Category: Antisocial Personality Disorder

Antisocial Personality Disorder is a personality disorder characterized by long-term neglect or violation of the rights of others and difficulty maintaining long-term relationships. Personality disorders are often commonly caused by the combination of both biological and environmental factors. Below is a discussion of the causes of antisocial personality disorder.

One of the causes of personality disorder is biological factors. Many medical experts believe a person born with personality disorder often have different brain wirings that prevents them from learning from their mistakes or responding correctly to stress like fear and anger. Below are biological triggers why antisocial personality disorder develops:

1. Hormones and neurotransmitters. The release of hormones can change patterns of development. For instance, the release of testosterone can lead to the aggressiveness of a person. Low levels of cortisol can also trigger impulsive behavior. On the other hand, several studies suggest that people who have lower levels of serotonin are also likely to suffer from personality disorders.
2. Limbic neural mal-development. The limbic system is a set of brain structures located on the sides of the thalamus. It supports a wide array of function such as the emotion, motivation, behavior, long-term memory and adrenaline flow. This means that the emotional aspect of the brain is housed in this system. However, scientists have found out that people who suffer from maldevelopment of the limbic system are unable to process their emotions correctly which can lead to personality disorders.
3. Head injuries. Many researches have linked head injuries to antisocial behavior. Scientists have associated traumatic brain injury that leads to damage of the prefrontal cortex to also cause antisocial personality disorder. A damaged prefrontal cortex leads to the inability to make socially and morally acceptable decisions and also leads to aggression. On the other hand, damage to the amygdale can also lead to aggressive behavior and loss of empathy.

On the other hand, the most common reason why people become sociopaths is more likely to be caused with environmental factors. Below is an in-depth discussion on the different environmental factors that can cause the antisocial personality disorders:

1. Experiences. Experiences play a very important role to the development of antisocial personality disorder. The environmental causes of this personality disorder include any forms of deprivation, abandonment, sexual abuse and emotional abuse.
2. Examples. Children who grew up with parents who also display antisocial behavior are also more likely to develop this personality disorder.

The warning signs that you are dealing with a sociopath

While sociopath is a personality disorder associated with aggression, detecting sociopaths in a room full of people can be very difficult. In fact, even sociopaths themselves are not aware that they are already suffering from this condition thus they are able to avoid medical help. Moreover, sociopaths are really good in both deception and manipulation. It is therefore important that you proceed with caution if you think you are dealing with a sociopath. Also, it is crucial that you also know how to recognize one. Below are the warning signs that you are dealing with a sociopath:

• Inconsistency with what a person says or does.
• Lies repetitively for personal profit.
• Constantly makes excuses when caught in a lie.
• Inability to feel shame after being caught in an embarrassing situation.
• Ability to sense vulnerabilities in others and using those [vulnerabilities] for personal gain or for manipulating others.
• Inability to have empathy behind the rules and law.
• Repeatedly doing acts that can serve as bases for arrest.
• Disregard for safety for others or for oneself.
• Shows cruelty to animals.
• Readiness to blame others for their mistakes.
• Inability to feel any guilt or to learn from their experiences.

Important to learn about the signs of this personality disorder. By doing so, you will be able to learn how to deal with them so that you will have a harmonious relationship with a person who is suffering from antisocial personality disorder.

Types of sociopaths

It is important to learn how to differentiate between psychopathy and sociopathy. Although both are personality disorders that people often interchange with one another, people who suffer from the former are often suspicious or paranoid that is translated to their aggressive behavior. Moreover, psychopaths are capable of having normal relationship as well as holding successful careers. They also place a lot of emphasis on planning especially if they plan to commit a crime. Sociopaths, on the other hand, are incapable of having deep relationship with other people and are often disorganized as well as erratic. Although different, there is a thin line that separates the two thus this section will discuss the different types of antisocial personality disorder or sociopathy to understand that not all sociopaths display the same behavioral symptoms:

• Entitled Sociopath.This term involves the state of entitlement wherein a person who is suffering from this personality disorder has no ideals and does not feel shame in their actions. They also feel very satisfied in what they do – whether good or bad. Entitles sociopaths enjoy making fun of people in authority.
• Amoral Sociopath. An amoral sociopath commits deeds without any sense of remorse, guilt or awareness of moral strictures. They also have weak perception to pain thus these kinds of sociopaths tend to enjoy torturing animals or watch animals kill each other.
• Common Sociopath. Also termed as sub-cultural delinquents, common sociopaths have weak conscience as well as future perspective. However, they are still able to have relationships with other people albeit difficult. Most children who has one parent who is a common sociopath also grow up as one because either one of the parents or both provide a strong example to their kids.
• Alienated Sociopath. Alienated sociopaths are individuals who haven’t developed the ability to affiliate with other people. An alienated sociopath has two sub-cultures and below is the discussion of the two types of alienated sociopaths.
• Disaffiliated type. The disaffiliated sociopath is often a result of growing up in the absence of a nurturing parent. Children who grow up without learning the ability to love find it hard to reciprocate other people’s emotions or understand others as well.
• Disempathetic types. This type of sociopath is capable of having emotional investment with people within his or her circle of empathy. This can mean that he is capable of loving his parents, friends and even his dog but reacts to most people only as objects.
• Hostile types. Sociopaths react differently to external stimuli and hostile sociopaths are people who have aggressive and destructive attitude towards the members of the community.
• Cheated types. Freud has mention about individuals who feels disadvantages by their physical disabilities, class origin, minority status or situation and thinks that they are always being cheated on because of their incapacities. Most sociopaths who are this type often feel that the world is out to get them and they tend to justify their reactions based on this assumption.

Theodore Million was a celebrated American psychologist who worked on personality disorders. He developed five subtypes of sociopaths: 1) nomadic (a person who is under this subtype often feels doomed and jinx: because of their fears, they have the tendency to adapt a nomadic life by wandering from one place to the other as well as dropping out from work or school); 2) malevolent (a malevolent sociopath is belligerent, brutal and resentful to people around him; they always anticipate betrayal from other people and desire revenge and punishment to people whom they think have wronged them); 3) covetous (a covetous sociopath feels deprived and denied of many things thus they discontentedly yearn for many things; they are envious, greedy and take a lot of pleasure in amassing things); 4) risk-taking (risk taking types are dauntless and bold thus they tend to do a lot of reckless things without thinking about the welfare of people around them); 5) reputation defending (this type of sociopath always builds an image of infallibility and invincibility thus when their status is questioned, they tend to over-react even on the slightest things).

Many psychologists also identify people who are narcissistic, paranoid and sadistic as forms or character types of sociopaths.

The thing is that there are different types of sociopaths and while many psychologists do not agree about the different character types of sociopaths, it is still important to take note that sociopaths are people who are devoid of feeling empathy towards other people.

When it comes to mental health, a lot more people suffer from different mental illnesses than one would typically assume. It is said that around 1 in 4 people in the world are affected by mental disorders at some point in their lives. In the case of the story, ‘Carmilla’ by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, the main character Carmilla appears to be part of this statistic. Based on her actions and behavior throughout the entire story, Carmilla can be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.

First and foremost, when comparing the actions between Carmilla and Laura, it is clear that Carmilla is suffering from a personality disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “Antisocial personality disorder is a pattern of disregarding or violating the rights of others. A person with antisocial personality disorder may not conform to social norms, and may repeatedly lie or deceive others, or may act impulsively”. A person suffering from antisocial personality disorder tends to disregard or violate the rights of others because they do not understand that what they are doing is wrong. They lack emotional empathy, so to them, their actions can be justified. In ‘Carmilla’, Carmilla does not understand that some of the things she says can be harmful to others. She states, “Besides, how can you tell that your religion and mine are the same; your forms wound me, and I hate funerals. What a fuss! Why you must die-everyone must die; and all are happier when they do”. Due to the fact that Carmilla has antisocial personality disorder, she has a difficult time sympathizing with others. Her comments can be hurtful to others as death is specifically a sensitive topic for some as well as the discussion of religion, especially during this time period. Not only that, her lack of emotional empathy makes it hard for her to understand why funerals are such a big deal. Also, while most will try to avoid these topics altogether, to not anger or fight with others, Carmilla has no problem bringing up the topics because she does not connect with others on an emotional level and to her, her actions for this can be justified. These topics are avoided as it is the societal norm to do this, but a person with antisocial personality disorder typically do not conform or even believe in societal norms.

Additionally, those who suffer from antisocial personality disorder tend to have a charming demeanor about them. As stated on Mayo Clinic’s website, a symptom of someone suffering from antisocial personality disorder is ‘using charm or wit to manipulate others’. Someone who has antisocial personality disorder uses their charm to their advantage as they understand that this works for them and is usually able to get them what they desire. Typically, the core issue of someone with this disorder is manipulation and lying and the reason they are able to do this and get away with it, is because of their charm. In Carmilla, Laura states, “…the sense of attraction immensely prevailed. She interested and won me; she was so beautiful and so indescribably engaging”, and, “I told you that I was charmed with her in most particulars’. Carmilla uses her charm to win over the affection of Laura. She is also able to get away with things, such as not praying or leaving her room until the afternoon, because of her charm. Along with this, Carmilla is able to get close to Laura without ever having to share intimate details about herself. Laura explains, “She would not tell me the name of her family, nor their armorial bearings, nor the name of their estate, nor even that of the country they lived in…Once or twice, indeed, I did attack her more directly. But no matter what my tactics, utter failure was invariably the result”. Even though Laura strived to know the more personal aspects of Carmilla’s life, Carmilla was able to use her charm to get away from all of Laura’s tactics.

