University of Maryland Eastern Shore Borderline Personality Disorder Case Study

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Read the case study below and answer the question:

Richard was convicted of kidnapping and killing Polly K.in Petaluma, California.Richards’s case illustrates many of the characteristics of his personality, and, in fact, he was diagnosed with this disorder by court-appointed psychiatrists. Richard had a difficult childhood, being raised by a father who was himself prone to violence and alcoholism. Sometimes his father would take a gun and go outside to shoot his alcohol-induced hallucinations. His mother was apparently worse, so the father was given custody of young Richard when they divorced. When Richard began his teenage years, a pattern of violence was already established. He was cruel to animals and was known to have thrown gasoline on cats and set them on fire. He also carried a knife and would catch stray dogs and cut them up. He was smart, however, and easily won the confidence of people, only to take advantage of them. Often he would go on crime sprees, stealing and robbing and beating people until he was caught and put in jail. During his many prison terms, he learned several trades. He had some special skill with sheet metal, and could have easily become a skilled tradesman in this field. But Richard was not interested in a stable job and, instead, preferred to take what belonged to others. He never held a job for more than a few months at a time. After one violent robbing spree, Richard was asked by the judge if he felt bad about what he had done. Richard responded, “If I felt bad about it I wouldn’t have done it.” The judge asked again, “It doesn’t bother you at all?” “Not at all,” Davis responded. “If it did I wouldn’t have done it”.

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