preview

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Good Essays

Antisocial Personality Disorder is in the category of Cluster B Personality Disorders. It can also be called sociopathy or psychopathy, depending on severity of symptoms. Sociopathy is thought to be when something is severely wrong with the conscience, as opposed to psychopathy, when this no conscience of the person (#3). Some clinicians believe there is no difference in sociopathy, where other clinicians believe psychopathy is a more severe form of the disorder (#2). Either way, it is a chronic personality disorder in which the person’s way of thinking, perception, and actions are disturbed, destructive, and dysfunctional. The disorder may lessen as the person ages.
The actual cause is unknown, however, there seems to be a greater incidence …show more content…

One key factor that is looked at how the patient relates to others (#1). Other points of concern include “a diagnosis of a childhood conduct 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, and history of substance abuse in parents or other family members” (#1). Symptoms tend to peak during late teens and early twenties and may improve on their own by their forties …show more content…

The person will not typically seek help for treatment on their own and is usually ordered by a court. Patients may be prescribed mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and/or antipsychotics to help with symptoms of the disorder (#1). When the patient suffers with ADHD, stimulants are generally prescribed, but do nothing to improve antisocial behavior (#5). Currently, there are no medications approved by the FDA specifically for the disorder. Other treatments may include “reward and consequence” approach and “talk therapy”, also referred to as psychotherapy. The latter approach is only successful if the person can admit to contributing to the problem. Treatment for family members may also be encouraged. They can learn how to set boundaries, protect themselves against aggression, violence, and anger. They might learn coping strategies, too

Get Access