FREE ESSAY ON ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER

ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER

In a world full of fears, perhaps the worst one a human being should haveis that to be
afraid of his fellow man. The human that should be mostfeared is the one that has
Anti-Social Personality Disorder or in laymen'sterms the psychopath. The psychopath is
probably the most deviant mindthat exists and treatment is not very successful because
there is not a cureor drug to control it. The solution in my mind to control the problem
ofsociopaths is to let them live in colonies with each other. Through myresearch I will
develop an understanding of this personality disorder andconvince you the reader that my
solution might be a viable solution. Thesociopath is a combination of other mental
illnesses that are incurred inchildhood as a result of heredity, trauma and the lack of
emotionaldevelopment. The lack of moral or emotional development which gives asociopath a
lack of understanding for other people's feelings whichenables them to be deceitful
without feeling bad about whatever they do.The under developed emotional system as
explained in the video "TheWorld of Personality Disorders volume 5" says the sociopath
is"emotionally retarded" . The sociopathic behavior problems that start as achild have
links to heredity, a family with a pre-disposition to performcrimes, alcoholic parents
that do crimes, irresponsible behavior thatpersists and parents that do not discipline.
The child that will eventually bea sociopath exhibits certain feeling inside that they
are inadequate, shamedand because of that they are teased and made fun of. The
childcharacteristics of a future sociopath consist of being incapable offollowing the
rules. The youngster will skip school, bully, steal! , tormentanimals, run away from home
and the child is likely to develop AttentionDeficit \Hyperactivity Disorder or AD|HD. At
an earlier age than theirpeer group the child will smoke drink, do drugs, and become
sexuallyactive. The diagnoses of Anti-Social Personality Disorder is not used forpeople
under the age of 18. The Psychopath is defined in the dictionaryas a person suffering
from, especially a severe mental disorder withaggressive antisocial behavior which is a
nice way of saying a really badand mean person. There are many characteristics of a
sociopath and eachsociopath has their own special traits. A sociopath gets great
gratificationin the act of hurting someone for absolutely no reason. The behavior of
asociopath is so close to normal it is extremely hard to diagnose. Asociopath is a person
that acts against society and their sole purpose itseems is to act against the laws of
the given land their end. The sociopathwill in most cases become violent and abuse drugs
and alcohol to facilitatethe violent behavior. The violence in many cases is the result
ofsub-concious decisions that might lead to murdering or assaultingsomeone for no reason.
When a sociopath is attacking someone they willinflict more pain if the victim fights
back. The lack of moral developmentlets the person feel no guilt or pain for what they
did and quite possiblyfeel great about their actions. A sociopath has little self regard
forthemselves and pays little attention to their own personal safety whenpicking fights.
Quite often they will be outsized and get hurt. Somesociopaths are non-violent and stay
out of prison by doing small crimeslike swindling and insurance fraud. It is possible
that a sociopath willcome from a normal home but their are more that do not. A sociopath
hasthe opposite morals of society and by doing things like beating up peoplethat are
stronger than them they feel like they did something positive. Apsychopath is very
reactive and will blow their cool because of little thingsand no doubt assault the person
they are reacting to. There is a possibilitythat saratonin a chemical that is linked to
behavior has something to dowith the disorder but is not the major cause. The type 2 male
sociopathdrinks heavily no matter what, has a history of frequent fights and arrests,they
are impulsive risk takers, curious, excitable, quick tempered,optimistic and independent.
Characteristic List ? be glib or superficial ?have a grandiose self image ? be deceitful
or manipulative ? lack ofremorse ? lack of empathy ? be impulsive ? be irresponsible ? be
easilyangered or frustrated ? have serious problems as a child or teenager ?shows callous
unconcern from other's feelings ? disregard social norms orthe rights of other people ?
be unable to maintain enduring relationships ?be incapable of experiencing guilt ? blame
others or rationalize antisocialbehavior ? be constantly irritable The antisocial tends
to have short lastingrelationships if they are capable of having a relationship. The
psychopathis incapable of having long lasting, close, warm and responsiblerelationships
with people. The adult will habitually lie and cannot hold ajob for long. The sociopath
can seem charming in superficial socialinteractions but repeatedly hurt, anger, exploit,
cheat, rob, harass or injurethem. The actions a psychopath no matter what laws they
break, whoeverthey hurt, whatever trouble they have to deal with they do not feel
bad.When a sociopath is punished they have no feeling of regret because nomatter how
cruel or selfish the behavior is they feel it is justified. Peoplelike us give the
sociopath little sympathy because they hurt people so badbut their illness is recognized
as somewhat of an explanation of why theydo it. The idea of the disorder is no excuse for
their behavior that resultsfrom it. The sociopath is very intelligent and knows how to
manipulatepeople into thinking they are normal and that is when they work theirmagic.
