What Is Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)?

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Table of Contents

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Causes

Treatments

Coping

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People with antisocial personality disorder have little or no regard for right or wrong. They antagonize and often act insensitively or in an unfeeling manner. Individuals with this disorder may lie, engage in aggressive or violent behavior, and participate in criminal activity.

Psychopathy is associated with antisocial personality disorder. However, research has shown that not every person with ASPD is a psychopath.Approximately one-third of people with antisocial personality disorder meet the criteria for psychopathy.

Introduction to the DSM Personality Disorders

Symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder

There are a number of defining symptoms of antisocial personality disorder. People with ASPD:

These characteristics often lead to major difficulties in many life areas. At its core, the inability to consider the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of other people can lead to harmful disregard for others.

As adults, the disorder can be destructive to both the person living with it and those who come into contact with them. People with antisocial personality disorder are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors, dangerous activities, and criminal acts.Those with the disorder are often described as having no conscience and feel no regret or remorse for their harmful actions.

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Diagnosis of ASPD

While the condition may begin in childhood, it cannot be officially diagnosed before the age of 18. Kids who display these symptoms are diagnosed withconduct disorder.

In addition to displaying at least one of these symptoms, the person must be at least 18 years old and not display antisocial behavior as a result of another condition such asbipolar disordertoschizophrenia.

According to some critics, theDSMdiagnostic criteria are too focused on behaviors related to criminal actions.Concerns have been raised that the diagnosis may at times be misapplied to individuals in low socioeconomic or urban settings in which seemingly antisocial behavior may be a part of a protective survival strategy.Because of this, it is possible that the prevalence of this disorder has been overstated.

PrevalenceAccording to the DSM-V, 0.2% to 3.3% of U.S. adults have antisocial personality disorder and the condition tends to affect men more than women.

Prevalence

According to the DSM-V, 0.2% to 3.3% of U.S. adults have antisocial personality disorder and the condition tends to affect men more than women.

Causes of Antisocial Personality Disorder

Genetics

ASPD is more common among the first-degree biological relatives of those with the disorder than in the general population. Research suggests that ASPD is likely strongly linked to inheritance and that environmental influences probably exacerbate its development.

Upbringing

Upbringing can also have an important influence. Childhood abuse, neglect, and trauma have also been linked to the onset of ASPD. If a child’s parents are abusive and dysfunctional, children may learn such behavioral patterns and later display them with their own kids.

Kids who grow up in disorganized and neglectful homes also lack the opportunities to develop a strong sense of discipline,self-control, and empathy for others.

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Brain Differences

A number of factors have been found to increase the risk of the disorder, including smoking during pregnancy and abnormal brain function. Research suggests that people with ASPD have differences in the frontal lobe, the area of the brain that plays a role in planning and judgment.

People with the disorder also tend to require greater stimulation and may seek out dangerous or illegal activities to raise their arousal to an optimal level.

How Personality Impacts Our Daily Lives

Treatments for Antisocial Personality Disorder

Antisocial personality disorder is difficult to treat for a number of reasons. People with the disorder rarely seek out treatment on their own. Those who do generally receive treatment only after some type of altercation with the legal system.

While people with ASPD often come into contact with the criminal justice system, research suggests that incarceration and other punitive measures are largely ineffective since people with the condition are usually unresponsive to punishment.

Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT) can be useful in helping individuals gain insight into their behaviors and to change maladaptive thought patterns.Effective results usually occur only after long-term treatment.

Group and family therapy as well as mentalization-based therapy, which targets the ability to recognize and understand the mental state of oneself and others, have also been studied for ASPD and show promise.

Medication

Medications may be used to treat some of the symptoms that a person with ASPDl may experience. Some of the medications that may be prescribed include:

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Coping With Antisocial Personality Disorder

Antisocial personality disorder often has a significant impact on a person’s ability to function, which can make it difficult to cope with many aspects of life.

Most people with ASPD do not seek help on their own and intervention likely only happens due to legal problems. Research suggests that those who have the best outlook are those who have stronger social support and better spousal and family ties.

If you have a loved one who has ASPD, you may find it helpful to talk to a mental health professional. They can help you learn coping skills that will help you set boundaries to protect yourself from harm. Group therapy and support groups may also be helpful resources of support and information.

If you or a loved one are struggling with antisocial personality disorder, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you or a loved one are struggling with antisocial personality disorder, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

How to Cope With a Personality Disorder

13 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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Blair RJ.Neurobiological basis of psychopathy.Br J Psychiatry. 2003;182:5-7. doi:10.1192/bjp.182.1.5

US National Library of Medicine.Antisocial personality disorder.

Edens JF, Kelley SE, Lilienfeld SO, Skeem JL, Douglas KS.DSM-5 antisocial personality disorder: predictive validity in a prison sample.Law Hum Behav. 2015;39(2):123-9. doi:10.1037/lhb0000105

American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC; 2013.

Werner KB, Few LR, Bucholz KK.Epidemiology, comorbidity, and behavioral genetics of antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy.Psychiatr Ann. 2015;45(4):195‐199. doi:10.3928/00485713-20150401-08

Dargis M, Newman J, Koenigs M.Clarifying the link between childhood abuse history and psychopathic traits in adult criminal offenders.Personal Disord. 2016;7(3):221‐228. doi:10.1037/per0000147

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De Brito SA, Viding E, Kumari V, Blackwood N, Hodgins S.Cool and hot executive function impairments in violent offenders with antisocial personality disorder with and without psychopathy.PLoS One. 2013;8(6):e65566. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065566

Cleveland Clinic.How Is Antisocial Personality Disorder Treated?.

Bateman A, O’connell J, Lorenzini N, Gardner T, Fonagy P.A randomised controlled trial of mentalization-based treatment versus structured clinical management for patients with comorbid borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder.BMC Psychiatry. 2016;16:304. doi:10.1186/s12888-016-1000-9

Fisher KA, Hany M.Antisocial Personality Disorder. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.

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