Antisocial Personality Disorder

A personality disorder characterized by impulsive, selfish, unscrupulous, and even criminal behavior, often combined with a lack of remorse, anxiety, or guilt. From the perspective of public welfare and safety, it may represent the most serious, costly, and intensively studied personality disorder. Described as “moral insanity” in the 1800s, people with antisocial personality disorder have also been referred to as “psychopaths” or “sociopaths,” though psychopathy is typically used today to refer to antisocial individuals who especially lack in affective or emotional response. About 3% of men and 1% of women in the United States can be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Some studies suggest a genetic predisposition in the form of abnormal [Page 25]brain development or chronic underarousal of the central nervous system (resulting in sensation seeking), though the precise etiological causes of this characterological pattern remain unknown. Developmental factors (e.g., disrupted family environment or poverty) may also contribute to the development of this personality pattern. For more information, see Mealey (1995).