Antisocial Personality Disorder

Individuals with antisocial personality disorder are often called as Psychopathic personalities.



People with antisocial personality disorder have a history of failing to comply with social norms. These individuals are intelligent, spontaneous and likable at first sight. They perform actions that are unacceptable to the world such as stealing from friends and family. They also tend to be irresponsible, impulsive and deceitful.



They are emotionally immature,irresponsible,and impulsive .They violate social norms and expectations without any guilt or regret. They are often aggressive because they take what they want, indifferent to the concerns of people. Lying and cheating are the core characteristics. They show no remorse or concern over the devastating effects of their actions.



Substance abuse is common with antisocial personality disorder. It is observed that adults with antisocial personality disorder had a history of conduct disorder in their childhood.

Antisocial personality disorder is caused by various reasons. It is generally observed that genetic influence play a major role in this disorder. Adults with this disorder have a family history which makes their behavior antisocial.



Low levels of cortical arousal are the primary cause of antisocial and risk taking behavior. Social and environmental factors too play a direct role in causing antisocial personality disorder. Individuals with this disorder have inconsistent parental discipline. Antisocial personalities come from upper or middle class families.



Early environmental conditioning either by mother or father has a drastic effect on the child’s personality. Marked discrepancies and conflicts in the parents, attitude in regard to authority, independence and goals of achievement all are responsible factors in the development of the disorder. People with this disorder reveal guilt feelings and anxiety but such feelings do not change their behavior. Stress too play an important role.



Childhood problems or traumatic events force people to engage in violence, illegal activities, lying and using aliases. These behaviors result in the child’s dropping out of school and poor occupational history in adulthood, creating an frustrating life that force them to act against society.

Treatment to these people is difficult because they are very manipulative. Treatment is more beneficial if treated in childhood to avoid adult violence. The most common treatment strategy for children involve parent training. Parents are taught to recognize behavior problems at an early age and how to praise and motivate to reduce problem behavior and encourage prosocial behavior. Parenting skills are also taught to prevent antisocial behavior in children. For adults, prevention is the best approach to this problem.