ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY

DISORDER

Valerie Llerenas

Psychology

Period #5

DEFINITION

• A personality disorder that involves

disregard for the rights of others as well

as impulsive, irresponsible &

aggressive behavior.

• A person with a lack of regard for

society’s moral or legal standards.

ASSOCIATED FEATURES

T

houghts, feelings & actions:• Typically have no regard for right & wrong.• They often violate the law & the rights of others,

landing in frequent trouble & conflict.• They often lie, behave violently, & have drug &

alcohol problems.• Lack of guilt over hurting others.• Aren’t able to fulfill responsibilities that have to do

with work, family & school.

DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA

A

. There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of

the rights of others occurring since age 15, as indicated by three

(or more) of the following: • failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful

behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest

• deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure

• impulsivity or failure to plan ahead• irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated

physical fights or assaults

CONT.

• reckless disregard for safety of self or others• consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to

sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations• lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or

rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.

B

. The individual is at least age 18 years old.

C

. There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15.

D

. The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the

course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.

ETIOLOGY

T

he exact cause for the disorder is not known but is most

of the time one of the following:• Nature:

• They probably inherited tendencies & it is in their genes.

• Biological factors such as abnormal chemistry in the nervous system & parts of the brain.

• Nurture: • Or they got it from their environment & life

situations such as troubled children who have problems at home.

PREVALENCE

T

his disorder is most common in males whose lack of

conscience is low before age 15.

I

n a general population 3% of males & 1% of females have

an Antisocial Personality Disorder.

A

bout 80-85% of incarcerated criminals have it.

TREATMENT

S

tudies have shown that it is very difficult to treat because people with it may

not even want or think that they need any type of treatment.

L

ong term one on one therapy might work but getting the patient to stick to it is

difficult.

T

reatment for depression & anxiety may be needed to be given to these patients.

To treat the symptoms.

P

eople with the disorder don’t seek treatment because they see the world as

having a problem not themselves.

PROGNOSIS

T

he future of most of the people with the disorder is very sad

and scary because most of the time no treatment is given

which result in incarceration and no improvement.

P

eople with the disorder do not show a lot of progress being

made & if there is progress it takes a longtime because of two

factors:• The disorder is characterized by a failure to confirm to

society’s norms & if not they are incarcerated.• It is very common for there to be a lack of insight into the

disorder.

REFERENCES

A

ntisocial Personality Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2011, from Internet Mental

Health website: http:// www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-pe04.html

H

algin, R.P., &Whitbourne,S.K. Copyright(2005).Abnormal Psychology:Clinical

perspectives on psychological disorders. New York, NY: McGrawttill

P

ersonality Disorder. (n.d.). Antisocial Personality Disorder. AllPsych ONLINE

website :http:// allpsych .com/ disorders/ personality antisocial.html

R

ais, T. B. (2008, November 8). Antisocial Personality Disorder. Retrieved May 2, 2011,

from NYU Langone Medical Center website: http://psych.

med.nyu.edu/conditions-we-treat/conditions/ antisocial- personality-disorder

DISCUSSION QUESTION

D

o you think all incarcerated criminals should be

diagnosed before they enter jail? If they are

diagnosed with an Antisocial Personality Disorder

should they still be sent to jail? What would be a

good alternative if there is any?