Compare And Contrast Schizophrenia And Antisocial Personality Disorder

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Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Schizophrenia By Stephanie Brent Description: Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) is a condition where someone shows patterns of feeling with no regard to any sense of rights and wrongs. People with ASPD lack remorse for their cruel actions and behaviour and show no regret for the affect they have on other people. Unlike ASPD, which is a personality disorder, schizophrenia, despite meaning ‘split mind’, is not a personality disorder but a chronic brain disorder. Schizophrenia is a condition where someone experiences active delusions and hallucinations in their daily life. People with schizophrenia have trouble differentiating between real life and their delusions. Symptoms: Childhood behaviours …show more content…

Unlike ASPD, schizophrenia has 3 separate symptoms, positive, negative, and disorganised. Positive symptoms include hallucinations of voices or people, paranoia, distorted perceptions, beliefs, and behaviours. Negative symptoms include impaired emotions, decreased speech, and reduced social interaction and activities. Disorganised symptoms include disorganised thinking, speech, and abnormal behaviour or movements. Someone with schizophrenia can experience cognitive impairment leading to problems concentrating, paying attention, memories, and a declining education. Diagnosis: To get diagnosed with ASPD the person needs to be at least 18 and show concerning patterns for 3+ years. Childhood pre-diagnosis that leads to the development of ASPD is Childhood Conduct Disorder. People with ASPD tend to refuse or ignore help from professionals as they believe they are normal. If someone is concerned that someone, they know, has ASPD they will need to reach out to professionals and seek help for …show more content…

Possible causes that increase the risk of ASPD include an individual’s family history, a difficult childhood, and changes in the brain function. Schizophrenia presents in males from late teenage years to early 20’s while women present symptoms from their 20’s to early 30’s. Initial signs of schizophrenia include troubled relationships, poor schooling performance, and reduced motivation. Unlike ASPD, schizophrenia can develop from life stressors or family history. Scientists believe that stressors are the main cause of schizophrenia. Treatment: ASPD is unpreventable for those who are at risk. The best way to recognise ASPD is for people who are involved in children’s early childhood to know warning signs of ASPD. Common methods of treatment for ASPD are long-term Psychological Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or Mentalisation Based Therapy. These therapies all focus on learning about thoughts, feelings, and emotions. There is no medication for ASPD, but some people are prescribed antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilisers to manage symptoms. Like ASPD, there is no cure for schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia seek treatment with antipsychotic medications to reduce any psychotic

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