Beneath the mask of sanity a sociopath is full of tension, hostility,irritability, rage,
emptiness and sadness at the core of the sociopathicpersonality. When they hurt a person
a sociopath might think he had itcoming or I'm watching out for number 1. Those
sociopaths with childrenneglect them and do not keep them safe. As a spouse the sociopath
canbe glib, superficial, manipulative, dishonest, abusive and unfaithful. Thesociopath
tends to borrow, squander and not repay the money they owe.Many sociopaths never settle
down for any period of time, they will travelwithout aim looking for jobs or whatever
they need and get it by doinganything. A sociopath may look tough and resilient but is
very fragile andcan erupt very easily. The diagnoses of a sociopath or psychopath is
verydifficult and has to meet several criteria in order to get that diagnoses.Diagnoses
as explained in Caring for the Mind is based on " a pervasivepattern of disregard for and
violation of the rights of others, occurringsince the age of fifteen, as indicated by at
least three of the following, 1.failure to conform to the social norms for lawful
behavior, as indicated byrepeatedly performing illegal acts that are grounds for arrest
2.deceitfulness, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conningothers for
personal profit or pleasure 3. impulsivity failure to plan ahead 4.irritability and
aggressive , as indicated by repeated physical fights orassaults 5. reckless disregard
for safety of self or others 6. consistentirresponsibility as indicated by failure to
keep a job or honor financialobligations 7. lack of remorse, as indicated by indifference
orrationalizations for having hurt , mistreated or stolen from others ? must beolder than
18 to be diagnosed with it ? must be evidence of a conductdisorder before the age of 15 ?
antisocial behavior doesn't occur onlyduring the course of schizophrenia or manic
episodes of bipolar illnessAnti-Social Personality Disorder is found in as much as 75% of
the prisonpopulation. Alcohol is a contributing cause or consequence of beingantisocial.
People that are both antisocial and alcoholic are prone toviolent behavior. Not every
antisocial becomes a criminal. An antisocialperson's disorder peaks between the ages of
24 and 44 and drops offsharply after that. After the age of 30 the sociopath fights less
andperforms less crime but the illness can persist into the ages of between 60and 70 but
after 30 are less likely to be in trouble with the law. In asociopaths in their thirties
will continue to have problems such as unstablerelationships, substance abuse,
impulsiveness, poor temper control andfailure to honor financial obligations. In our
population 3% men haveAnti-Social Personality Disorder and 1% women in the overall
populationhave it. The ratio of men to women is 4 to 1. Identical twins are severaltimes
more likely to have a personality disorder compared to fraternaltwins. A genetic link
strongest in anti-social disorder has a pattern ofirresponsible behavior 5 times more
common amongst close relatives ofanti-social men than in the general population. Some
people with a geneticlink to alcoholism have a genetic link to anti-social personality
disordertoo. Male relatives of people with Somatization Disor! der have a higherincidence
of anti-social personality disorder ( somatization - begins in theteens to twenties and
consists of chronic physical problems andcomplaints). Sociopaths with a history of
substance abuse and criminalbehavior fit Manchausen Syndrome ( Manchausen is the extreme
type offactitious disorder which symptoms are lying ,falsification and
pathologicallying). Sociopaths also have a tendency to have a non -psychiatriccondition
that is called malingering which is the production of grosslyexaggerated symptoms for a
specific illness or problem for the purpose ofwinning legal action or things like
committing insurance fraud or basicallyanything they have to lie to get. The sociopath is
a bundle of problemsthat could come from any part of life and they are very hard to
handle. Ifa person is diagnosed with Anti-Social Personality Disorder is very hardto
treat and there is no cure for their behavior. Because the disorderremits in the
thirties, it tends to be less obvious. Those that are forced intopsychotherapy cannot
tolerate the intimacy of the required therapy.Thetherapist has to focus on enhancing
strength, channel the sensation ofseeking actions on people into more positive socially
responsiblebehaviors and to teach practical ways in dealing with every dayfrustration.
Medications are not recommended in the treatment ofsociopath but drugs can diminish the
violent episodes. People withAnti-Social Personality Disorder also have Attention
Deficit\Hyperactivity Disorder and stimulants are used to treat that such asRitalin.