Moreover, when it comes to antisocial personality disorder, many who have it will put others in danger for their own personal gain. According to Kati Morton (licensed therapist), people with antisocial personality disorder will often see relationships with others as a way to gain more and they will put someone else in danger as a way to save themselves. Many who have antisocial personality disorder have no problem putting others in danger, if they gain something from it, because they lack remorse and have a very small, if any, conscience. In ‘Carmilla’, General Spielsdorf states, “My dear child began to lose her looks and health…She was at first visited by appalling dreams; then, as she fancied, by a specter, sometimes resembling Millarca, sometimes in the shape of a beast…At a later time, she felt something like a pair of large needles pierce her, a little below the throat, with a very sharp pain. A few nights after, followed a gradual and convulsive sense of strangulation; then came unconsciousness’. Carmilla has no problem harming Bertha and Laura as she experiences no remorse after doing so. She gets close with them as an attempt to feed off them, and ultimately ends up killing Bertha. After this, with little hesitation, she moves on with Laura which sparks the theory that maybe she has done this to countless others before.

Alternatively, some might argue that Carmilla is not suffering from antisocial personality disorder due to the fact that her relationship with Laura, although not perfect, was a clear example that Carmilla bonded with Laura on an emotional level. Not only that, the author makes it appear that Carmilla really cared for Laura by including, “’I have been in love with no one, and never shall,’ she whispered, ‘unless it should be with you…I live in you; and you would die for me, I love you so”’. While Carmilla appears to be expressing her love for Laura, she is actully saying all of this for her own personal gain. She is using cognitive empathy, the understanding of the emotion someone else is feeling, to manipulate Laura into thinking she loves her. People with antisocial personality disorder will typically experience cognitive empathy which means that they understand the emotions that the other person is feeling but they do not necessarily care about these emotions. As well as that, people who have antisocial personality disorder are in fact able to be in relationships and even value these individuals dearly but this does not seem to be the case for Carmilla. While Carmilla expresses her love for Laura verbally, at the same time, she is feeding off of Laura and making her sick. She does the same thing to Bertha and kills her so it can be inferred that Carmilla was going to do the same to Laura as Laura was suffering the same symptoms Bertha had right before she passed away. The only reason Carmilla becomes close to her victims is for her own personal gain, to feed off of them.

All in all, mental illnesses are something that a lot of people deal with. Some individuals, however, suffer much more severely than others. In the case of the story ‘Carmilla’, Carmilla is of one of these individuals who are suffering more severely in their illness. Based on her actions and behavior throughout the entire story, it is clear that Carmilla can be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. She often uses her charm to get what she desires whether that is winning over the affection of Laura or simply staying in her room until the afternoon. Along with this, Carmilla lacks emotional empathy and makes more risky comments because she does not care about the emotional distress she can cause to other individuals. Finally, she puts others in danger, and even kills someone, for her own personal gain. While this is not the case for everyone suffering from antisocial personality disorder, Carmilla is a clear example of someone who has the disorder and is not afraid to use it to her advantage and get what she needs.

Some people seem to have no regard for others and can cause harm to them without any regret or feelings of guilt. When this behavior is pervasive, a person may have a chronic mental health condition known as antisocial personality disorder. Sometimes people with antisocial personality disorder are called “sociopaths.” What is a sociopath? People with antisocial personality disorder are willing to use deception or manipulation to get whatever they want, such as power or money. They may con people and use an alias, and they may steal or use aggressive behavior to achieve their desires. Even when caught, they show no regret or guilt. They lack a sense of empathy and cannot consider the feelings of others without help. They also tend to act impulsively, which can lead to arrests and time in prison. There is a common myth in popular culture that “sociopaths” tend to be successful, charismatic people who hold positions of power. It is true that there are high-functioning sociopaths, but they are not the norm. While sociopath path traits can include persuasiveness or charm, most people with the disorder will struggle with irresponsibility. They’re less likely to take advantage of employment opportunities, less likely to pay bills on time, and are at high risk of incarceration due to impulsive behaviors. They’re also likely to have a shorter life expectancy due to impulsive behaviors like substance abuse and criminal activity.

Causes of Antisocial Personality

Disorder What causes antisocial personality disorder? Researchers believe that genetics plays some role, as having a parent with the disorder puts one more at risk. Research on adopted children of parents with the disorder indicates that environment may also be a factor, such as when children receive poor discipline, have negative role models, or are not taught to respect the rights of others. Children of an alcoholic parent are also at increased risk. Children who have conduct disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder before age 10 are at increased risk for having antisocial personality disorder as adults. This is particularly true for children with conduct disorder who are abused or neglected. Researchers estimate that 25% of girls and 40% of boys with conduct disorder will have antisocial personality disorder as adults. Antisocial personality disorder occurs in roughly 3% of the U.S. population. The disorder occurs in men 6 times more often than in women. 80% of people with the disorder will have developed symptoms by the age of 11. Article continues below Worried you may be suffering from a mental health disorder? Take one of our 2-minute mental health quizzes to see if you could benefit from further diagnosis and treatment. Take a Mental Health Quiz

Symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder

The most common signs of antisocial personality disorder are a lack of regard for the rights of others and an extensive pattern of violating them. To receive a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, a person must exhibit at least three of the following symptoms: Repeatedly performing unlawful acts Lying or conning others for profit or pleasure Acting impulsively Repeated physical fights or assaults Disregard for the safety of oneself or others Irresponsibility at work or in financial obligations Lack of remorse when mistreating others At What Age Can Antisocial Personality Disorder Be Diagnosed? A person must be at least 18 years old to receive a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. There must also be evidence that they qualified for a diagnosis of conduct disorder before the age of 15, as many of the symptoms of the two disorders are similar. A diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder will also not be given if the behaviors occur due to the symptoms of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Treatment for Antisocial Personality Disorder

Treatment for antisocial personality disorder may prove challenging. Because the symptoms of the disorder ten to peak in a person’s early 20s, people may find that symptoms improve on their own as a person reaches their 40s and beyond. Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is usually the treatment recommended for antisocial personality disorder. A therapist can help a person manage negative behaviors and build interpersonal skills they may lack. Often the first goal is simply to reduce impulsive behaviors that can lead to arrest or physical harm. Family therapy might be a useful option to educate family members and improve communication, and group therapy may also help when limited to people with the disorder. No medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat antisocial personality disorder. Medication may sometimes be prescribed to help reduce aggressive or impulsive behaviors. Medications might include mood stabilizers or antidepressants. Treatment should also address any co-occurring disorders, which often include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, borderline personality disorder, and impulse control disorders such as gambling disorder or sexual disorders. Because a majority of people with antisocial personality disorder will also have a substance abuse disorder, a person may need to complete detoxification as the first step of treatment, with the substance abuse and personality disorder then treated simultaneously.

Coping When a Loved One Has Antisocial Personality Disorder

If you have a loved one with antisocial personality, it’s common to feel discouraged. Remembering that lack of remorse or empathy is a symptom of the condition can help you set realistic expectations for how your loved one can improve. With treatment, some people with antisocial personality disorder do learn to form positive relationships, be more responsible, and respect the boundaries of others. Others will not, and family members will have to consider how they want to respond to this challenge. One interesting fact is that people with antisocial personality disorder who are married tend to improve over time compared to single people. If you have a loved one with antisocial personality disorder, make sure that you also prioritize your own health and safety—family members often find it useful to participate in individual counseling themselves to help manage emotions and learn to set appropriate boundaries with the family member. If you think you might have antisocial personality disorder or have a loved one who does, don’t hesitate to reach out to your doctor or a mental health professional. They can provide information and connect you with the right resources to help you cope with this challenge.

Understanding Serial Murder and Its Rarity

Serial murder is a rare but real act in today’s world. While there are many factors that go into forming a serial killer, the main focus of this paper will be on childhood and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Serial killing is often deeply rooted and thoroughly thought out. And although it is important to understand what the killer is doing, it is also necessary to understand why he is doing it. This way, it will be possible to recognize these characteristics in other potential serial killers and stop them before they have time to act on this urge. Normally, the actions of a serial killer are not just about the kills. They often go deeper into the killer’s childhood and in most cases, the killer has a severe case of antisocial personality disorder.

Defining serial murder can be a hard thing to do. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Behavioral Analysis Unit defines it as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events” (Serial Murder). Going further into this definition, it is necessary to understand that “serial” implies multiple victims and these people must have been killed by the same person. “Separate events” can be defined as a killer having a “temporal separation between the different murders, which was described as separate occasions, cooling-off period, and emotional cooling-off period” (Serial Murder). This differs from mass murder, which is multiple killings at the same time, such as a mass shooting. However, serial murder is very rare, accounting “for less than 1% of all homicides” (Keatley). Multiple murders committed by the same person on multiple occasions is a scary thing to fathom. Although it may be comforting to know that only 1% of all homicides are serial homicides, it is still important to dive further into the serial murders and determine what makes them happen.

