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.
The first part of the disorder that needs to be explored is the symptoms. “The essential feature of Antisocial
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Before the diagnosis of Antisocial Personality disorder is made, it must be distinguished from many other disorders first. The first diagnosis that must be ruled out is Substance Abuse Disorder. This can be very hard because APD and Substance Abuse Disorder tend to go hand in hand, and both diagnoses can be given at the same time. The key in distinguishing the two is that the symptoms don’t occur solely because of a drug addiction, which can lead to being manipulative or the individual stealing money and other property to obtain drugs. APD must also be distinguished from many other personality disorders, because they often share symptoms. One disorder that APD can be mistaken for Narcissistic Personality Disorder because the individuals suffering from these disorders tend to be superficial and un-empathic to others feelings but a person suffering from APD tends to be more aggressive and deceitful (American Psychiatric Association, p.705). Other disorder that share symptoms with APD are Histrionic and Borderline Personality Disorders. Individuals suffering from these three disorders all tend to be manipulative, but sufferers
Antisocial personality disorder is a disregard for others rights and violating theses rights. This disorder starts as a child to people who carry this disorder portray the characteristics of irritability, aggressiveness, lack of remorse, and irresponsibility. A psychopath falls under the umbrella of antisocial personality disorders. A psychopath is a person with a personality disorders which is inherited from their parents at birth. Flashes of these inherited factors show and happen in the child upbringing this includes torture animals at a young age, playing weird dark games as a kid, or ripping heads of toys. A perfect example of a Psychopath is Edmund Kemper. A man who showed his psychopath tendencies at a young age that grew into to him becoming a serial killer.
It is hard to first distinguish someone with this disorder because most of them are very friendly, outgoing, and have very likable personalities. Since they often feel no guilt or remorse they repeatedly leave behind a trail of friends, family, and unknown victims with a sometimes-irreversible damage of lies, manipulation, frustration and broken promises. The lack of moral or emotional development gives an antisocial person a lack of understanding for other people's feelings. This enables them to be malicious and deceitful without feeling remorse about their actions. They are incapable of having long lasting, close, warm and responsible relationships with
Individuals with antisocial personality disorder frequently commit illegal acts like destroying property, stealing, and harassing others. They often employ manipulation and deceit to obtain profit or pleasure. The criterion of impulsivity is often seen in a lack of planning. In other words, these individuals live in the present, not thinking about the past or future. This is often seen in numerous and sudden job changes, homes, or significant others. They tend to repeatedly fight with others and commit physical assault. A reckless disregard for one’s safety and that of others is often shown by unsafe driving behavior like drunk driving, drug abuse, or high risk sex. Those diagnosed are irresponsible. For example, it is not uncommon to see erratic work history, large gaps in employment (even when employment was readily available), departing a job with no plan to get another, and repeated unexcused absences
Antisocial personality disorder is highly unresponsive to any form of treatment, main reason why is because people that have ASPD rarely ever seek treatment on their own. If an individual does decide to seek help, it is usually to find a relief from their depression or emotional distress. “Although there are medications that are effective in treating some of the symptoms of the disorder, noncompliance with medication regimens or abuse of the drugs prevents the widespread use of these medications.” ("Mental Disorders."). The most successful treatment for people
The crucial characteristic of antisocial personality disorder is repeated lack of concern for and violation of the rights of others. Other core features of this disorder are manipulation and deceit. The antisocial person feels no remorse for hurting others. They may become irritable and aggressive. People with antisocial personality disorder lack responsibility and fail to plan ahead.
