Personality disorders are mental health conditions that affect the way a person thinks, perceives, feels, or relates to others. Antisocial personality disorder is a particularly difficult type of personality disorder characterized by impulsive, irresponsible and often criminal behavior.
A person with antisocial personality disorder is usually manipulative, deceitful, and reckless, and has no interest in the feelings of others.
Like other types of personality disorders, antisocial personality disorder can range in severity from occasional bad behavior to frequent lawbreakers and serious crimes.
What are the signs of antisocial personality disorder?
Signs of a person with antisocial personality disorder include:
- Exploitation, manipulation, or violation of the rights of others
- Lack of anxiety or remorse about others’ plight
- Behave impulsively, reckless and irresponsible
- Ignore normal social behavior
- Difficulty maintaining long-term relationships
- Lack of control over anger
- Lack of guilt
- Not learning from their mistakes
- Blaming others for their life’s problems
- He repeatedly broke the law
A person with antisocial personality disorder will have a history of behavior disorder during childhood, such as truancy, delinquency, crime or drug addiction and other disruptive and aggressive behaviors.
Who gets antisocial personality disorder?
Antisocial personality disorder affects men more than women. Science has not yet been able to know why some people develop antisocial personality disorder, but it is believed that genetic factors and traumatic childhood experiences, such as child abuse or neglect, play an important role. Often, a person with antisocial personality disorder has grown up in difficult family circumstances such as being abused by a parent or consuming alcohol. These types of childhood difficulties often lead to behavioral problems during adolescence and adulthood.
Effects of antisocial personality disorder
Criminal behavior is an essential feature of antisocial personality disorder, and there is a high risk that a person with this disorder will commit crimes and be imprisoned more than once in his life. Research has found that men with antisocial personality disorder are 3 to 5 times more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs than those without this disorder, and that they have an increased risk of premature death as a result of impulsive behavior or a suicide attempt.
People with antisocial personality disorder are also more likely to have relationship problems during adulthood and are often unemployed and homeless.
Antisocial personality disorder diagnosed
To diagnose antisocial personality disorder, a person usually has a history of conduct disorder before the age of 15. Antisocial personality disorder is diagnosed after a careful psychological evaluation.
Antisocial personality disorder treatment
Antisocial personality disorder is thought to be a lifelong disorder, but in reality, it can sometimes be managed and treated. Evidence suggests that behavior could improve over time with treatment, even if basic characteristics such as lack of empathy remain.
But antisocial personality disorder is one of the most difficult to treat types of personality disorder.
The treatment recommended for a person with antisocial personality disorder depends on their circumstances, taking into account factors such as age, the offending history, and whether there are any associated problems, such as alcohol or drug use.