The Role of Antisocial Personality Disorder in Serial Killers

Serial killers are strongly associated with antisocial personality disorder. Although antisocial personality disorder does not automatically mean serial killer, serial killers often have it. This disorder can be characterized by “sense of entitlement, lack of remorse, apathetic to others, unconscionable, blameful of others, manipulative and conning, affectively cold, disparate understanding of socially acceptable behavior, disregardful of social obligations, nonconforming to social norms, and irresponsible” (LaBrode). Someone with antisocial personality disorder struggles to feel what people without the disorder feel. They lack to feeling of remorse along with the ability to feel with others or for others. The disorder comes with a lack of guilt and people who struggle with it “tend toward irritability and aggressivity, and often become involved in physical fights and assaults, including spouse and child beating” (Geberth). Although most of the people who struggle with this disorder are properly treated for it and it does not become a major problem in society, the few who do struggle without getting treatment for it can become a threat to their community. It is crucial when trying to prevent antisocial personality disorder to avoid loneliness in children’s lives; as “extreme loneliness may lead to internal rigidity, social-emotional and moral numbing, indifference, hostility, and anger” (Martens). Martens also brings up what goes along with this loneliness to cause antisocial behavior, much of which has been discussed earlier in the paragraph. In terms of proper treatment for antisocial personality disorder, it should look to combat disorders such as “substance abuse [and] depression;” other techniques could include “a combination of neurofeedback, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment, and psychosocial guidance” (Martens). Although good at hiding it, many serial murderers do struggle with this disorder, and the failure to properly treat it causes them to become the monsters they are.

Biological and Environmental Factors Contributing to Antisocial Personality Disorder

Along with the environmental factors of antisocial personality disorder, there are biological factors and brain anatomy that also cause the development of it. Through research, it has been found that “certain physiological responses… may occur more frequently in people with antisocial personality disorder” (Antisocial Personality Disorder). And along with these physiological issues, the brain anatomy of someone with ASPD is normally off. For instance, the frontal lobe, which is in charge of judgment and planning, is different compared to someone without this disorder. Some research has shown differences in the volume of brain structures that cause violent behavior, such as killing. These two brain issues cause people to have more trouble controlling their impulses and although it cannot be proven that these issues within the brain are a direct cause of antisocial personality disorder, they are highly correlated.

Childhood Trauma and Its Impact on Future Serial Killers

It is important to look at how childhood impacts the adulthood of serial killers. Most serial killers were raised in an abusive households, whether that be mentally or physically. Sometimes this abuse was deemed okay because it was seen as “part of a disciplinarian, strict, or religious household” (Keatley). This abuse during childhood would often lead to crimes including sexual assault. While this childhood abuse does not show up in all cases of serial murderers, it does occur in most. There is also the influence of the mothers during childhood to take into account. As Jeffrey Dahmer’s mother stated, “we’re still blaming the mothers” (LaBrode 154). It is thought that many serial killers developed insecure attachments to their mothers throughout their childhood and “suffered from physical or emotional loss or abandonment as well as instability in their childhoods” (LaBrode 155). These insecure attachments led to inappropriate relationships with the mother often including “sexual and sadistic elements” (LaBrode 155). Along with abuse and the insecure attachments to their mothers, a study found “frequent moving in one-third of serial killers,” showing that an unstable home life and the absence of a steady home could play a factor in the adulthood of serial killers (Keatley). Their actions in childhood might have included “set[ting] fires, tortur[ing] animals, and wet[ting] their beds” and most of these killers were described as “a little ‘off’” by people who knew them during their childhood (LaBrode 154). There are many factors that lead to regular people becoming monsters through the maltreatment of antisocial personality disorder, such as childhood abuse, insecure attachments to the mother figure, and sadistic actions.

Relating serial killers, antisocial personality disorder, and childhood is crucial to determining who might become a serial killer and how to prevent the upbringing of more serial murderers. Antisocial personality disorder does not in turn mean serial killer; however, serial killer might entail antisocial personality disorder. And although a serial killer might not have diagnosed ASPD, there is a strong chance they show similar characteristics of it. Growing up with antisocial personality disorder combines the two experiences into one, creating a higher chance of a murderer. Childhood impacts a person much more than one might realize. The scarring memories of abuse and insecure attachments to mothers can cause not only one to develop ASPD but to become a serial murderer in turn.

In most cases, serial killers often have a criminal history with crimes such as theft or sexual assault. It is believed that the killing is an escalation of their previous crimes. While have a criminal background does not guarantee one to become a serial killer, it makes them more of a suspect when a case presents itself. It has been shown that almost fifty percent of serial killers were arrested as minors and seventy-nine percent had had convictions before this. This past combined with an abusive childhood lead one to become more susceptible to become a killer or at least become a suspect of a case involving serial murder.

Case Studies: Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Nilsen

There are many cases in which infamous serial killers have shown to have antisocial personality disorder, abusive childhoods, or both. For instance, Jeffrey Dahmer grew up sharing the already lacking attention from his parents with his younger brother David. His family was moved three times within two years of his childhood, giving him an unstable home life. Dahmer did not have close relationships with anyone going up and was often isolated socially. To continue with how his childhood affected who he became, Dahmer took interest in biology and dissecting animals. He soon began looking for dead animals in his neighborhood and take the skulls of them, putting them on a stick, and placing them around his neighborhood. As he grew older, Dahmer became lonelier and ended up stealing a manikin to lay with while his parents were away. During this phase, necrophilic fantasies entered his mind along with homosexual desires. While Jeffrey was driving home, he offered a young man a ride and invited him into his house. But when Dahmer made sexual advances toward the boy and he declined, Dahmer “strangled him and sexually abused him” (Martens 301). This fear of loneliness took over and he could not image being abandoned and neglected again. The childhood memory of loneliness and neglect led Dahmer to kill and save body parts of sixteen more young men.

Along with Dahmer, Dennis Nilsen is another infamous serial killer; he was specifically diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Although Nilsen’s father did not leave him during childhood, he did serve in the army and was rarely home. His father’s absence led Nilsen to feel abandoned by family, especially after his only true companion, his grandfather, died when he was six. This led him to become “more and more irritable and melancholic” (Martens 302). At the age of seven, Nilsen’s parents got divorced; his mother remarried and had four more children, taking her attention away from Dennis. Because of this, he committed minor criminal behaviors such as theft. While in the army for six years, Nilsen discovered his homosexuality, which he had to hide as it was not accepted among his fellow soldiers. This caused him to feel even lonelier and separated from the world around him. Once out of the army, he had many one-night stands, which he found depressing. A couple of years later, he met a man whom he created a permanent relationship with, but that only lasted about a year. Feeling lonely again, Nilsen turned back to drinking and went out to pubs. After another one-night stand, Nilsen was afraid of the person he slept with leaving him and therefore strangled him. Before he was caught, Dennis Nilsen had strangled no less than fifteen young men. All of these murders seemed to have stemmed from the loneliness he felt as a child and continued to feel throughout his adulthood.

Both Dahmer and Nilsen can be said to have had antisocial personality disorder, and a severe case at that. They both felt rejected and alone during their childhood and their inability to form strong bonds with others led them to continue to feel that way throughout their lives. Social isolation led them both to feel even stronger feelings of “love, sexuality, and the warmth proper of a normal relationship” (Martens 304). Because of their disorder, Dahmer and Nilsen both developed ideals of what their lives should be like; but the feelings of being unwanted and hopeless led them to the need to overcome these emotions, which both saw could be fixed with the ability to control others. Both these cases show the importance of raising children “who are at risk of developing antisocial personality disorder” in a manner where they do not feel alone and are positively encouraged regularly (Martens 305).

As described by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serial murder is caused by “the development of the individual from birth to adulthood” (Serial Murder). More specifically, “causality can be defined as a complex process based on biological, social, and environmental factors” (Serial Murder). Because they are human, serial killers are always developing and their childhood strongly contributes to their becoming an adult. Neglect and loneliness stem from childhood, yet they are feelings that are commonly carried on throughout life if someone grew up feeling that way. A major cause of antisocial personality disorder is problems in early childhood, along with “poor behavioral controls,… juvenile delinquency, revocation of conditional release, and criminal versatility” (Serial Murder). Developing antisocial personality disorder can lead to the diagnosis of being a psychopath. Psychopaths do not all commit murder, yet those who do place no value on human life are ruthless when it comes to their victims.

Most of the time in serial murder, the victims are surrogates that represent someone else in the killer’s life. Victimology is crucial when trying to catch a killer. By noticing who the victims are, it becomes easier to link the kills together and therefore catch the one responsible for the kills. Going back to the previous example, Dahmer tricked young men into coming to his house to be photographed for money. This detail allows most killings of young men in need of money to be linked to Dahmer. Victimology often offers an insight into the serial killer’s childhood; for example, if someone had a mother who was sleeping around and acted inappropriately towards him, that person would most likely kill prostitutes or women that remind him of his mother, who he held in low regard. By examining victims, it becomes easier to tell who the police should be looking for by relating the victimology to a real-life event related to the killer.

Serial murder often stems from the development from childhood to adulthood and a lot of the time the development of antisocial personality disorder. It is important to note that serial murder has a very specific definition: there must be multiple kills by the same offender with a cooling-off period in between each kill. Along with defining serial murder, antisocial personality disorder can be characterized by feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, entitlement, apathy, blame, etc. This is often developed during a period of adolescence in which the child is abused in his home or neglected, cannot make strong connections to others, and struggles to feel much emotion. Childhood and antisocial personality disorder are closely linked to serial murder. Killers often times draw on their past experience to find the anger to kill. For many killers, such as Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Nilsen, loneliness is the driving force. While it is important to understand each of these individually, putting serial killing, ASPD, and childhood together can lead to catching serial killers in the early stages and sometimes even predict one before they have the opportunity to kill.

