What Is an Antisocial Personality Disorder?

Diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder

     Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a complex type of mental disorder, characterized by irresponsible, impulsive, and often criminal behavior.

People with antisocial personality disorder are generally manipulative, cunning, and reckless, and don't care about the feelings of others.

Like other types of antisocial personality disorder, mental health is on a spectrum, which means its severity can range from occasional bad behavior to repeated rule violations and serious crime.

Psychopaths are often considered to have a severe form of antisocial personality disorder.

What is an Antisocial Personality Disorder?

According to Wikipedia, an antisocial personality disorder is a type of personality disorder characterized by long-term neglect, or infringement of the rights of others, and problems maintaining long-term relationships.

Antisocial personality disorder (sometimes referred to as sociopathy) is a mental illness in which a person constantly ignores what is right or wrong, and disregards the rights and feelings of others.

People with ASPD tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others harshly, or by behaving uncaringly, and unfeelingly. They show no sense of guilt or remorse for their behavior.

A person with antisocial personality disorder can break the law, and turn out to be a criminal. They also lie, behave rudely or impulsively, and have problems with drug and alcohol use. People with this mental disorder generally cannot meet obligations related to family, work, or school.

Causes Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

There is no single cause for ASPD, but the following factors can also increase a person's risk of developing the disorder:

Environment: Trauma or abuse in childhood increases the risk of developing ASPD later in life.

Biology: People with ASPD may also have abnormal levels of serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that regulates human emotions and feelings of joy.

Lifestyle: half of the people with ASPD also sometimes have a problem with alcohol.

Genetics: There may be several genetic factors that may predispose some people to develop ASPD. However, there is no single genetic aspect that is thought to be responsible for the condition.

Signs and Symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder

Antisocial personality disorder can cause people to hurt other people, or even break the rules, but not everyone with ASPD is violent or aggressive.

Some research recommends that individuals with antisocial personality disorder remember memories differently than normal people without ASPD.

According to research, people with antisocial personality disorder tend not to integrate, or learn from previous experiences.

Symptoms Individuals with antisocial personality disorder:

- Starts showing signs during childhood; Such behavior can include arson, animal cruelty, and problems with authority.

- Has difficulty feeling empathy for others

- Often acts impulsively and fails to consider the consequences of their actions.

- Displays an irritable and aggressive nature that often results in physical attacks

- Frequently lies and deceives others for personal gain

- Shows a lack of remorse for destructive behavior

- Often have legal problems, due to failure to conform to social norms, and lack of respect for other people's rights

- Often have bad and abusive relationships with other people, tend to forget about their children

- Everyone is unique, so the symptoms of a personality disorder that a person experiences may be different from others, with the same condition.

Main Effects of Antisocial Personality Disorder

Criminal behavior is one of the hallmarks of antisocial personality disorder, and there is a high risk that any individual with the disorder will commit a crime, and be imprisoned at some point in their life.

People with antisocial personality disorder were found to be three to five times more likely to abuse alcohol, and drugs, than people without the disorder, and have an increased threat of premature death, as a result of reckless behavior, or attempting suicide.

People with antisocial personality disorder are also more likely to have relationship problems throughout adulthood and be unemployed.

Treatments for Antisocial Personality Disorder

An antisocial personality disorder is a personality problem that is difficult to treat. People rarely seek therapy on their own and can start therapy only when mandated to do so through the courts.

No treatment is indicated for antisocial personality disorder. Currently, the antipsychotic clozapine treatment has shown promising results in improving signs among individuals with an antisocial personality disorder.

Summary

An antisocial personality disorder is one category of a larger mental disorder. Every personality disorder is different and is treated differently. It's very important to talk to your doctor right away if you notice any symptoms of antisocial personality disorder.