Antisocial Personality Disorder
They are your neighbors. They are your friends. Maybe they are even your family. You talk with them often, and have even had them over for dinner on occasion. Perhaps your children play in the same playground or spend time in the same social group. Although you have noticed some quirks and idiosyncrasies, you would never know the difference, and you would never expect the worst. After something bad happens that draws your attention to them, you have been forced to accept the truth: someone you know has Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Antisocial Personality Disorder is a personality disorder recognized within the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. This disorder is a lifelong infliction that affects more men than women. An approximate six percent of men and one percent of women in the United States population are considered “sociopaths” or “psychopaths” (Wood). In order to be diagnosed with this disorder, the individual must be at least eighteen years old, but the antisocial behaviors must have occurred in the individual by age fifteen. According to Dr. Luchiano Picchio, an individual diagnosed with this disorder is marked by an “inability to social norms involving many aspects of the patient's life” (Picchio). As listed within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version Four (DSM-IV) (2000), the diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder are:
(1) failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest; (2) deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure; (3) impulsivity or failure to plan ahead; (4) irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults; (5) reckless disregard for safety of self or others; (6) consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations; and (7) lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000, p. 701).
The typical psychopath hits his prime in his twenties, and eventually lessens his socially unacceptable acts by his forties (Black, 2000). He will probably come across as c...
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...ity Disorder is a serious disorder experienced by many men and women every day. Although those inflicted by the disorder can lead normal lives and usually do, they can be considered dangerous, and those spending time around them should pay close attention to both their own safety and the safety of the sociopath. After all, as William and Joan McCord stated in The Psychopath, “Psychopathy, possibly more than other mental disorders, threatens the safety, the serenity, and the security of American life” (Olsen 1984, p. 191).
Works Cited:
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Washington D.C.: Author.
Black, D. (2000, November 25). What is antisocial personality disorder? Psych Central.
Retrieved April 21, 2004, from http://psychcentral.com/library/asp_general.html
Olsen, J. (1984). Son. New York: Atheneum.
Picchio, L. (n.d.) Antisocial personality disorder. Dauphin County RADAR. Retrieved April 14, 2004, from http://dcradar.org/doctors/picchio_0501.html
Wood, D. (n.d.) What is antisocial personality disorder? Mental Health Matters. Retrieved April 21, 2004, from http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/print.php?artID=51
They both have an epic hero. In The Aeneid, this hero is Aeneas. Aeneas is often compared with Caesar Augustus. He is a strong leader and conquered new lands. “As firm as a sturdy oak grown tough with age when the Northwinds blasting off the Alps compete, fighting eft and right, to wrench it from the earth, and the winds scream, the trunk shudders, its leafy crest showers across the ground but it clings firm to its rock, its roots stretching as deep into the dark world below as its crown goes towering toward the gales of heave - so firm the hero stands: buffeted left and right by storms of appeals, he takes the full force of love and suffering deep in his great heart.” ( Virgil, Book 4, pg. 143, lines 555- 565). This passage using the literary element, simile. In this simile, Virgil is comparing Aeneas to a strong oak tree and able to withstand the elements. The simile also shows that the oak tree, Aeneas, is able to withstand controversy from all around. Since Virgil uses Aeneas as a parallel for Caesar Augustus, he is also saying that Augustus is a firm and strong leader as well. He is also saying that he will be able to handle the controversy in his current time and that he will come out
Moran, P. "The epidemiology of antisocial personality disorder ." Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 34.5 (1999): 231-242. Print.
Every few years there are disturbing, yet fascinating headlines: “BTK killer: Hiding in plain sight” or “Police discover at least 10 victims at Anthony Sowell's home”; but what would allow an individual to commit the crimes they did? In cases like these there is usually a common link: Antisocial Personality disorder. It is an unknown disorder to most of the population which is why there are so many questions to be answered, the main ones being what is antisocial personality disorder and how does it effect patient and society as a whole? To answer these questions one needs an accurate background picture of the disorder.
First, Anti Social Personality Disorder is a mental condition that can cause a person to think and behave in a destructive manner. “Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is characterized by a pattern of socially irresponsible, exploitative, and guiltless behavior. ASPD is associated with co-occurring mental health and addictive disorders and medical comorbidity.” (Black, 2015) People with ASPD have a habit of antagonizing and manipulating others but also have no awareness for what is right and what is wrong. One tends to disregard the feelings and wishes of others. “ASPD typically begins during childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood.” (Kivi, 2012) ASPD usually is noticed around 8 years old, but it is categorized as a conduct disorder. Though children can be treated in what doctors may think is ASPD, children will not be completely diagnosed with the title of ASPD until at least 18 years of age. In time those with ASPD behavior usually end up turning criminal.
