Personality disorder|Cluster B personality disorders]]. With a test sample of 221 twins, 92 [[Twin#Types and zygosity|monozygotic]] and 129 [[Twin#Types and zygosity|dizygotic]], researchers interviewed the subjects using the [[Structured Clinical Interview for DSM|Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R]] Personality Disorders (SCID-II) and concluded that there was a [[Correlation and dependence|correlation]] of 0.67 that histrionic personality disorder is hereditary.<ref name=":4" />

=== HPD and antisocial personality disorder ===
Another theory suggests a possible relationship between histrionic personality disorder and [[antisocial personality disorder]]. Research has found 2/3 of patients diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder also meet criteria similar to those of the antisocial personality disorder,<ref name="Barlow2" /> which suggests both disorders based towards sex-type expressions may have the same underlying cause.

Some family history studies have found that histrionic personality disorder, as well as antisocial and [[Borderline personality disorder|borderline]] personality disorders, tend to run in families, but it is unclear how much is due to genetic versus environmental factors.<ref name="Nolen-Hoeksema2">Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2014). Personality Disorders. (pp. 266–267). Abnormal Psychology (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.</ref> Both examples suggest that predisposition could be a factor as to why certain people are diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder, however little is known about whether or not the disorder is influenced by any biological compound or is genetically inheritable.<ref name="Nolen-Hoeksema2" /> Little research has been conducted to determine the biological sources, if any, of this disorder.