Antisocial Personality Disorder - Research Paper Example

? of the of the of the Antisocial Personality Disorder Antisocial personality disorder de s acondition that affects the emotions, behavior, and thoughts of an individual. The term antisocial indicates conduct that in addition to being disruptive could be harmful to others (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence). Scientists had found that this was a condition that was characteristic of countless convicted criminals. Individuals afflicted with this disorder tend to disregard distinctions between right and wrong. Quite frequently, such persons infringe upon the rights of others and violate the law. This was the conclusion arrived at by the Mayo Clinic (Moskowitz). The brain study conducted by Yang et al, which was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, September 2009, had made a comparison of 27 psychopaths with 32 non – psychopaths. Deformations of the amygdala were discerned among the psychopaths. These individuals also depicted a thinning of the outer layer of the cortex and an 18% reduction of volume in that portion of the brain (Moskowitz). Antisocial personality disorder and crime are interrelated. In the context of the antisocial individuals, a perusal of their brain scans or scintigrams of the brain, disclosed that they had an 18% reduction in the middle frontal gyrus of the brain. This was in comparison to the brain of persons who were devoid of mental disorders. Moreover, scintigrams of the brain of antisocial individuals depicted a nine percent reduction in the volume of the orbital frontal gyrus (Moskowitz). Antisocial conduct and a combination of fundamental psychopathic personalities have been the hallmarks of the clinical condition of psychopathy. One of the most important components of the neural circuit that forms the substratum of emotional processing has long been recognized as the amygdala. Fear conditioning has necessitated the presence of an undamaged amygdala. It was also recognized as an important component of the neural systems that formed the basis of reward learning, social interaction, morality, and reasoning (Yang, Raine and Narr 986). Adrian Rayne, the chair of the Department of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania had stated that emotion chiefly resides in the amygdala, and that psychopaths were devoid of emotion. As a result psychopaths had been observed to portray an absence of empathy, guilt, or remorse. On the whole, such studies had clearly pointed out a marked physiological difference between those who had indulged in serious crime and those who had not indulged in such activities. Although, every individual with antisocial personality disorder cannot be labelled a law breaker, a significant association has been detected between this disorder and criminal conduct. Thus, it can be surmised that a neuroscience basis persists in the cause of crime (Moskowitz). Individuals with antisocial personality disorder have depicted the characteristics of high negative emotionality, low conscientiousness, impulsivity, deceitfulness, recklessness, and irresponsible and exploitative conduct. These traits have resulted in interpersonal relationships that proved to be unstable, had a disregard for the outcomes of one’s conduct, possessed the incapacity to learn from experience, exhibited egocentricity and the least regard for the feelings of other individuals. As such, antisocial personality disorder tended to be correlated to a vast array of social and interpersonal strife. The definition of criminal conduct had been founded to a major extent upon antisocial personality disorder. This was despite the fact that criminal conduct had been frequently, the consequence of longstanding and erstwhile difficulties. Some examples of these difficulties were educational, family, and socioeconomic problems (National Institute for Health Care Excellence). Therefore, antisocial personality disorder was much more than criminal behavior. If this had not been the case, then every individual convicted of a criminal offence would have satisfied the criteria for antisocial personality disorder. In addition, with regard to people without a criminal history, a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder would have been uncommon. However, the reality proved to be otherwise, and the incidence of antisocial personality disorder among prisoners had been determined to be less than 50%. Moreover, epidemiological studies had shown that just 47% of the people who satisfied the criteria for antisocial personality disorder possessed arrest records. As such, one percent of the females and three percent of the males, in the general population, were seen to be affected by the antisocial personality disorder (National Institute for Health Care Excellence). A persistent pattern of conduct, emotions, and thoughts that was markedly different from the norm of that person’s culture had been termed a personality disorder. Psychopathy had been determined to constitute a very severe form of antisocial personality disorder. A psychopath was defined as an individual who indulged in antisocial conduct and displayed an absence of guilt or remorse with respect to his demeanor. Such individuals were usually paranoid or highly distrusting. This caused them to regard every aggressive act directed at them as being unfair and arbitrary (Dryden – Edwards). This ailment had been attributed to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The physiological risk factors had been usually attributed to the improper functioning of some parts of the brain, hormones or genes. This disorder was usually accompanied by substance abuse, reading disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In the absence of a specific and definitive test for accurately determining the presence of this disorder, a mental health interview that sought the incidence of antisocial symptoms had to be conducted (Dryden – Edwards). The onset of this ailment was seen to be prior to the age of 15 years and quite frequently around the time of puberty among girls. With regard to boys, it had occurred during their early childhood. This disorder had been found to a greater degree among men and the members of the lower socioeconomic groups (Cooper). The recommended medical intervention for this disorder had been psychotherapy. However, the effectiveness of such treatment had left much to be desired. Moreover, it had been perceived that intensive psychoanalytic approaches to this disorder could prove to be counterproductive for the afflicted (Cooper). The antisocial personality disorder has unquestionably seized the attention of the psychologist and the psychiatrist. Several of the people with this disorder had shown a tendency to indulge in criminal conduct. This disorder was characterized by the malfunctioning of certain portions of the brain. Individuals with this disorder violated the rights of others and had the least consideration for others. In quite a few instances of this disorder, there had been a paucity of moral values; and a history of aggressive conduct, crime, violation of the law, and impulsive and reckless behavior. It had been conceded that the treatment of this ailment was to include logical and utilitarian arguments against wrongful conduct. On several occasions it had been proved that criminal conduct was linked with the malfunctioning of the brain. As per the above discussion, the interrelation between antisocial personality disorder and crime can be surmised. Works Cited Cooper, Anne – Marin B. Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD). 2006. Web. 18 October 2013. . Dryden – Edwards, Roxanne. "Antisocial Personality Disorder." 10 September 2012. MedicineNet. Web. 18 October 2013. . Moskowitz, Clara. "Criminal Minds Are Different From Yours, Brain Scans Reveal." 4 March 2011. livescience. Web. 18 October 2013. . National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. "Antisocial personality disorder: treatment, management and prevention." 2 October 2013. Web. 18 October 2013. . National Institute for Health Care Excellence. "Antisocial personality disorder Treatment, management and prevention. NICE clinical guideline 77." September 2013. Web. 18 October 2013. Yang, Yaling, et al. "Localization of Deformations Within the Amygdala in Individuals With Psychopathy." Archives of General Psychiatry 66.9 (2009): 986 – 994. Print. Read More