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Short case study on antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder theory
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A good looking man in an expensive suite walks past a woman on the subway whistling a catchy tune. Many thoughts begin to run through her head, “He’s an important business man on his way to his next meeting.” Or “He’s a father on the way home from work.” As he stops she watches him read a news paper thinking how attractive and self composed he is. In the back of her head she’s wishing that he would speak to her. As she sits and hopes it seems that her wish is going to be answered. The young, attractive gentleman gets up and strides over taking the seat next to her. He introduces himself as Mr. Cromer and engages her in a charming conversation, sweeping her off her feet. In her head everything is going great, she has met the perfect man, all the while she hasn’t noticed that he has lead her to the door of a warehouse. By the time she realizes where she is it is too late, he has her now. As she begins to scream he shoves her in the building ending all hope. Mr. Cromer actually suffers from a severe case of antisocial personality disorder and has developed a bad habit of abducting, raping and killing women followed by an ostentatious dinner often buying dinks and food for others in the restaurant or bar to which he leaves without every paying. Those who suffer from personality disorders will not necessarily all become killers or rapists but most do participate in illegal activity of some sort. Antisocial personality disorder, also known as sociopathy or psychopathy, is often described as the person lacking any and all morals; they have no conscience. Often these individuals have difficulty or inability to feel empathy for others and as a result they do as they please, not conforming to social norms like the majority of the population... ... middle of paper ... ...ey still commit count less crimes against society and fail to conform to any societal norms. Many perspectives have been trying to better explain what causes this disorder but the close we have gotten is correlation. Like with any disease there are multiple contributing factors so researchers need to take and eclectic approach and hopefully one day we will find a simple answer for this complex disorder that will lead to an effective treatment. Works Cited Haglin, R. P. & Whitbourne, S. K. (2010). Abnormal psychology: clinical perspectives on psychological disorders. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Moran, P. (1999). The epidemiology of antisocial personality disorder. Institute of Psychiatry, (34), 231-242. Ogloff, J. R. (2006). Psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder conundrum. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, (40), 519-528.
Durand, M., & Barlow, D. (2013). Essentials of abnormal psychology. (6 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
These character traits allow the psychopath to commit his atrocious acts. However, because the psychopath is rendered incapable of moral reasoning, the criminal legal system has a problem in justifying the punishment of one, as psychopathy intervenes with the person’s ability to be a normally functioning adult. Currently, psychopathy is not recognized as a mental illness by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR. Most psychopaths end up being diagnosed with ASPD, or Antisocial Personality
Whitbourne, S. K., & Haligan, R. P. (2013). Abnormal Psychology: Clinical Perspectives on Psychological Disorders, Seventh Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Anti-Social Personality Disorder is a classified personality disorder in which a person, sometimes referred to as a “psychopath”, has a lack of empathy, an increased chance of acting violently towards others, and a complete disregard for authority and punishment. Prevalent features and symptoms include: shallow emotions, irresponsibility, mistrust of others, reckless thrill-seeking, disrespect for the law, prone to lash out with physical violence, harmful impulsiveness, arrogance, manipulative, greedy, lack of kindness or compassion, disrespect for others, and dishonesty (Psychology Today, n.d.). A main factor of this disorder is the inability to process, interpret, and display emotion, even fear. An example is that most criminals with this disorder respond drastically different to their sentencing than normal. They seem relaxed and unable to process it on an emotional level. They are also fully aware of what they are doing, and have no sense of distorted reality, or remorse which classifies them as sane people. They also have neurotransmitter deficiencies in the brain, such as reduced serotonin and dopamine (Freedman & Verdun-Jones, 2010). The overall population of people having this disorder is a small amount, about 3% and higher in prisons and abuse clinics which is around 70%. Also, because of their constant involvement in violence, most people diagnosed with this disorder die by violent means such as suicide and homicide (Internet Mental Health, n.d.).
Antisocial Personality Disorder is a mental health diagnosis of someone whom exhibits continued deceitfulness, aggressiveness and irritability, reckless disregard for the safety of others or themselves, lack of remorse, high level of impulsiveness, failure to conform to social norms as well as consistent irresponsibility. For one to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, the individual must exhibit at least three out of the seven signs of antisocial and irresponsible behavior after the age of fifteen (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012). They are extremely egocentric individuals, whom their main goals are derived from power, pleasure or personal gain. People suffering from antisocial personality disorder deal with continued failure to perform responsibilities in their family roles, as well as occupational roles. Violence and conflict is not unusual to them, as well as physical fights. “These people are irritable and aggressive with their spouses and children as well as with people outside of the home. They ...
Kring, M.A., Johnson, L.S., Davison, G., & Neale, J. (2012). Abnormal psychology. Danvers, MA: Wiley, John & Sons, Inc.
Individuals who suffer from personality disorders have conflict with authority figures, which consequently provides the explanation of their incessant involvement with criminal activity. Works Cited Wahlund, K., & Kristiansson, M. (2006). Offender Characteristics in Lethal Violence With Special Reference to Antisocial and Autistic Personality Traits. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21(8), 1081-1091. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.com.
There’s no cure for Antisocial Personality disorder, it is simply a reality we face in modern American society, and although these people function differently, and sometimes dangerously in society today, they have become a powerful and integrated part of American Society.
2. Emery, Robert E., and Oltmanns, Thomas F. Abnormal Psychology. New Jersey: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
Simons, C. (2001). Antisocial personality disorder in serial killers: The thrill of the kill. The Justice Professional, 14(4), 345-356.
West’s passion towards the disregards of normal social behavior and exaggeration of self-appraisal is possibly derived from the fusion of Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM-5) label both APD and NPD as personality disorders. The American Psychiatric Association describes personality disorders (PD) as the association in how an individual thinks and feels about oneself and others that significantly and adversely affect how an individual function in many aspects of life (APA, 2013). The Journal of Family Practice reports that PDs are common, affecting up to 15% of US adults associating with comorbid medical and psychiatric
Seligman, M., Walker, E. F., & Rosenhan, D. L. (2010). Abnormal psychology (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The media most often showcases psychopaths as individuals who are inherently evil and dangerous towards themselves and others. Yet, this concept of psychopathy goes far beyond this idea of pure evil and instead necessitates a needed psychological understanding. These individuals, psychopaths, are generally characterized by a lack of empathy and conscience. Indeed, psychopath’s indifference to the repercussions of their actions combined with other characteristics such as hostility and aggression make for a potentially dangerous personality (Lyken, 1996, p.30). In order to identify a psychopath’s recidivism, it is important to differentiate them from sociopaths who, instead of having a psychological impairment that makes it difficult for them to socialize, have been systematically under socialized (Lyken, 1996, p.30). In accordance. psychologists have developed the methods such as the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised (PCL-R) to help identify those with psychopathic tendencies (Walters, 2012, p.409). That is why predictions of recidivism among psychopaths is most efficient when done
Barlow, D., Durand, V., & Stewart, S. (2009). Abnormal psychology an integrative apporach. (2nd ed.). United States of America: Wadsworth
Durand, V. M. and Barlow, D. H., (2005). Abnormal psychology: An integrative approach (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.