ANTISOCIAL
PERSONALITY DISORDER |
Sociologyindex |
Books - Antisocial Personality Disorder |
Sociology Books 2008 |
Antisocial personality disorder or ASP is a personality disorder
that involves disregard for the rights of others, as well as impulsive, irresponsible and
aggressive behaviour.
ASP is intimately connected to many of society's
ills, including crime, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and even rape and
murder. For men with severe ASP, life becomes an opportunity to break all social and moral
rules without remorse.
A misunderstood disorder that affects up to seven
million Americans.
The predictive power of the childhood precursors
of antisocial personality disorder provides ample justification for early
intervention. Conduct problems are predictive of antisocial personality disorder
independently of the associated adverse family and social factors.
Antisocial personality disorder is usually preceded
by serious and persistent conduct problems starting in early childhood,
and so there is little difficulty in identifying an at-risk group.
Prototypical Analysis of Antisocial Personality
Disorder
A Study of Inmate Samples
RICHARD ROGERS, University of North Texas
RANDALL T. SALEKIN, Florida International University
KENNETH W. SEWELL, University of North Texas
KEITH R. CRUISE, University of North Texas
The diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) remains controversial with its
inclusion criteria substantially modified with each new version of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Given the continued nonconsensus about this
disorder, prototypical analysis has been proposed as a method of establishing the core and
most representative APD characteristics. Building on earlier prototypical research, the
current study examined APD prototype with 448 inmates from three correctional
institutions. Inmates differed from forensic experts on prototypical ratings in their
emphasis on behavioral manifestations, especially aggressive and antisocial behavior. On a
principal components analysis with a varimax rotation, three dimensions were observed:
impaired/dishonest relationships and impulsivity, aggressive behavior, and non-violent
delinquency. A comparison of factor scores based on earlier research revealed that the
salience of "manipulation and lack of guilt" for forensic experts was not shared
by inmates. The implications of prototypical analysis for the conceptualization of APD are
discussed. - cjb.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/27/2/234
Conduct Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder in Persons With Severe Psychiatric
and Substance Use Disorders
Kim T. Mueser, Anne G. Crocker, Linda B. Frisman, Robert E. Drake, Nancy H. Covell and
Susan M. Essock
Conduct disorder (CD) and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) are established risk
factors for substance use disorders in both the general population and among persons with
schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses. Among clients with substance use
disorders in the general population, CD and ASPD are associated with more severe problems
and criminal justice involvement, but little research has examined their correlates in
clients with dual disorders. To address this question, we compared the demographic,
substance abuse, clinical, homelessness, sexual risk, and criminal justice characteristics
of 178 dual disorder clients living in 2 urban areas between 4 groups: No CD/ASPD, CD
Only, Adult ASPD Only, and Full ASPD. Clients in the Adult ASPD Only group tended to have
the most severe drug abuse severity, the most extensive homelessness, and the most
lifetime sexual partners, followed by the Full ASPD group, compared with the other 2
groups. However, clients with Full ASPD had the most criminal justice involvement,
especially with respect to violent charges and convictions. The results suggest that a
late-onset ASPD subtype may develop in clients with severe mental illness secondary to
substance abuse, but that much criminal behavior in clients with dual disorders may be due
to the early onset of the full ASPD syndrome in this population and not the effects of
substance use disorders. -
schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/626
Components of antisocial personality disorder among women convicted for drunken driving
B. W. Lex, M. E. Goldberg, J. H. Mendelson, N. S. Lawler and T. Bower
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center, Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry,
McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts 02178.
For women, the temporal relationship between Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and
alcoholism is unclear. Driving while intoxicated is both a symptom of ASPD and the
alcohol-related problem most typically reported by women. Accordingly, a period prevalence
sample of 33 women incarcerated for drunken driving offenses was assessed with the SCID to
identify other symptoms of ASPD. Excluding behaviors that only occurred while drinking,
only 1 of the 33 women met DSM-III-R criteria for ASPD. When behaviors while drinking were
included, 18.2% (n = 7) met criteria for ASPD by having both a history of childhood
conduct disorder and characteristic ASPD behaviors as adults. However, 57.6% of the sample
displayed the pattern of adult behavioral symptoms without a history of childhood conduct
disorder (n = 19). Women with a history of conduct disorder and ASPD had a younger mean
age of onset of alcohol dependence (16.8 vs 25.6 years) and a higher rate of concurrent
borderline personality disorder (85.7 vs 42.1%) than did women who had only adult symptoms
of ASPD, but a similar rate of reported parental alcoholism (71.4 vs 72.2%). With one
exception, women who were diagnosed with full ASPD with childhood conduct disorder (n = 6)
had been truant and had run away from home, but none reported cruelty to animals,
vandalism, or arson in childhood. Thus, behaviors diagnostic of ASPD were largely
consequent to substance abuse, and childhood behaviors were limited predictors of ASPD.
Relationships among gender, prodromal behaviors, and substance abuse appear more complex
than anticipated, and they indicate the need to recognize adult onset ASPD associated with
substance abuse as a legitimate diagnosis manifested differently by women and men. -
annalsnyas.org/cgi/content/abstract/708/1/49 |
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Books On
Antisocial Personality Disorder:

