General and particular characteristics of handwriting in individuals with personality disorders

Levchenko Elena V., Mukhina Sofya A., Roshchin Yuri V.

Changes in handwriting as a highly individual and subtle mechanism is an indicator of the state of health and simultaneously a diagnostic sign of various diseases and pathological conditions of psychological genesis. The analysis of handwriting, seldom used in practice of the psychiatrist, has the big potential allowing to diagnose at early stages of disorders of non-psychotic level, in particular, psychopathies. Objective: identification of general and private signs of writing at various psychopathologies which are most typical for each of pathologies. Materials and Methods. Study of psychological profile of the personality in patients with known personality disorders on the basis of Leanchko's test and Leongard-Shmishek questionnaire; methods of system and comparative analysis; measurement and description of results according to the modified "Complex method of determination of gender, age and psychological properties of the executor of the text executed in handwriting of high and above average degree of development", A.N. Gerasimov and L.V. Sidelnikova (taking into account gender and age known in the study). Results. The general and special signs of handwriting described for each group are stable and highly informative. Conclusion. The peculiarities of handwriting of the patients in the studied groups fully reflect the anamnestic criteria of diagnosis in writing, but are not pathognomonic. In this connection, they can be applied as an additional method of diagnostics of psychopathies. The results obtained in the study partially correspond to the data available in the literature, but at the same time are more complete, with details of particular signs of handwriting.

Keywords:graphology, handwriting, personality disorders, psychopathies.