Abstract

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) is a major and challenging mental health condition. Anyone suffering from ASPD shows a long-term pattern of deceitfulness, manipulating, exploiting, or violating the rights of others without any remorse. It has been quite challenging for scientists and researchers to identify the primary source of antisocial personality disorder and is yet to be identified. However, through many studies, some methods have been developed that can help with the treatment of this awful disease. With the help of researchers and scientists, methods such as. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), schema-focused therapy (SFT), and person-centered psychotherapy were found to be potentially helpful.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which an individual has a rigid and defective pattern of thinking, working, and behaving. A person with a personality disorder has trouble perceiving situations and people. Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a particularly challenging type of personality disorder, characterized by impulsive, irresponsible, and often unlawful behavior. Individuals with an antisocial personality disorder will typically be manipulative, deceitful, reckless, and don’t care for other people’s feelings. ASPD has several symptoms that fall under different criteria, some of the major symptoms include hostility, severe irritability, anger, aggression, or violence. The long-term effects of this disorder can be agonizing and can lead to physical violence and criminal activities. An antisocial personality disorder is not the correct classification associated with long-term lasting behavior patterns of ASPD. It does not mean shy, introverted, loner, or quiet. The “social” in antisocial refers to social norms and regulations. Individuals diagnosed with ASPD have no regard for the rules, norms, and laws of their society. This disorder is one of the most socially destructive personality disorders given its mutuality with serious conduct problems, violence, and crime. It is important to mention that psychopathy, sociopathy, and dissocial personality disorder are formally categorized as an antisocial personality disorders in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The precise source of antisocial personality disorder is yet to be discovered. However, through different research methods, it can be treated to some degree. Researchers have found team therapy to be one of the most effective treatment options.

Literature Review

According to the American Psychiatric Association and diagnostic and statistical manual of disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5). An individual must be at least 18 years of age and have proof of conduct disorder (CD) with onset before the age of 15 to satisfy diagnosis criteria. However, Matt DeLisi from Iowa State University along with Alan J.Drury and Michael J. Elbert from U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, United States of America analyzed archival data from the total population of 865 active correctional clients in a federal jurisdiction in the Midwestern United States. They discovered that mental or physical abuse in childhood life can start the development of ASPD in individuals from an early age. They manually collected additional data from presentence reports (PSR), offender documents from the Bureau of Prisons, local, state, national criminal histories, psychological and psychiatric reports. They discovered that greater adverse childhood experiences were linked with ASPD diagnosis and physical abuse showing associations with ASPD symptoms and sexual abuse with lifetime diagnosis for ASPD. What is even more interesting is that symptoms were not significantly associated with traumatic childhood experiences. In contrast, adverse childhood experiences were significantly associated with a formal diagnosis for ASPD (DeLisi, Drury, & Elbert 2019). An antisocial personality disorder is a severe disorder with robust associations with crime and violence and in order to diagnose and find a cure, it is crucial to get to the root of the problem.

Researchers and scientists have found similar symptoms in conduct disorder (CD), sociopathy, and psychopathy, and ASPD. This explains why individuals must have proof of conduct disorder (CD) before the age of 15 to get diagnosed with ASPD. The primary source of ASPD has been very challenging and has not been identified. The diagnosis itself is very controversial, evidence for treatment is rare; and, in contrast to other personality disorders, patients with ASPD reject rather than seek treatment. However, experts unanimously argued against the judgment that treatment is not possible. Fortunately, the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry searching for a solution for this problem, through literature search and a Delphi-study method, they discovered effective treatment methods for ASPD. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), schema-focused therapy (SFT), person-centered psychotherapy, client-centered psychotherapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and mentalization-based treatment (MBT) was found to be potentially effective treatment options. CBT is one of the effective methods, compared to Treatment as Usual (TAU). The group treated with CBT showed a small, non-significant improvement in social functioning and physical aggression reduction relative to TAU, but there were no changes in anger or verbal aggression (Bosch, Rijckmans, Decoene, Chapman, 2018). Although these treatment methods are not a complete cure for ASPD, they still help with reducing symptoms of ASPD, partially cure the individual. And more importantly, help with the development of new treatment methods in the future.

Criteria and Diagnosis

The essential features of antisocial personality disorder are failure to social norms, deceitfulness, impulsive, reckless, lack of remorse, and violating the law that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood. Patterns of antisocial personality disorder have also been referred to as psychopathy, sociopathy, or dissocial personality disorder. ASPD falls under a wide spectrum and has many criteria. Age and past experiences are a major criterion in diagnosis with ASPD, an individual must be 18 years of age (Criterion B) with symptoms of conduct disorder prior to the age of 15 (Criterion C). It is difficult to identify individuals with APD and at the same time they can turn someone’s world upside down based on what they want. They can display innocence and may even try to impress someone by displaying a glib, superficial charm, and can be verbally facile (DSM5 2013). There is a total of 10 criteria to be met in order to get diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder.

• Criterion B individuals must be 18 years of age.
• Criterion C symptoms of conduct disorder before the age of 15.
• Criterion A1 failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behavior.
• Criterion A2 frequently deceitful and manipulative in order to gain personal profit or pleasure.
• Criterion A3 impulsivity may be manifested by failure to plan ahead.
• Criterion A4 repeatedly getting into fights or committing acts of physical assault.
• Criterion A5 displaying a reckless disregard for the safety of themselves or others.
• Criterion A6 consistently and extremely irresponsible.
• Criterion A7 financial irresponsibility.
• Criterion D antisocial behavior must not occur exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Related Disorders

Antisocial personality disorder symptoms show a correlation with other disorders and conditions. ASPD falls into 10 criteria and all of the criteria should meet in order to get diagnosed. Anything that fails to meet any of the criteria of ASPD, falls under some other related disorder along the borderline of antisocial personality disorder. ASPD may be confused with other personality disorders because of certain similarities. For example, when both, antisocial behavior and substance use disorder began in childhood and continued into adulthood, both a substance use disorder and antisocial personality disorder should be diagnosed if the criteria for both are met, even though some antisocial acts may be a consequence of the substance use disorder (DSM-5 2013). As has been previously mentioned, an antisocial personality disorder is not the correct classification associated with long-term lasting behavior patterns of ASPD. Therefore, it is very important to distinguish among these disorders based on differences in their characteristic features. Some related disorders to ASPD could be substance use disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, and other personality disorders.

Prevalence

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, twelve-month prevalence rates of antisocial personality are between 0.2% and 3.3%. The highest prevalence of ASPD is amongst severe samples of males with alcohol use disorder and from substance abuse clinics, prisons, or other forensic settings. Males are more prone to ASPD than females, but there is some concern that ASPD may be underdiagnosed in females. The prevalence of ASPD is also higher in those affected by adverse socioeconomic and sociocultural settings (DSM-5 2019). This puts nations that are poor and those who flee their country or forced out of their land are at a higher risk for developing ASPD. As per the assessment of DeLisi, Drury, & Elbert on ASPD concluded that greater adverse childhood experiences were linked with ASPD diagnosis and physical abuse showing associations with ASPD symptoms and sexual abuse with lifetime diagnosis for ASPD (DeLisi, Drury, & Elbert 2019). Children who had a tough childhood experience, who underwent physical or mental abuse are prone to suffer from ASPD.

Treatment Options

Antisocial personality disorder has been a particularly challenging type of personality disorder. For anyone to be diagnosed with ASPD must be at least 18 years of age and has previously shown signs of conduct disorder before the age of 15. Treatment options vary depending on the individual’s condition. Researchers found behavioral therapy more effective rather than the use of medical interventions. It is important to be aware that ASPD patients often see the environment as their enemy and avoid being vulnerable to therapists, thus, it takes time to form a working alliance with them (Bosch, Rijckmans, Decoene, Chapman, 2018). Even though there is a lack of empirical evidence for the effective treatment of ASPD, literature and practice-based data generated in the Delphi study provided a sufficient basis for the development of coherent mental healthcare resources for patients suffering from ASPD. With the help of Delphi study, experts concluded that treatment by a team is more useful and also necessary from a safety perspective. They also highlighted another benefit of the team approach; namely, that a team can help fill essential interdisciplinary roles in therapy. These roles have to be clear, especially in a team in which all boundaries are put to the test. It can also enable split treatment, such as delivering different treatment methods such as individual vs. group therapy, which has proven effective in the treatment of other disorders such as SFT, DBT, and MBT (Bosch, Rijckmans, Decoene, Chapman, 2018).

Conclusion

The antisocial personality disorder is a high-risk and serious disorder that can start from childhood and continue through adulthood. Individuals affected by this mental disorder are classified as dangerous, impulsive, irresponsible, and deceitful. They constantly engage in unlawful activities and show a lack of remorse. Antisocial personality is more common in males than in females and falls on a large spectrum from easy, mild to severe and serious symptoms. It also has shown a correlation with other related disorders and conditions such as psychopathy, sociopathy, and dissocial personality. Two main criteria for ASPD diagnosis are at least 18 years of age and proof of conduct disorder before the age of 15. Although the precise source of this disorder remains unknown, despite its difficulty, researchers from around the world have discovered effective methods of decreasing symptoms of ASPD that will help individuals suffering to some degree.