There are no long term results to study of this approach of usingstimulants but they
should not be prescribed unless the person isspecifically diagnosed with AD\HD and has
not responded to othermedication. The use of drugs cannot be abused and should be
closelymonitored. Those that are co! nvicted of crimes are usually incarcerated.Some
sociopaths may be able to instead of a jail term choose a residentialfacility that has
counseling but there is a high drop out rate in thosefacilities. Another alternative to
jail for the adolescents with delinquentbehavior and are in trouble with the law are
wilderness programs that aredesigned to be like Outward Bound.The camps much like that in
the T.V.show Neon Rider provide difficult and dangerous challenges that wouldkeep their
minds busy. The success of the wilderness camps is not quiteclear. There is a disorder
called Borderline that is often misdiagnosed asAnti-Social Personality Disorder which is
quite similar to it. BorderlineDisorder is a little bit more aggressive than Antisocial.
Characteristics ofBorderline Disorder ? Violating the rights of others and age
appropriatesocietal norms or rules with at least three of the following in the past
6months and one in the last 12 Aggression to People and Animals 1. oftenbullying,
threatening, or intimidating others 2. often iniating fights 3. use ofa weapon that can
cause serious physical harm to others (bat ,brick ,broken bottle, gun, knife ) 4.
physical cruelty to people and animals 5.stealing in a confrontation with victim (
mugging, purse snatching,extortion, armed robbery ) 6. forcing someone into sexual
activity 7.Destruction of Property - deliberate fire setting with intention to
causeserious damage 8. deliberate destruction of other's property in otherways 9.
Deceitfulness or Theft-breaking into someone's house, car,building 10. frequent lying to
get goods, favors and avoid obligations 11.stealing items of non - trivial value without
confronting the victim -forgery,shoplifting 12. Serious Violation of the Rules- often
staying out all nightdispite parental rules that begin before the age of 13 13. running
awayfrom home at least twice (once not returning for a lengthy period) 14.frequent
truancy from school ? significant impairment in functioning sociallyat school or work ?
in individuals 18 or older but symptoms don't meetcriteria for Anti - Social Disorder The
diagnoses of a sociopath isextremely difficult because they have so many mental problems
tocontend with the complete diagnoses might not occur. The possibility ofbeing diagnosed
with something similar to being a sociopath is quite greatand this point should be
stressed with relationship between Borderlineand Anti-Social Disorder. The inability to
diagnose and treat properlyleads me to believe that there is not a clear solution as to
how the generalpopulation should react and treat these severely troubled people. This is
adisorder that blinds the emotions and actions the sociopath which in noway is their
fault for having it. Although the disorder is not the givensociopath's fault there is no
real place for a sociopath in our society.Because sociopaths hurt us, I believe that once
diagnosed with thedisorder that all sociopaths should be sent to some kind of
controlledcolony that would run like a normal city or town except all it's residentswould
be sociopaths. I come to this solution as almost a way to removethem from society and
treat the people in a way to. By having sociopathscolonized together with all the parts
of a normal society it would be goodfor them because the only people the could hurt or
manipulate would betheir fellow sociopath. The sociopath would be constantly bored
withaverage person and sometimes causing them to hurt the average personwhen if! they
were caused to interact with fellow sociopaths it wouldkeep them interested because it is
not as easy to manipulate or con. Thepossibility of violence in my colony is great but
the sociopaths would notmind because it is in their personality and it would serve us
better if theykilled or hurt each other rather than us. In closing the sociopath is so
hardto deal with we should make strides to control their behavior in public.BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS Wing , John Kenneth, Reasoning AboutMadness, Oxford Press, Oxford ,1978 Milt, Harry
,Basic Handbook onMental Ilness,Scribner, New York , 1974 Hales, Dianne,Caring for
theMind, Bantam Books , New York , 1995 ARTICLES Salama M.D.,Aziz A.,The Antisocial
Personality,The Psychiatric Journal of theUniversity of Ottawa , Ottawa , 1988 Malaney M.
D. , Kathleen R.,Patients with Antisocial Personality Disorder, Post
GraduateMedicine,1992 Unknown, unknown , Psychopathic Patients PoseDilemma For Physicians
and Society, CMAJ ,1995 HarePh.D.,Robert,Predators, Psycology Today , Feb. 1994
Hill,Heather,Monsters In Our Midst,Homemaker's Magazine, Oct. 1995VIDEO The World of
Abnormal Psychology Personality Disorder