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Antisocial Personality Disorders: A Case Study

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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 (Stout, Westermeyer, & Thuras, 2015). Some clinicians believe there is no difference in sociopathy, where other clinicians believe psychopathy is a more severe form of the disorder (Blais, Smallwood, Groves, Rivas-Vazquez, & Berger, 2014). 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 …show more content…

It is more common in men than women. There is a higher incidence in persons in prison and those who have a first degree biological family member who suffers from the disorder (Womble, 2011). The disorder usually accompanies other disorders, such as Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder. The patient typically shows symptoms during early childhood, and if not corrected, worsens as the child ages. The child or adolescent will show a lack of social and emotional understanding. Early detection and intervention to improve deficits may help in preventing children who grow up to suffer with the antisocial personality disorder. Interventions may include effective and appropriate discipline, behavioral skills, and therapy. Parents, teachers, and healthcare providers may be the best ones to detect the early warning signs (Arehart-Treichel, …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 (Paris, Black, Shi, Kendall, Alarcon, & Palmer, 2013). When the patient suffers with ADHD, stimulants are generally prescribed, but do nothing to improve antisocial behavior (Arehart-Treichel, 2011). 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 (Blais, Smallwood, Groves, Rivas-Vazquez, & Berger, 2014).
Complications of the disorder consist of imprisonment, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, and suicide. When the patient abuses drugs and alcohol, symptoms are exacerbated and treatment for either one is compromised (Stout, Westermeyer, & Thuras,

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