Sociopathy or Antisocial personality disorder is a mental disorder in which a person consistently disregards right and wrong. Besides, they ignore the rights and feelings of others. Under this disorder, a person antagonizes, manipulates others harshly and sometimes with indifference. Unfortunately, they show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.
Violating the law or becoming a criminal is no surprise for such personalities. You may notice violence, a lying nature in such persons. Also, they have problems with drug and alcohol use. These characteristics restrain people to fulfill responsibilities related to family, work, or school.
Related post – How to Spot and deal with psychopathic children?
Symptoms
Antisocial personality disorder signs and symptoms may include:
- Disregard for right and wrong
- Being callous, cynical and disrespectful of others
- Persistent lying or deceit to exploit others
- Using charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or personal pleasure
- Recurring problems with the law, including criminal behavior
- Arrogance, a sense of superiority and being extremely opinionated
- Repeatedly violating the rights of others through intimidation and dishonesty
- Impulsiveness or failure to plan ahead
- Lack of empathy for others and lack of remorse about harming others
- Hostility, significant irritability, agitation, aggression or violence
- Unnecessary risk-taking or dangerous behavior with no regard for the safety of self or others
- Failure to consider the negative consequences of behavior or learn from them
- Poor or abusive relationships
- Being consistently irresponsible and repeatedly failing to fulfill work or financial obligations
Usually, the signs of sociopathy disorder typically been seen among people before the age of 15. Here we see behavioral disorders such as:
- Aggression toward people and animals
- Deceitfulness
- Destruction of property
- Theft
- Serious violation of rules
Although antisocial personality disorder is considered lifelong, in some people, certain symptoms — particularly destructive and criminal behavior — may decrease over time. But it’s not clear whether this decrease is a result of aging or an increased awareness of the consequences of antisocial behavior.
What are the Causes of antisocial personality disorder?
Personality is the combination of behavior, thoughts, and emotions that is unique to everyone. Depending on the individual personality people view, understand, and relate to the outside world, and also see themselves. Personality forms during childhood, shaped through an interaction of inherited tendencies and environmental factors.
The exact cause of antisocial personality disorder isn’t known, but:
- It is sometimes genetic. Also, life situations may trigger its development
- Changes in the way the brain functions may have resulted during brain development
What are the Risk factors
Certain factors seem to increase the risk of developing an antisocial personality disorder, such as:
- Diagnosis of childhood conduct disorder
- Family history of antisocial personality disorder or other personality disorders or mental health disorders
- Being subjected to abuse or neglect during childhood
- Unstable, violent or chaotic family life during childhood
Men are at greater risk of having antisocial personality disorder than women are.
What all Complications may arise?
Complications, results, and problems of antisocial personality disorder may include:
- Spouse abuse or child abuse or neglect
- Being in jail or prison
- Problems with alcohol or substance use
- Homicidal or suicidal behaviors
- Having other mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety
- Premature death, usually as a result of violence
- Low social and economic status and homelessness
How can we prevent it?
We cannot prevent antisocial personality disorder from developing among those who are at risk. As antisocial behavior is thought to have its roots in childhood, it is the parents, teachers, and pediatricians who may be able to spot early warning signs. However, we may identify the children who are at risk and early intervention can help a lot.
Conclusion
Although antisocial personality disorder is considered lifelong, in some people, certain symptoms — particularly destructive and criminal behavior — may decrease over time. But it’s not clear whether this decrease is a result of aging or an increased awareness of the consequences of antisocial behavior.
Ref: https://www.mayoclinic.org/