Psychologists have used the term Passive - Aggressive Personality Disorder (PAPD) as a
label to characterize people who are chronically stubborn, pouty, sulky, irritable, procrastinating, and argumentative.1 More recently, PAPD was renamed Negativistic Personality Disorder to include other negative behaviors,
such as complaining about being misunderstood, envy of others, and exaggerated complaints of personal misfortune.2 Both terms have been controversial; some psychologists believe that many of the symptoms only occur in certain situations (or certain relationships) and do not reflect an
underlying pervasive personality trait that the person carries with them across relationships.3