References

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
2. Apeldoorn, Deventer, Breda, Tilburg, Brussel, Fraser (2018). Treatment of antisocial personality disorder: Development of a practice-focused framework, Science Direct, 58, 72-78 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2018.03.002
3. DeLisi, Matt, Drury, Alan J., & Elbert, Micheal J. (2019). The etiology of antisocial personality disorder: The differential roles of adverse childhood experiences and childhood psychopathology. Science Direct, 92, 1-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2019.04.001

Three Main Ethical Principles

The phrase ‘basic ethical principles’ is used to refer to the general judgments used by people as a way of serving as a fundamental justification of different ethical evaluations and human actions prescriptions. There are three basic moral principles, as described in the Belmont Report. The three principles include the principle for respect for people, the principle of beneficence, and the principle for justice.

Respect for people

The principle of respect for people considered two major ethical convictions. The first one asserts that people are supposed to be served as an autonomous agents. The second one indicates that people whose autonomy is diminished are supposed to be entitled to protection (The Belmont Report, 1979). Therefore, according to the ethical principle of respect for people is categorized into two distinct moral requirements whereby the first one involves the need to protect people with diminished autonomy, as well as the need for acknowledging autonomy.

According to the understanding on principle for the respect for people, an autonomous individual is a person who can deliberate personal goals as well as the one who performs his or her activities through the guidance of such deliberation. This principle indicates that the respect autonomy involves giving more attention to the choices and opinions of autonomous people as one refrain from the obstruction of their activities until the aspects are entirely detrimental to other individuals. Showing no respect to an autonomous agent implies repudiating the considered judgment of a person, denying the freedom of acting of an individual to the considered judgment, or withholding information that is supposed to be applied in making a considered judgment, under circumstances where there is no genuine reason of doing so.

Some individuals require much protection, even though it means excluding the person from the activities that have a high likelihood of causing more harm to him or her. Besides, other people need limited protection to the extent of ensuring that they perform their roles freely while they are aware of the potential adverse effects. The level of protection that an individual is entitled to is determined by the risk and likelihood of the possible benefit.

The Principle of Beneficence

The principle of beneficence indicates the people are handled ethically by protecting them from harm, respecting their decisions as well as applying all efforts to ensure that well-being is secured. In this case, ‘beneficence’ usually involves understanding charity or kindness acts that are beyond strict obligation. There are two critical rules developed as a complementary method of expressing beneficence acts. The first rule indicates that an individual is not supposed to harm, and the second one suggests that an individual is supposed to maximize benefits as possible while minimizing any potential harm (The Belmont Report, 1979).

Previously, the rule regarding, an individual is not supposed to harm, was a fundamental principle in medical ethics. However, Claude Bernard expanded it to be also applied in research by indicating that a study is not supposed to injure any individuals regardless of the level of benefit that would result. However, in the process, for an individual to avoid harm, he or she is supposed to understand harmful things. Besides, physicians are supposed to ensure that the patient has benefited based on their best decision. However, to learn what helps the patient involves exposing him or her in a risk.

The beneficence obligations do not only affect the individual investigator but also influence the entire society as a whole. Based on particular projects, researchers and their institution members are required to provide forethought for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risk that may take place during the research investigation.

The Principle of Justice

According to the principle of justice, the main question that needs to be answered asks who is supposed to get the benefits of investigation and take the responsibility for its burdens. This principle requires giving what is deserved as well as applying fairness of distribution. The aspect of injustice is usually displayed when some people benefit while others are denied without having a genuine reason for the act. The other way of applying the principle of justice is by ensuring that all the individuals involved are treated equally. In this case, several formulations are used for the distribution of burdens and benefits. Every formulation has an important aspect based on which benefit and burden is supposed to be distributed. The formulations involve giving an equal share to every person who is involved, treating every individual based on their individual need, handling every person based on their effort, treating every individual based on their societal contribution, as well as handling people based on their merits (The Belmont Report, 1979).

The principle of justice is considered to be very important as it is mostly applied in research to analyze various scenarios. For example, in the case given regarding the issue of antisocial personality disorder and its effects in the community with its members can be used as an example. Through the application of the principle of justice, research will be conducted among inmates to determine the effect of antisocial personality disorder for both the entire community as well as the prison community.

Subject Selection to Reflect Diversity

The selection of subjects sufficiently reflects diversity in making the study results generalize the general public. The sample of inmates in the local prison represents the entire inmates not only in the particular prison but also in other facilities. Through the consideration of the level of crimes within a community, the aspect of antisocial personality disorder is evidenced as it determined the number of inmates within a local prison. Since the sample of inmates is selected randomly, the outcome obtained is an indication of the condition of the general population. An antisocial personality disorder is a condition when an individual violates the rights of others, thus committing crimes. Therefore, the test of the antisocial personality disorder determines whether the level of crimes in a community. If there are several incidents of antisocial personality disorder among inmates, it implies that the community is prone to crimes, and therefore, there is a high likelihood of more people being arrested as inmates. Besides, if the level of the condition is high among the sample inmates selected, then it implies that there is a high likelihood of other inmates to suffer the condition and therefore, the level of violence is high within the prison.

Expectations of the Individual Participants

The participants selected for the research on antisocial personality disorder had high hopes of benefiting from the study. Though a sample of the entire inmates had to be chosen for meeting the objective of the study, almost all the inmates wanted to take part to assess their level of suffering antisocial personality disorder. The inmates who were diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder demanded justice for their inability to control their ability to commit crimes, by claiming that they should first be treated from the condition before they are entitled to imprisonment. Based on the findings of the research, justice should be applied among the inmates. Individuals who are diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder suffer mental illness of committing crimes. In most cases, it is not the willingness of the inmates to commit a crime, but a way of coping with the condition. Therefore, inmates suffering from the state should be released from the prison for the treatment of their conditions, while those do not have any signs of the illness should be retained in prison.

The Chosen Diverse Group

Since the study had to obtain a sample of inmates within the local prison, only a small number of participants were selected. However, since some of the participants were diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder, it indicates that other inmates suffered from the condition but were not in the sample. In this case, since justice should be applied to all, the entire group of inmates is supposed to be assessed to determine whether they suffer from the condition or not. In such a case, the mental health of the inmate will give an insight regarding the reason as to why they engage in crimes. In most cases, the disorder develops as a result of the environment or the condition in which an individual was raised during childhood. All these factors are supposed to be assessed among the inmate to give them justice over imprisonment.

References

1. The Belmont Report. (1979, April 18). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/belmont-report/read-the-belmont-report/index.html

Introduction

Antisocial personality disorder issue is an inescapable dysfunctional behavior that frequently averts individuals from complying with social standards and confronting negative effects on their everyday lives then.

Individuals determined to have Antisocial personality disorder issues are frequently impulsive, have exact contemplations that others around them are acting antagonistic towards them, and have little to no regard for the consequences of their actions.

Antisocial personality disorder can be difficult to treat; the vast major determined to have the turmoil are being treated without wanting to, no doubt since they are in jail.

Before being named an Antisocial personality disorder issue, different terms were utilized as marks, including psychiatry and sociopathy. Psychopathy and sociopathy each assumed an expansive job in molding standoffish Antisocial personality disorder into the psychological sickness it is today. They additionally made distinct thoughts with regards to the causes and indications of Antisocial personality disorder issue, sociopathy concentrated on the conduct parts of the turmoil and psychopathy.

History

Antisocial mental disturbance was originally labelled underneath the classes of mental state and sociopathy before earning its current title. The term delinquent mental disturbance didn’t even seem within the medical specialty realm till the publication of the DSM-III in 1980. it’s common for folks to use the terms mental state and sociopathy interchangeably in voice communication, as each appear to explain somebody WHO has no regret. mental state and sociopathy do have some similarities however professionals still argue a number of the massive variations that makes cause for 2 fully completely different diagnoses and disorders as critical one.

Major advances in technology and medication have allowed researchers and psychiatrists to look at the etiological variations between personality disorders and psychopathologic disorders. it’s been shown that individuals diagnosed with mental state imply that the individual has no sense of morality or sympathy amongst alternative traits, whereas folks diagnosed with sociopathy do have a way of morality and a conscience, however, their morals don’t mirror the culture within which they live (Pemment, 2013). Today, mental state and sociopathy lay inside the realm of delinquent mental disturbance although several push for them to own separate diagnoses once more, or to a minimum of be understood as 2 fully completely different disorders.

Psychopathy though geological dating back to the nineteenth century in Europe, mental state gained quality within themid-20th century. Pinel delineated the psychopathologic individual as somebody WHO was insane however had no delirium, had a characteristic lack of restraint, and behavior marked by complete remorselessness (Perez, 2012). In 1941 MD Cleckley helped additional outline mental state and six thought-about them to be charming, intelligent people with shallow emotional depth and engaged in delinquent and generally violent behaviors (Pickersgill, 2012). Cleckley’s framework for psychopathy appeared within the yank Journal of Pathology (AJP) repeatedly, however, wasn’t enclosed within the DSM-I in 1952 (Pickersgill, 2012).

