Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a serious personality disorder characterized by ignorance of others’ rights, lack of empathy, impulsive behavior, and criminal tendencies. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the symptoms, causes, treatments and how to get along with such people, and provides free online psychological test links to help you better understand this mental health problem.
Have you ever met people who always ignore right and wrong, don’t care about other people’s feelings and rights, often lie, deceive, manipulate or hurt others, but never feel guilty or regret? Do they often break the law and commit dangerous or violent acts without being responsible and not caring about the consequences? Do they think they are arrogant, arrogant, and always think they are smarter and better than others? If you have someone like this around you, they may suffer from anti-social personality disorder.
What is antisocial personality disorder?
Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), also known as psychopathic personality, is a serious personality disorder. Its typical characteristics are indifference to social norms, laws and rights of others, and a lack of empathy and responsibility. This type of people often use manipulation, deception and harm to others to meet their own needs.
Research shows that around 3% of men and 1% of women worldwide suffer from ASPD. Among prison populations, this proportion is even higher, reaching more than 50%**, which shows that ASPD is closely related to criminal behavior.
Core characteristics of antisocial personality disorder
Patients with ASPD tend to show the following behavioral characteristics:
- Lack of conscience and responsibility: Don’t feel guilty or regret for your actions
- Laser of empathy: Indifferent to other people’s feelings and needs
- Deception and manipulation: To achieve your goal, you will not hesitate to lie, deceive or exploit others
- Impulsive and Reckless: Reckless, often violating social rules and laws
- Irritable and aggressive: Easy to argue, fight, and even have a tendency to violence
- Irresponsible: Unable to fulfill work, study or family obligations and often default on debts
- Turning Seeking: Unbearable to boredom or stress, easy to indulge in drugs, alcohol or risky behaviors
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Causes of antisocial personality disorder
The causes of ASPD mainly involve the following three aspects:
1. Research on genetic factors shows that ASPD has certain hereditary properties. If someone in the family has antisocial personality disorder, their offspring are at a higher risk of illness.
2. Environmental factors traumatic experiences in childhood, such as domestic violence, abuse, neglect or lack of discipline, may affect the emotional development of the child, leading to a hostile and indifferent personality.
3. Scientific research on brain development abnormalities has found that there are abnormalities in brain structure and function in patients with ASPD, especially in areas related to emotional regulation, impulse control and empathy. These changes may be caused by innate inheritance or may be caused by acquired environmental impact.
How to diagnose antisocial personality disorder?
To diagnose ASPD, patients must meet the following conditions:
- Over 18 years old
- Have records of anti-social behaviors before the age of 15, such as theft, bullying, animal abuse, etc.
- Comply with at least the following four characteristics:
- Frequent violations of the law and was arrested for crimes
- Deceive or manipulate others
- Impulsive, lack of planning
- irritable and aggressive
- Disregarding oneself and others’ safety
- Poor sense of responsibility, failure to fulfill work or family obligations
- Lack of regret, indifferent to your hurtful behavior
Can antisocial personality disorder be treated?
At present, there are no specific treatments for ASPD, but through psychotherapy, drug therapy and social support, patients can improve some of their symptoms.
1. Psychological therapy helps patients enhance their self-control and cultivate a sense of responsibility and empathy through professional psychological counseling.
2. Although there are no specific drugs for drug treatment, antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs or mood stabilizers can be used to relieve some symptoms.
3. Social support involves patients in social activities such as volunteering, establishing positive relationships that help them improve behavior.
How to prevent or reduce the occurrence of ASPD?
Antisocial personality disorder is a disease that is not easy to prevent or reduce, but we can make some efforts from the following aspects:
- Early intervention: If a child is found to have a tendency to anti-social behavior, such as frequent lying, bullying his companions, stealing, fighting, etc., you should seek professional psychological counseling or treatment in a timely manner to prevent the problem from worsening.
- Good family environment: The family is an important environment for children to grow up. Parents should provide their children with a warm, caring, supportive and stable family atmosphere to enhance their sense of security and trust. Parents should also set a good example for their children, educate them to respect others, abide by rules, and assume responsibilities.
- Positive social impact: Society is an important place for children to learn and grow. We should provide children with some positive social impact, such as excellent teachers, friends, tutors, etc. We should also encourage children to participate in some beneficial social activities, such as volunteer services, interest groups, sports, etc., to cultivate children’s empathy and social skills.
How to get along with people with antisocial personality disorder?
If someone around you suffers from ASPD, you may feel confused, frustrated, fearful, or angry. You may not know how to get along with them or how to help them. Here are some suggestions:
- Protect yourself: You should pay attention to protecting your safety and interests, and do not believe the words or promises of people with antisocial personality disorders, and do not let them take up your time or resources. You should set some clear boundaries and rules to let them know that you won’t tolerate their bad behavior or harm.
- Support them: You should try to support people with antisocial personality disorders in seeking professional help and treatment, and give them some encouragement and affirmation. You should also respect their value and dignity as a person and not discriminate against or exclude them.
- Keeping distance: You should maintain a certain distance and space appropriately and not excessively interfere or control the lives of people with antisocial personality disorders. You should also have your own life and interests, and don’t let them occupy all your energy and emotions.
If you want to test your adaptability in social interaction, click on the Social Resilience Test to see how your social skills are.
In addition, you can also understand your personality traits through social negative personality tests and subconscious personality tests .
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