Personality disorder. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. 2014. Web. 08 Feb 2014
Antisocial personality disorder is a personality disorder marked by a general pattern of disregard for a violation of other people’s rights. Explanations of antisocial personality disorder come from the psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and biological models. As with many other personality disorders, psychodynamic theorists propose that this disorder starts with an absence of parental love during infancy leading to a lack of basic trust. In this view, the children that develop this disorder respond to early inadequacies by becoming emotionally distant, and they bond with others through use of power and destructiveness. Behavioral theorists have suggested that antisocial symptoms may be learned through modeling, or imitation. As evidence, they point to the higher rate of antisocial personality disorder found among the parents of people with this disorder. Other behaviorists suggest that some parent’s unintentionally teach antisocial behavior by regularly awarding a child’s aggressive behavior. The cognitive view says that people with this disorder hold attitudes that trivialize the importance of other people’s needs. Cognitive theorists also believe that these people have a genuine difficulty recognizing a point of view other than their own. Finally studies show that biological factors may play an important role in developing antisocial disorder. Researchers have found that antisocial people, particularly those with high impulse and aggression, display lower serotonin activity and has been linked this same activity with other studies as well.
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.).
I have decided to research the development of antisocial personality disorders due to the quality of early childhood care and early childhood experiences. Antisocial personality disorder is described generally as disregard for others. Diagnosing ASPD involves features such as delinquency, physical assaults, deceitfulness and lying, impulsivity, and irresponsibility. This topic appealed to me because my step sister goes to see a therapist and they have reason to believe that she may have an antisocial or borderline personality disorder. While I won’t divulge, she has had many traumatic childhood experiences and had quite the rough upbringing with her parents. This led me to be interested in this article and to find out more about the connections between the two phenomena.
“Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a long-standing pattern of a disregard for other people’s rights, often crossing the line and violating those rights. It usually begins in childhood or as a teen and continues into their adult lives.” (Staff & Grohol, 2014) Individuals with antisocial personality often display deviant behavior throughout their life and are often classified as different outcast groups in the society such as sociopaths and psychopaths. People with this disorder tend to social predators who befriend individuals and overtime gain their trust and loyalty then cause pain and suffering to these individual’s lives without feeling any form of remorse.
Ogloff, J. R. (2006). Psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder conundrum. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, (40), 519-528.
How many individuals go through life and say, “I am antisocial” because they do not like talking to people? Too many do, however many of which are not antisocial. If someone says they are antisocial, they simply mean they are selectively social. People who are antisocial suffer from a disorder known as Antisocial Personality Disorder. Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) is an ongoing pattern of behavior that includes the disregard of social rules, serious violations of rights, and irresponsible acts. This disorder affects roughly three percent of males and one percent of females in the United States. Individuals who have ASPD are interesting to learn about. Many of these individuals, we know. These individuals
Black, D. (2006). Treatment for Antisocial Personality Disorder. Psych Central. Retrieved on November 25, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/treatment-for-antisocial-personality-disorder/000656
Antisocial Personality Disorder, also informally known as psychopathy/sociopathy, is a disorder where people elicit manipulative behaviors and lack morals. This includes disregard for rules, violence, superficial charm, promiscuity, a superiority complex, and difficulty forming attachments. This is said to be caused by genetics as well as modeling, or watching other people perform this kind of behavior. 3.3% of Americans are diagnosed with Antisocial Personality disorder. It’s 70% more common in males than females and is seen greatly in
“Case Study of a Prisoner with Antisocial Personality Disorder in a Jail of West Bengal.”European Psychiatry, Elsevier Masson, 9 June 2015, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924933815311718
It became so clear that junk foods lead to a punch of catastrophic diseases like obesity, type two diabetes, vascular diseases and cardiac disorders. Those kinds of diseases cost more than $150 billion annually, just to diagnose, treat people who suffer from them. That disease is chronic and leads to many health-related issues, for example, obesity considers a risk factor for type two diabetes, and high blood pressure, joint disorders and many others (The Denver Post 2012). The key of preventing many chronic problems is nutrition. Low income plays an important role of limiting most people to buy and eat a healthy diet and in the other hand, it is easy for people budgets to purchase junk foods. So controlling the prices of healthy foods to be suitable for all people make good nutrition available for everyone. Adequate diets mean decreasing the epidemic of those serious diseases, and stopping the spread and break the bad sequences that may happen. Long-term exposure to junk foods that are full with chemicals like additives, preservatives have led to chronic illnesses difficult to treat. Also, the chemical added to junk foods are tasted unique and made millions of people becoming addicted to them and are available everywhere for example in restaurants, cafes, lunchrooms (The Denver Post