Antisocial Personality Disorder or ASPD is defined as a chronic mental condition, rather a type of it, in which the person’s way of perceiving a situation or thinking as well as relating to other persons is dysfunctional or destructive. People with such a disorder quite typically disregard wishes, feelings and the rights of those around
People have a disability from this Antisocial Personality Disorder often tend to behave harshly, antagonize, and manipulate others. They’re disobeying the law might put them in trouble, yet they do not show any feeling of remorse or guilt. They are found to lie, behave impulsively and violently and are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Thus, the path they follow or their lifestyle makes them irresponsible is daily social life.
Symptoms
The symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder might begin in the childhood and become prominent while they are in their twenties or thirties. Being cruel to animals, social isolation, poor performance in school, anger, impulsiveness, bullying behavior are in most cases the initial signs of this disorder.
Other Antisocial personality disorder symptoms and signs may include the following
- Does not regard what is right or wrong.
- Lying or cheating others.
- Use of wit or charm to convince or force to meet personal demands.
- Intense egocentrism, exhibitionism and sense of being superior.
- Recurring difficulty with the law.
- Intimidates, dishonest, takes advantage of others by violating their rights and misinterpreting.
Cruel to children.
- Hostility, agitation, significant irritability, impulsiveness, violence or aggression.
- Lacks empathy towards others and lacks feelings.
- A dangerous behavior and is never afraid of taking risks.
- Abusive or poor relationships.
- Irresponsible towards work.
- Failing to learn from previous wrong doings or mistakes.
Though considered to be a lifelong issue, there are some symptoms like an addiction to alcohol or drugs, destructive or criminal behavior has a chance of decreasing with time. However, it has not been proven if it is due to aging or because the victim is aware of the effects of this antisocial behavior.
Factors
Basically, personality is a combination of emotions, behaviors, thoughts which make every one unique. Personality is the key through which people unlock the doors leading to the outside world and how they consider themselves to be.
Personality usually is formed during childhood, and shaped through the interaction of the following factors:
- Genetics: These are the inherited tendencies which are aspects of any person’s personality that have been passed by the parents, like shyness or always bearing an outlook that is positive. This is many a times called temperament.
- Environment: This indicates that the surroundings in which a person has grown up, relationships and events and so on. It also includes the life situations such as the experience of a certain type of parenting say lovingly or say abusive.
Personality disorders are caused by the mixture of environmental and genetic influences. Some may carry genes which cause them to be vulnerable to develop antisocial personality disorder and even situations in life can trigger its development.
- There might be a relation between early lacking of empathy, misunderstanding perspectives as well as problems of other people, and an onset of this antisocial personality disorder. Identifying the problems in personality will definitely help to improve the long-term outcomes.
- Men have a higher chance of suffering from this disorder that women.
- The exact cause of antisocial personality disorder has not yet been discovered, yet there are some factors which enhance its growth.
- Diagnosis of childhood conducts disorder
- Family history of antisocial personality disorder or other personality disorders or mental illness
- Being subjected to verbal, physical or sexual abuse during childhood
- Unstable or chaotic family life during childhood
- Loss of parents through traumatic divorce during childhood
- History of substance abuse in parents or other family members
Problems faced
A person having antisocial personality disorder may face a lot of problems in different areas of life, especially work and personal areas. People around may also be affected by the behavior exhibited by the subject. The issues that are commonly reported among people having antisocial personality disorder includes:
- Aggressive behavior and physical violence
- Participating in gangs
- Reckless behavior with people, including child abuse
- Aggressive sexual behavior
- Addiction towards gambling
- Being arrested by the law
- Problems at work or school
- Difficulties in relating
- Low social and economic status
- Premature death, mainly because of violence.
Epidemiology
The antisocial personality disorder is seen in a wide range of psychiatric patients, varying from three to thirty percent. It is usually seen among those who have been exposed to abuse and violence, like prisoners. About forty-seven percent of males and twenty-one percent of female prisoners have antisocial personality disorder.
Treatment
It is considered to be the most difficult personality disorder to treat. Such individuals can be very charming and simultaneously be dishonest. They often try to change but fail due to lack of inspiration. Often, they are seen to manipulate fellow patients and be aggressive towards medical staff. The therapists of people having ASPD usually focus on methods that are rational and speak of avoiding past mistakes.