In between publications of the DSM-I and DSM-III, researchers started work variations in people diagnosed with mental states and folks WHO didn’t have a medical specialty diagnosing. Studies performed before 1968 showed the involuntary functioning in folks with mental state were completely different than that in those who weren’t diagnosed with the disorder, still as distinctive physiological changes once folks with mental state were introduced to concern mental imagery (Pemment, 2013). Studies that induced concern or resting states weren’t the sole ones being conducted. Some scientists discovered that individuals with mental state had spatial property seen within the hippocampi, one thing that typically corrects itself within the craniate state of life (Pemment, 2013).

In the Nineteen Seventies, the construct of mental state became the main focus of psychological makes an attempt at standardization, junction rectifier by Robert Hare (Pickersgill, 2012). before Hare, mental state was still being printed within the yank Journal of Pathology, however less typically than once Cleckley ab initio free his psychopathologic characterizations decades earlier. Hare was powerfully influenced by Cleckley’s work and characterization of mental state within the 1940s; he eventually developed the mental state Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), a diagnostic tool that might fuel interest into the construct of mental state (Yildirim & Derksen, 2013). The PCL-R has helped create several advances in understanding mental state, however, it mustn’t be seen as a diagnostic tool, rather a tool for classifying the disorder.

Hare’s listing consists of twenty things mensuration two dominant factors in AN underlying structure of psychopathologic traits (Yildirim & Derksen, 2013). an individual should score high on each dominant factor so as to be clinically diagnosed with seven mental states. the primary issue is that the interpersonal/affective factor and it focuses on insensitive, immoral, and unemotional use of others; the second issue appearance at delinquent lifestyles and therefore the things contained within the second factor are terribly almost like the traits underneath the antisocial/borderline mental disturbance within the DSM-IV (Yildirim & Derksen, 2013). The creation of the PCL-R has compact prevalence rates of mental state considerably. One readily available, mental state is also over-diagnosed or under-diagnosed counting on criminal backgrounds and the way closely the patient’s traits match completely different mental disturbance traits.

Etiology (Origins & Causes)

The Origin of Antisocial personality disorder

A Formative Point of view gives an diagram of the later investigate on the advancement of antisocial behavior and synthesizes this data to educate readers not as it were of the dangers, but moreover how they associated, to result in reserved and forceful behavior.

The volume is isolated into three ranges: advances in neuroscience, moves in social and clinical investigate, and legal and approach proposals. Express subjects consolidate innate markers and powerful conduct, the utilization of fMRI to take after adolescent mental wellbeing, the work of companion impacts on antagonistic vibe, child-raising and mien, screening devices for diagnosing single conduct in babies and young people, and how modern investigate will affect trade, approach, and future examination. Pros from genetic qualities, neuroimaging, and developmental science conversation approximately the bits of information these consistent strategies have given in seeing how nature and the soil interface within the rise of pulled back conduct. The Roots of Pulled back Conduct is an basic and one-of-a-kind resource that will be valuable to developmental analysts, enthusiastic well-being specialists, and policymakers related with the juvenile value system.

Causes

Character is the mix of thoughts, feelings, and hones that creates everyone’s novel. It’s the way in which people see, comprehend, and recognize with the exterior world, fair as how they see themselves.

Personality outlines in the midst of youth, shaped through a participation of procured slants and environmental components

The cause of antisocial personality disorder is unknown. Hereditary variables and natural variables, such as child mishandle, are accepted to contribute to the advancement of this condition. People with an thoughtful or alcoholic parent are at extended risk. Obviously, a bigger number of men than women are affected. The condition is normal among people who are in jail.

Fire setting and mercilessness to animals in the midst of youth are associated to the progression of saved identity.

A few masters believe that psychopathic personality (psychopathy) may be a similar issue. Others believe that psychopathic character may be a comparable be that as it may progressively extraordinary issue.

The accurate reason for antisocial identity issue isn’t known, however

• Genes may make you defenseless against making standoffish personality issues — and life circumstances may trigger its advancement.
• Changes within the way the cerebrum capacities may have come around in the midst of mental wellbeing.

Diagnosis

How to diagnosis

Individuals who experience the ill effects of against social identity issues need consideration and help, so they should play out the determination. Individuals with ADHD at determination may not see the precision of signs and side effects, After authorization, family and individuals might most likely give data helpfully. Analysis of introverted identity issues is regularly founded on:

• A mental assessment will uncover the feelings, connections, practices, and family ancestry.
• seeing Individual and medicinal history.
• See what is distributed in the American Mental Relationship on the manifestations recorded in the Analytic and Measurable Manual of Mental Issues (DSM-5).

DSM-5

The appearance of traits of personality disorder in the weakness of personality and the presence of personality traits pathological. To diagnose an antisocial personality disorder, the following criteria must be met:

Noteworthy disabilities in identity working show by:

1. Impairments in self-functioning:
   1. Character: Conscience anti-extremism; confidence got from individual increase, power, or delight.
   2. Self-direction: Goal-setting dependent on personal gratification satisfaction; nonattendance of prosocial inside principles related to the inability to adjust to legitimate or socially regulating moral conduct.
2. Weaknesses in interpersonal functioning:
   1. Compassion: Absence of worry for sentiments, needs, or enduring of others; lack of remorse after hurting or mistreating another.
   2. Intimacy: Inadequate private communication is common, or the use of intimidation to control others

Pathological personality traits in the following domains:

1. Antagonism, characterized by:
   1. Manipulation: Repetition in deceiving people by influencing them and controlling them with seduction and magic.
   2. Deception: Always lying.
   3. Cruelty: Lack of attention to feelings of others and lack of guilt and remorse.
2. Disinhibition, characterized by:
   1. Irresponsibility: Lack of commitment, lack of respect, and lack of follow-through on.
   2. Risk-takingng: Do serious activities without paying attention to the consequences.
3. Antagonism, is characterized by:
   1. Hostility: Always anger and insults.

Symptoms

To correctly diagnose any disease, certain signs and symptoms must be shown on the patients. The symptoms of antisocial personality disorder that help us indicate the presence of this mental disorder is:

• No remorse for his or her actions
• Lack of empathy
• no concern for other people’s feelings or safety
• Lack of ability to comprehend​ actions and consequences.
• blaming others for his or her actions.
• Very charming and witty; An ability to manipulate others’ feelings, actions, and emotions.
• May behave in an angry or cocky manner.
• May have a substance abuse problem.
• May lie or steal and blame others.
• Little to no respect for the law, feeling that the law does not apply to them.
• May put others in danger to see their reaction; and Cunning, sneaky, or very open.

A person who shows behaviors and symptoms consistent with Antisocial Personality Disorder may confuse the people around him. when engaging or living with a person with an Antisocial Personality Disorder to you, things might seem like they are going very well, that your loved one is finally understanding your feelings, finally able to treat you will. This period of ‘good’ behavior may end very quickly. ‘People with antisocial personality disorder typically:

• have no regard for right and wrong.
• They may often break the law and the rights of others, landing in frequent trouble or conflict.
• They may lie.
• behave violently.
• have drug and alcohol problems.

people with an antisocial personality disorder may not be able to fulfill responsibilities to family, work, or school.’ The person with an antisocial personality disorder may or may not have a pattern, but if they do, this gives you power and knowledge to get out. The biggest flag or being in a relationship with such a person is their lack of regard for your personal safety or your feelings. This lack of regard should be consistent, not a one-time occurrence. You do not want to erroneously suggest that a person is suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Treatment

• Psychotherapy (Talk therapy)

Psychotherapy is the best and recommended treatment for APD. Therapy may include, for example anger and violence management, treatment for substance abuse, and treatment for mental health conditions.

A therapist can help a person to control aggressive or violent behaviors and teach new vocational and relationship skills. Often the first goal is simply to reduce impulsive behaviors that can lead to arrest or physical harm (Smith, 2018).

• Medication

No medications have been approved by the U.S. FDA to specifically treat antisocial personality disorder (Smith, 2018). Medication may be useful to reduce aggressive behaviors in patients with an antisocial personality disorder. It might include antidepressants or mood stabilizers. Sometimes doctors prescribe medications for conditions that associated with an antisocial personality disorder, such as anxiety or depression.

• Group and family therapy

Group therapy is most beneficial if it is tailored to people with an antisocial personality disorder. A person with the disorder might be more comfortable discussing his or her feelings and behaviors with individuals who face similar problems and issues. Family therapy can increase understanding among family members of people with an antisocial personality disorder.

Conclusion

There’s no certain way to prevent antisocial personality disorder from developing in those at risk. Because antisocial behavior is believed to start in a person’s childhood. However, parent​s, teachers, and pediatricians may be able to notice the early warning signs. It may help to spot those most at risk, such as children who show signs of conduct disorder, and then get treated earlier and at a younger age to help reduce the chance that at-risk children may become adults with an antisocial personality disorder. They should be exposed to effective and appropriate discipline, lessons in behavior modification, social and problem-solving skills, parent training, family therapy, and psychotherapy at an early stage.