Antisocial personality disorders are immense, and psychopaths and sociopaths are just two of the various personality disorders. An antisocial personality disorders is defined as, “a type of chronic mental condition in which a person's ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional — and destructive.” (Mayo Clinic Staff). Sociopaths are a direct correlation to antisocial personality
Antisocial personality disorder is a disorder of the brain that cause one to disregard other people’s rights by violating them, they lack empathy and are very malicious towards others, they enjoy the suffering of individuals whether it be an animal or human being and it usually occurs during child/teen hood and worsens as the child ages. With this disorder comes a hatred toward society due to lack of knowledge of the real world “Many of the children grow up shy, lonely, highly sensitive, with feelings of being rejected, unloved and neglected by family and/or society”(Miller, 2014, p.13). Isolation at young ages causes children to not know how to interact with others in the real world they think that it is okay to violate personal space because they were never taught what that was. With the isolation and feelings of oddity in the child, they begin to manifest fantasies within their own mind (Miller, 2014, p.14). Many times the child starts out with violent sexual fantasies that they would like to act out but do not have an execution plan so they experiment on inanimate objects or even themselves or family members who will not tell such as younger siblings. This quickly escalates to the things they do to strangers in society starting with smaller steps such as stalking, peeping tom, or abduction. With such successes, they begin their reign of terror
To be considered antisocial is to isolate oneself from general social conditions and demonstrate behaviors that deviate from the social societal norm. Antisocial Personality disorder describes an individual that lacks values and habitually violates societal standards in regards to ethics and social behavior. Individuals with this disorder can be described to lack empathy, act impulsively, and have flagrant disregard for other people. It is hard for them to form engage in positive social exchanges or maintain relationships with others. It was only until the early twentieth century that Antisocial Personality disorder was named. Previously, these individuals were categorized as psychopaths due to the thrill-seeking and cunning nature of their actions. Psychopaths have the ability to change their personalities to ultimately get what they desire then revert back to a malicious, egocentric state. When faced with a dangerous adventure, for those with ASPD the choice will always be to peruse the danger. This is due to a constant underlying feeling of restlessness (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011, p. 272). Although these traits can be deemed “psychopathic” this disorder is not only seen in those who have established themselves as violent criminals, but in those who have established as high-ranking members in society. How can this disorder differentiate itself so starkly within people? Although there are no direct medical test to diagnose this disorder,
According to the DSM-IV, antisocial personality disorder (code 301.7) can be distinguished through failure to conform to social norms, impulsivity, aggression, lack of empathy, lack of remorse, lack of intimacy, and ego-centrism (Millon & Davis, 1996). As Walter White
Furthermore, psychopathy was considered during the twentieth century, the most widely used term to describe antisocial behavior (Reed, 1996). In the 1980s, the committee who devised the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for the American Psychiatric Association recommended the term antisocial personality syndrome to be changed to antisocial personality disorder (Ellis & Walsh, 2000). Antisocial Personality Disorder Hare & McPherson (1984), were successful in pushing the idea that there is a significant correspondence between violent and persistent delinquent and criminal histories and antisocial personality disorder diagnosis. Acute persistent child conduct disorder behavior symptoms, also known as conduct disorder, have been directly linked to serious criminality and antisocial personality disorder (Ellis & Walsh, 2000). Although criminality and antisocial personality disorder ought not be equated, they should be seen as closely linked behavioral phenomena (Ellis & Walsh, 2000). Vitella (1996) believes that individuals with childhood conduct disorder have a higher than normal probability of being both criminal and diagnosed antisocial personality disorder in adolescence and adulthood, and persons with serious criminal records have a higher probability of being diagnosed psychopathic than those with little or no criminal history. Nevertheless, Ellis & Walsh (2000) in caution pointed out that these
(2011), antisocial personality illness is a state in which individuals experience a lack of development of morals. This mental illness includes childhood symptoms such as stealing, fighting, truancy, and resisting authority. Antisocial personalities lack empathy
Antisocial Personality Disorder is a Cluster B personality disorder characterized as a individual who has a pattern of disregard of others or the law, eventually becoming criminals. People who are diagnosed with antisocial personality typically are manipulative, lack remorse as well as fail to believe their actions caused any wrongdoing. Reasons for Diagnosis Criterion A. Disregard for and violation of others since age 15, as indicated by the seven sub features including: failure to obey laws or behaviors resulting in criminal arrest, manipulation, impulsive behavior, aggression towards others, disregards safety of self or others, a pattern of irresponsibility and lack of remorse for actions. In the case analysis, it is reported Tony has
Antisocial Personality Disorder is a personality disorder recognized within the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. This disorder is
Introduction: Antisocial Personality Disorder is defined to be a “pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age fifteen (APA, 2013). Antisocial Personality Disorder has also been referred to as psychopathy, sociopathy, and less commonly, Dyssocial Personality Disorder. The term “antisocial” indicates the rebellion against society and utter denial of obligations that create the foundation for relationships between people. Antisocial Personality Disorder, being a reoccurring pattern of outright rebellion from the literal and social law, is evident in someone through the presence of some primary symptoms.