Introduction
The purpose of this article is to examine in detail the mental health disorder known as antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a mental disorder that is characterized by “a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others” (Hatchett, 2015, p. 17). The questions that this paper seeks to answer are, how does ASPD affect individuals and their functioning, what are the potential caused of the disorder, what kinds of therapeutic approaches are there for treatment, and what empirical support is there for the effectiveness of those treatments. One thing that must be understood when doing this research is the difference between Psychopathy and ASPD. Some have the opinion that
309). According to Black (1999), this pattern is defined by the with seven categories of symptoms, which are an inability to socially conform, deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, a disregard for safety, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse. These people therefore tend to do things such as breaking laws, putting others in danger for their own advantage, and trying to trick others into doing different things for them (pp. 42-43). Although only three of the symptom categories need to be shown, lack of remorse may be the most important, as “how a patient views his behavior is as important as the behavior itself” (Black, 1999, p. 43). Although people with antisocial personality disorder may know what they 're doing is wrong, they don 't feel any remorse. Therefore will participate in these other behaviors that are exploitative and destructive on impulse decisions, without a second
In one 2002 study, Skeem et al. “found that participants who completed a 0-6 treatments were far more likely to commit a violent act during a 10-week assessment period than those who completed 7 or more sessions.” (as cited in Hatchett, 2015, p. 20). A 1992 study done by Rice, Harris, and Cormier matched 146 male untreated psychopathic offenders with 146 treated offenders, and the results showed that after an average follow-up of 10.5 years, “treatment was associated with lower violent recidivism for non psychopathic individuals but higher violent recidivism for psychopathic individuals” (as cited in Grimes, Salekin, & Worley, 2010, p.
For axis 2, antisocial personality disorder our notes say that no treatment for this disorder seems to be effective. Yet about 25 percent of all people with this disorder do receive treatment. One major problem is that individual’s lack of conscience or desire to change. Most have been mandated to treatment. Hospitals have attempted to create therapeutic communities even though most of today’s treatment approaches have little to no impact on the
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.
Individuals' personalities and overall quality of living are significantly influenced by several interrelated sources ranging from one's upbringing and quality of relationships to their own feelings of self-esteem and worth. Though this may seem relatively easy and un-complex, countless people today are engaged in persistent antisocial, criminal behavior, and seem unable to find an alternative, legal, means of living. While many have tried to explain such behavior through various theories, the causes of criminal activity remain to be satisfactorily clarified. Essentially, antisocial criminal activity has two aspects to it. Antisocial behavior is that in which one shuns society and others, while criminal activity is the act of performing a deed that violates an established law of the community. Obviously, such actions have serious consequences, which can range from community service and a fine to prison time. Even though there are several reasons that one may become an antisocial criminal, two theories of personality that provide reasonable explanations of this phenomenon, each in their own way, are the psychoanalytic and phenomenological theories.
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Ogloff, J. R. (2006). Psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder conundrum. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, (40), 519-528.
Anti Social Personality Disorder is also known as ASPD. “About 2.5 to 3.5 percent of people have ASPD. This condition is much more common in men than in women.” (Lees McRae College) Everyone has their own personality and not one person is exactly the same. “People with anti social personality disorder are also called sociopaths.” (Leedom) Different causes are particular to look for when diagnosing this disorder. Though rare, it is important to understand the disorder as well as its symptoms, treatment and strategies. “Lifetime prevalence for ASPD is reported to range from 2% to 4% in men and from 0.5% to 1% in women. Rates of natural and unnatural death (suicide, homicide, and accidents) are excessive.” (Black, 2015)
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.
The first being antisocial personality, people with this disorder are not able to recognize right or wrong. Individuals with this disorder do not care for anyone and will do anything to reach their desired outcome. They feel no
Riser, R. E., & Kosson, D. S. (2013). Criminal behavior and cognitive processing in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder with and without comorbid psychopathy. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 4(4), 332-340. doi:10.1037/a0033303
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 ...
Some of the criteria that a sociopath is required to meet are the outright display of more than three symptoms of antisocial personality
Simons, C. (2001). Antisocial personality disorder in serial killers: The thrill of the kill. The Justice Professional, 14(4), 345-356.
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
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
According to research, psychopathic behavior can take many forms not all of which are violent. Ultimately psychiatrists say that there are pieces of a brain’s emotional machinery missing. As a result making psychopaths lack empathy, guilt or the ability to simply sow remorse (180rule.com). In an interview with James Fallon, a neuroscientist and neuroanatomist, states that there isn’t an acceptable definition of the word, psychopaths and that some psychologists do not even recognize it as a syndrome (Flatow). The closest way to identify a psychopath is through the Psychopathy Checklist – Revised, commonly known as the PCL-R (Hare). This test is used to determine if an individual has a mid- psychopathic disturbance, moderate psychopathic disturbance or if they are psychopathic (Brinkley). The test is scored on a 3 point scale (0, 1, and 2) with the highest score being a 40 which denotes a prototypical psychopath (Hare). When an individual scores a 30 or above it will qualify the individu...