To begin with, those who argue that psychopaths are born may refer to the study conducted by the scientists from ‘the Kings College London’s Institute of Psychiatry’ in which magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans used to assess the levels of grey matter in the sixty-six participants brains. Twenty-two of sed participants were healthy and had no previous convictions to their names whilst the other forty-four had been convicted of crimes such as murder, GBH and rape on top of this all of the forty-four had been diagnosed with ‘anti-social personality disorder’ (ASPD) in addition, seventeen of these individuals had also been diagnosed as psychopaths (ASPD+P)-known as ‘cold hearted’ – and the other twenty-seven had not, (ASPD-P) known as ‘hot headed’. When the results of the study came back, it was clearly visible that those who had been diagnosed with ASPD+P had substantially lower levels of grey matter in their ‘temporal poles’ and ‘anterior rostral prefrontal cortexs’ two sections of the brain vital in the acknowledgement and grasp of others feelings and intentions as well as how to handle them.

On the contrary those who believe psychopaths are made could possibly refer to another study in their argument, this one being published in ‘The Journal Psychological Medicine.’ The study focused on the possible link between having a psychopathic personality as an adult and having experienced disrupted parental bonding and maltreatment as a child. The study also delved into the question on whether those separated from their families in early life would have a higher chance of developing into a psychopath in later life. Three-hundred and thirty-three females and males partook in the study from various walks of life (some being diagnosed psychopaths and some not) and the results came back to show that the was indeed a link between relationships with parents as a child and levels of psychopathy as an adult, the most vital facet being an absence of maternal affection. Because of this they would have not experienced the important bond between mother and child and missed out on a relationship that teaches important aspects of how to interact with others, leaving them unaware of how others feel.

Those on the “born” side of the debate may also make mention of the study conducted by Dr. Craig alongside his colleagues at Kings College London. In the study the researchers put into practice a new method known as ‘diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging’ (DT-MRI) to take scans of nine ex-convicts-convicted of crimes such as manslaughter, rape and attempted murder-who had all been diagnosed with psychopathy. They then took sed scans and went on to juxtapose them with scans taken from healthy volunteers who were of the same age and intelligence of the psychopaths. The results displayed sizable irregularities in the ‘wiring’ of white-matter in the ‘uncinate fasciculus’ which happens to be responsible for the networking of two regions of the brain affiliated with responses including fear and aggression as well as critical decision making; these regions of the brain are known as the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex. On top of this the participants diagnosed as ‘more extreme’ psychopaths displayed even higher levels of dysfunction in this field.

Furthermore, those on the “made” side of the argument could bring up the research conducted by Aina Sundt Gullhagen and Jim Age Nøttestad of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The pair aimed to research the possible link between parenting styles and psychopathy later in life, to do so they complimented traditional methods of evaluation for psychopathy such as the psychopath checklist and neurophysical tests with surveys used to gage Norwegian convicts social and emotional contentment. The results showed that the vast majority of parents of the “controlled” group landed somewhere between “overly controlling” and “negligent” on the spectrum whereas the parents of those diagnosed with psychopathy came in at one of the two extremes. The researchers claim this could have resulted in the feeling of rejection in their youth and in turn in later life they could have lashed out in violent, dangerous ways to assert a sense of control in their lives.

Those who believe psychopaths are born may refer to James Fallon, a neuroscientist at the UC Irvine school of medicine, and his findings when to his own misfortune he discovered that he could in fact be a psychopath. Whilst inspecting the brains of many individuals suspected of being psychotic through the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans he found that some of the genetic code displayed in psychopaths may well be biologically distinguishable. His findings showed that an uncanny amount of the subjects who partook in the MRI scans results came back to show very similar amounts of activeness in unusual parts of the brain; those being in regions of the brain involved in the regulating of emotions, impulses, aggression and morality where they displayed far less activity than expected in your average person which would explain the lack of empathy that can be found in them.

However, those on the other side of the argument may combat Fallons’ findings with the “NEO Personality Inventory” a two hundred and forty item measurement which has been designed to assess personality in the realms of the “Big Five Personality Factors.” According to Neo genes can be expressed differently in different people even if they are the same due to epigenetics meaning that the deciding factor isn’t always your DNA. On top of this it also claims that negative behaviors can be picked up, possibly rewarded in childhood resulting in those behaviors being practiced more often in later life. For example, if a child was raised in a home with a psychopathic or narcissistic parent, they may believe that the only way to get attention or resources is by being manipulative.

In BBC’s ‘Sherlock’, Sherlock Holmes is portrayed as a ‘high functioning sociopath’ who considers himself married to his work and despises working with others. After John Watson returns from war and needs a roommate, the two meet each other and decide to room together. Once Sherlock asks John to accompany him on a case, they become partners: Sherlock is the consulting detective and John is the blogger of the cases. Throughout their many adventures together, Sherlock seems to have growing emotions for not only John but others surrounding him. Does Sherlock have a sociopathic disorder, or does he just have a personality disorder?

Firstly, in order to make assumptions as to whether Sherlock is a sociopath or not, a proper understanding of what characteristics a sociopath has is needed. Sociopathy is often referred to as antisocial personality disorder, which is a “personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregarding and violating the rights of others” (Hockenbury & Nolan, 2019). In other words, this personality disorder includes a persistent behavior that includes discounting other people’s feelings when it comes to their own personal gain or motives. Peterson (2015) found that this disorder is often associated with a lack of remorse, lying for personal gain, poor anger management, disregard for the safety of others or self, manipulation, and difficulty with making connections with those around them.

Keeping the definition of sociopathy in mind, Sherlock from ‘Sherlock’ exhibits some characteristics of antisocial personality disorder. In the third episode of the first season, ‘The Great Game’, Sherlock and John encounter Sherlock’s new enemy, Jim Moriarty. Moriarty has given Sherlock a case that includes tying innocent people up with bombs, giving Sherlock a specific amount of time to solve each case within the set time. If Sherlock fails to solve the case in time, the innocent person and those within the vicinity will be blown up. While John is mainly focused on attempting to find the victims, Sherlock shows disinterest in whether the victims die, only showing interest in if he solved the case correctly. This correlates directly with the characteristic of having no remorse for others and only caring about personal motivations.

In the second episode of the second season, ‘Hounds of Baskerville’, Sherlock and John travel to a military institution, Baskerville, to investigate the hush-hush experiments going on. There is a rumor of a gigantic hound that escaped from the confines of the institution and is spreading fear through the small town. In this episode, Sherlock is exposed to a gas that makes him have visual hallucinations of the gigantic hound, causing an emotion he claims to have never had before – doubt. To find out what chemical caused the hallucination, he poisons John with the chemical he believed to cause the hallucinations and proceeds to create an environment that would spike John’s fear. Once again, Sherlock is exhibiting tell-tale signs of having antisocial personality disorder symptoms by putting John into serious and dangerous situations that could lead to lasting trauma for the sake of the investigation.

The last example of Sherlock’s symptoms exhibiting sociopathy or antisocial personality disorder comes from the third episode of the second season. In ‘The Reichenbach Fall’, Sherlock comes to face Moriarty head-on. This episode is a great example of the fine line Sherlock walks between being sociopathic and not being sociopathic. He exhibits sociopathic behavior by not telling his partner and friend, John Watson, of his plans. His plans include faking his own suicide by ‘jumping’ off St. Bart’s hospital while John is watching. For obvious reasons, John is traumatized by the ‘death’ of his best friend and is forced to attend therapy. Sherlock observes that John is suffering, but does not announce that he is in fact still alive, instead, he flees to remote corners of the world for two years to take down Moriarty’s network completely.

However, in ‘The Reichenbach Fall’, Sherlock creates this elaborate plan due to Moriarty setting up snipers with their guns pointed toward everyone Sherlock cared about: Greg Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson, and John Watson. Moriarty tells Sherlock that if he fails to kill himself, the snipers will shoot to kill them. Thus, Sherlock creates a plan that will make it seem like he committed suicide, saving his friends. This goes against the characteristics of what a sociopath would typically do. Sherlock could have decided to not bother and just let those people get shot, but he had since created relationships with those people and genuinely cared about their well-being.

The show never goes into detail about whether Sherlock was diagnosed by someone who is qualified or if it was a self-diagnosed situation. Whichever it was, it is shown that Sherlock has excellent functionality. I believe that it helps him divorce himself from emotions and allows him to focus solely on the cases that need to be solved.

As for the impact that a portrayal of a sociopathic disorder, I believe it shines a light on a disorder that many people don’t really know about. There are many stigmas surrounding anti-personality disorders, and many people mistake a sociopath for a psychopath. With such a smart and charismatic character as Sherlock, I believe that his being a ‘high-functioning sociopath’ puts people more at ease when hearing the term ‘sociopath’. Before watching the show, I admittedly knew very little about the differences between a sociopath and a psychopath. Sherlock is one of my favorite fictional characters ever, and to see a portrayal of a sociopath in BBC’s ‘Sherlock’ really sparked the flame that got me interested in learning more about personality disorders and other forms of psychology.

In conclusion, I believe that Sherlock exhibits sociopathic and antisocial personality disorder tendencies, but could not be diagnosed as having those disorders. The show uses strong characteristics of the disorder with the first introduction of Sherlock and throughout most of the first two seasons. As the episodes progress, Sherlock is seen as beginning to care more and more about those around them, especially building a strong friendship with John Watson. I believe that the show uses this as a way to build on Sherlock’s character and to show the progression of his morals.