Bad
Boys, Bad Men: Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder (May, 2000)
by Donald W. Black, C. Lindon Larson (Contributor)
From Library Journal
Black (psychiatry, Univ. of Iowa Coll. of Medicine) claims that ample new evidence from
genetics and neuroscience supports a biological cause for antisocial personality disorder
(ASP), lending truth to the adage "some people are simply born bad." ASP is
intimately connected to many of society's ills, including crime, domestic violence, drug
and alcohol abuse, and even rape and murder. For men with severe ASP, life becomes an
opportunity to break all social and moral rules without remorse. But there are ways of
detecting warning signs in troubled children, and there are procedures, various
combinations of medication, psychotherapy, and social institutional interventions to
prevent and treat ASP. Black emphasizes the fundamental need for a healthy moral
conscience by analyzing a wide variety of case studies. An excellent companion title is
Adrian Raine's The Psychology of Crime: Criminal Behavior as a Clinical Disorder
(Academic, 1993). An eye opener suitable for all libraries.AChogollah Maroufi, California
State Univ., Los Angeles
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Whether called black sheep, sociopaths, felons, con men, or misfits, some men break all
the rules. They shirk everyday responsibilities, abuse drugs and alcohol, take up criminal
careers, and lash out at family members. In the worst cases, they commit rape, murder, and
other acts of extreme violence as though they lack a conscience. What makes these men--men
we all know, whether as faces in the news or as people close to us--behave the way they
do?
Bad Boys, Bad Men examines antisocial personality disorder or ASP, the mysterious mental
condition that underlies this lifelong penchant for bad behavior. Psychiatrist and
researcher Donald W. Black, MD, draws on case studies, scientific data, and current events
to explore antisocial behavior and to chart the history, nature, and treatment of a
misunderstood disorder that affects up to seven million Americans. Citing new evidence
from genetics and neuroscience, Black argues that this condition is tied to biological
causes and that some people are simply born bad. Bad Boys, Bad Men introduces us to people
like Ernie, the quintessential juvenile delinquent who had an incestuous relationship with
his mother and descended into crime and alcoholism; and John Wayne Gacy, the notorious
serial killer whose lifelong pattern of misbehavior escalated to the rape and murder of
more than 30 young men and boys. These compelling cases read like medical detective
stories as Black tries to separate the lies these men tell from the facts of their lives.
Bad Boys, Bad Men not only describes the warning signs that predict which troubled
children are more likely to become dangerous adults, but also details progress toward
treatment for ASP. This volume will be an essential resource for psychiatrists,
psychologists, criminologists, victims of crime, families of individuals afflicted with
ASP, and anyone else interested in understanding antisocial behavior. |

The
Antisocial Personalities
by David T. Lykken

Personality
and Dangerousness: Genealogies of Antisocial Personality Disorder
by David McCallum
Review
"...a valuable sociological history..." American Journal of Sociology
Tracing the history of the category of antisocial personality disorder, this study reveals
its emergence is linked to particular kinds of governing, rather than simply to advances
in the human sciences or a means of social control. David McCallum examines key legal and
institutional developments in Australia, the U.K, and the U.S. as well as parallel
developments within psychiatry and psychological medicine. Applying a social theoretical
analysis to this material, he challenges our assumptions about the formation and control
concepts of dangerousness and personality.
David McCallum is Associate Professor in Sociology at Victoria University in Melbourne. He
is the author of The Social Productions of Merit (1990) and numerous chapters and articles
on the history of human sciences and government.

Antisocial
Behavior: Personality Disorders from Hostility to Homicide
by Benjamin B. Wolman
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
The rise in sociopathic behavior among adults and children is troublesome, and this title
by a leading psychologist discusses the trends, incidence and treatment of sociopathic
antisocial attitudes. This not only explains the problem, it draws important correlations
between causes and solutions which include social as well as personal approaches. |
The
Antisocial Personalities
Personality
Disorders from Hostility to Homicide
Personality
and Dangerousness
Confronting
Antisocial Personality Disorder
|