Antisocial Personality Disorder (

Antisocial Personality Disorder: Also referred to as sociopathy or psychopathy Individuals exhibit antisocial behaviour Antisocial Behaviour: Verbally or physically harmful to others, animals and/or property Seriously violates social expectations or norms Two components: –Presence of antisocial behaviour –Absence of prosocial behaviour Natural for children to exhibit some antisocial behaviour during development High levels of antisocial behaviour considered a clinical condition Antisocial personality disorder is only diagnosed in adults, but bears resemblance to conduct disorder Approximately 4% of the population suffers from antisocial personality disorder –3% men –1% women

Oppositional-Defiant Disorder: Sufferers: Young children hostile towards authority Can lead to conduct disorder Conduct Disorder: Sufferers: Older children who lie, steal and behave violently. A small number of these children who do not improve with maturation develop antisocial personality disorder (

Causes: Family problems: unstable marriage, harsh/inconsistent discipline child abuse (physical or sexual), frequent changes in residence or primary caregiver, learning disabilities etc. Sources (pics, left to right): ( ( RIP Neurological disorders, low IQ, low socioeconomic status and having a parent who suffers from the disorder or substance abuse increases the likelihood of developing antisocial personality disorder A child may behave antisocially for a period of time when a stressor occurs, but this is not considered a clinical condition Stressor: traumatic event in one’s life such as the death of a parent

Symptoms: Non conformity to social norms ( Deceitful and manipulative towards others, often to get something (ex. money, drugs) Impulsive, long list of past residences and employments Irritable, aggressive and engages in physical violence A reckless disregard for the safety of themselves and others Consistently irresponsible, inability to hold down or find a job, fails to do such things as pay bills No conscience Shows few feelings beyond contempt for others

Treatments and Therapies: Children and Adolescents: Possible if intervention is soon enough, though difficult Primary treatment: therapy –Goal: to develop positive behaviour to replace negative ones –Systematic, designed to improve communication within a group, often the family or a group of similar children –Methods include: modeling, role-playing, corrective feedback and reinforcement systems –Success is largely dependent on the cognitive capacity and emotional development of the individual Most severe cases  medication used to control behaviour Adults: Extremely difficult to treat Often a chronic condition Some medications aid in controlling behaviour However, non compliance and abuse prevent widespread use