Works Cited

1. Hockenbury, S.E. & Nolan, S.A. (2019). Discovering Psychology. New York, NY. Worth Publishers.
2. Peterson, T. (2015). Sociopath Definition: Extremely Antisocial, No Conscience, Accessed on October 21, 2019, at https://www.healthyplace.com/personality-disorders
3. Gatiss, M. (2010). Sherlock. Cardiff, Wales, UK. BBC.

In recent literature, researchers underline that multiple and antisocial personality disorder is real but that it rarely occurs spontaneously, without prompting, and therefore does not deserve to be a primary-level diagnosis. Special attention is given to gender differences and behavior patterns of patients and possible treatment methods. There is a small but well-recognized group of adults with a mild learning disability, predominantly but not exclusively male, who come within this rubric and who pose major problems of management, containment, and public safety, in whatever residential milieu they live. Their behavior is characterized by a callous lack of concern for the feelings of others, gross irresponsibility and disregard for social norms and obligations, inability to maintain close relationships, a very low tolerance of frustration violence, and aggression, an inability to experience guilt or to profit from experience or punishment, and a tendency to blame others for their errant behavior.

Ang and Hughes (2002) examine the differences in antisocial personality disorder in adults. They found that the psychometric properties are weak for women in contrast to the male sample group. In interviewing these patients the lack of any sense of right or wrong, and moral responsibility, can be deep-rooted, obvious, and pervasive. This inability to empathize with the feelings of others, and a lack of imagination as to the consequences of their behavior, can lead to serious considerations of public safety for which treatment efforts are of uncertain efficacy and have to be secondary to considerations of security and containment. Some of these psychopathic adults with learning disability are to be found among the population of persistent fire-raisers and sex offenders (particularly offenders with children).

Bryan and Stallings (2002) and Crawford (2004) found that aggressive and violent behavior is not typical. Also, these criteria were not included in the DSM-III or RDC classification. Personality and personality disorders are elusive concepts that have not been well-researched by psychiatrists. All too often the term ‘personality disorder’ becomes a pejorative label with no implications for treatment or services. If it is no more than that it would be better abandoned. That is not an option because, however imperfect our knowledge, we know that personality is one of the key issues in determining the success or otherwise of community living for adults with learning disability, and is equally important as physical dependency needs and frank psychiatric illness. Researchers admit that it is important to revise diagnostic criteria for male and female patients and apply new criteria to antisocial personality disorder. Psychiatry needs to extend and consolidate our knowledge in this area, to formulate practical treatment and management programs. Personality probably consists of characteristics that have been present since adolescence, are stable over time despite fluctuations in mood, are manifest in different environments, and are recognizable to friends and acquaintances.

Woodward et al (2002) examine gender differences in romantic relations and sexual relations in people with antisocial personality disorders. The study found that “Females reported higher rates of partnership formation than males” (p. 231). Most of these personality assessment schedules do, however, involve a component of self-report and subject participation and this is beyond the competence of people with any significant degree of learning disability. Hence, personality disorder has been one of the least researched areas of learning disability psychiatry, and the few studies there tend to be idiosyncratic and unscientific. A multitrait—multimethod approach would utilize diverse measurements for a broad range of traits to establish construct validity for the underlying constellation of behaviors being measured. Many of the behaviors rated will likely be found across different genetic conditions. It is the group of behaviors occurring most frequently in each syndrome that will constitute the behavioral phenotype for that particular genetic disorder.

Windle (1999) and Mueser et al (1999) examine a correlation between antisocial personality disorder and substance abuse among women and men. It was found that men are more inclined to substance abuse than women. Thus, alcoholism is typical for both men and women subjects. Within-syndrome variation and inter-syndrome overlap of behaviors are commonly observed. Many of these behaviors are also reported in people with idiopathic learning disability. Most studies are riddled with methodological flaws, and the data presented here should be interpreted with caution. Although the mechanism by which a genetic disorder could cause the manifestation of a set of specific behaviors is largely unknown, the ultimate pathway must be the structure and function of the brain. Most of these behaviors are not curable but could be remedied with appropriate educational and management programs. Maladaptive behaviors could be managed by using behavioral programs along with the judicious use of pharmacotherapy. If an individual has not learned particular skills by ‘ordinary’ means he or she can be taught by using highly efficient teaching methods. Unfortunately, once an individual’s learning difficulties have attracted a label of ‘mental handicap’ (or when behavior modification was first introduced, ‘subnormality’), the expectations of that person are lowered. The result of lowered expectations is usually reduced opportunity to learn (because less effort is made to teach everyday skills). In addition, the individual may be allowed to ‘get away with’ behaviors that would be seen as undesirable in an ‘average’ child.

Rowe et al (2006) and Pfiffner et al (2001) examine the impact of family on antisocial personality disorders among children of both sexes. The researchers found that there is a danger in reinforcing ‘desired’ behaviors if the assumption is made that the environment the person functions in is fine and it is the person who is antisocial, ill, deviant, unacceptable, and so forth. They underline that psychiatrists must be careful to exercise behavioral approaches for the benefit of the client, not simply to encourage compliance. Very often it is the environment that is odd rather than the person: odd environments produce odd behavior. Behavior modifiers have utilized this process to teach new skills, by reinforcing successive approximations to the desired behavior. For example, if a therapist is teaching an individual to use a sign to indicate that something is wanted, at first any rough approximation to the sign is reinforced. Gradually, in a series of small steps, the criterion for reinforcement is raised so that the sign has to become more and more like the correct sign to gain reinforcement. Shaping is a very useful technique when used in conjunction with suitable reinforcers (see comments in the previous section) and other procedures derived from research into the effects of antecedents on behavior.

Kjelsberg (2004) found that although faulty child-rearing, dysfunctional parental relationships, psychosocial deprivation, and maladaptive social learning are undoubtedly key factors underlying antisocial sexual behavior in some learning-disabled sex offenders many come from warm, stable, and caring families and show little evidence of significant psychopathology. The key predisposing factor in the genesis of their sex offending is the restrictive and protective attitudes of society, family which limits opportunities for normal sexual expression, restricts access to socio-sexual information, and often results in inconsistent responses to sexual behavior or misdemeanors, with resultant sexual frustration and confused concepts. Socialization programs are the bedrock of most treatment programs and the major intervention when sex offending is part of a generalized antisocial behavior disorder. They aim to instill a sense of personal responsibility, improve self-control, and assist the internalization of behavioral standards by utilizing approaches based on token economy principles. Tokens or points, which can be exchanged for a range of benefits, are issued on a systematic basis to reinforce socially desirable behavior, sometimes coupled with specific penalties for undesirable behavior. Several programs have been developed that differ only in such details as whether all or only specific aspects of behavior are targeted or points/tokens are awarded immediately, daily, or weekly.

Hodges (2003) discusses the correlation between posttraumatic stress disorder and antisocial personality disorder among women and men. He underlines that “symptoms of female inpatients with BPD overlapped frequently with symptoms of mood disorders and, to a lesser degree, with those of eating disorders and anxiety disorders” (419). A smaller group but highly significant in terms of management and treatment needs. These are markedly damaged individuals who show a high prevalence of sociopathic personality disorder, psychosocial deprivation, brain damage, and other maladaptive behaviors including non-sex offenses. Their sex offending is the consequence of a deep-seated antisocial behavior disorder and they are more likely to commit serious offences and to become persistent offenders. They require intensive treatment and care in a structured and controlled environment. These individuals are typically shy and immature with limited sexual knowledge and little or no sexual experience. They usually come from warm and caring, if somewhat overprotective, families and have a low prevalence of psychosocial pathology and other antisocial behavior. Their sex offending is essentially a developmental problem – crude attempts to fulfill normal sexual impulses in the context of a lack of normal outlets, poor adaptive behavior skills, sexual naivety, poor impulse control, and social ineptness. They tend to commit less serious offenses and are less likely to become recidivists, but if they do they tend to commit a broader range of sex offenses than the other groups, reflecting the opportunistic and undifferentiated nature of their sexual responses. Treatment measures should focus on sex education and counseling, training in relationships and other skills, and improving self-confidence and social awareness.

In sum, the studies under analysis mark that women show weaker signs and symptoms of antisocial personal disorder than men. Thus, this situation is caused by inadequate diagnostic criteria and current classifications. Changing behavior usually involves altering consequences so that natural reinforces are rearranged to follow different behaviors: for example, staff may pay attention to a client’s positive behaviors rather than to the problem behaviors they had previously attended to, and this will increase the rate of positive behavior (provided that attention is reinforced). A second major problem with how behavior modification has been implemented is that new research findings have not always found their way into clinical practice. Many practitioners have continued to use techniques derived from early research when more recent work suggests more effective ways of understanding and overcoming a problem. This is largely because most behavior modification practitioners have still not been taught the principles underlying the approach, and many behavioral interventions are attempted without reference to clinical psychologists who are more likely to have kept pace with developments in understanding behavior (including non-behavioral methods). The syndrome to be tested among women and men should then be rated by the same raters and informants for each group who are familiar with their client’s behaviors. The rating should be blind to the genetic conditions and vice versa. The behavioral rating scale should be properly validated for the study group and tested for inter-rater, inter-informant, and test—retest reliability. In a cross-sectional study behavior should be rated for a reasonable time as behaviors tend to vary among these individuals over time. Internationally accepted commonly used definitions should be used for each condition. After such rigorous hypothesis testing one should be able to establish an association (if it exists) between a genetic condition and antisocial personality disorder.