The Different Parts Of Antisocial Psychology And What They Mean
Medically Reviewed By Dawn Brown, LPCYou’ve probably heard someone is referred to as “antisocial” before, and you may have associated that with someone who doesn’t like talking to people and keeps to themselves. However, antisocial psychology is quite different than someone who doesn’t speak much. In this post, we’ll talk about antisocial psychology and explain what it is. First, let’s look at antisocial personality disorder or APD
What Is APD?
APD is when a person does not care about the rights of other people. Someone with APD may have few morals, lack of social norms, aggression, or even live a life of crime. Sometimes, the person with APD may not be a delinquent but instead manipulate others for their gain. They may have a manufactured personality that is charming to some, but their view of others is one of no attachment. Eventually, they cannot sustain their relationships.
The Cause
How does one become antisocial? Were they born that way, or were they a product of their environment? The answer is a little bit of both. First, let’s talk about genetic causes.
Genetic Causes
If your family members have APD, there is a good chance that you or someone close to you may inherit it as well. While the exact cause is still unknown, one gene that may contribute is a gene that encodes an enzyme known as MAO-A. This gene helps break down certain feel-good chemicals in the brain. This is associated with aggression, and children who have low levels may develop antisocial causes.
Trauma
One giant environmental factor that can contribute to the development of APD is a traumatic event. Trauma can change the way your brain functions and how hormones are released. Traumatic events, in general, can change a person. Sometimes, depression can result, but other times, it can create someone who has a disregard for humanity.
Head Trauma and Neurological
Someone who has experienced head trauma may develop an antisocial personality disorder. If there is less gray matter in certain parts of the brain, antisocial behavior may develop. There are certain parts of the brain where less activity may lead to an antisocial personality disorder, such as the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex involves planning, consequences, and morality. As you could imagine, damage to this part of the brain could make someone antisocial.
Environment
Someone who is raised in an environment that is not suitable may develop APD. If the parents of the child are antisocial, the child may learn those behaviors from them.
The changing social norms of society may cause APD as well. If a society becomes less empathetic and less social, someone may develop APD as a result.
Conduct Disorder
APD is a disorder for adults, but one disorder a child may have can lead to APD. This is known as conduct disorder. Conduct disorder is APD in many regards. It involves a disregard of other people and antisocial behavior to boot. The child with conduct disorder may be aggressive, manipulative, steal, vandalize, and fight other children. Even if the child is punished, it won’t affect the child’s behavior often.
Conduct disorder must involve the child having problems before 15 years old. There are two different types of conduct disorder present. First, there is the childhood type, where the conduct disorder is diagnosed before ten years old. This is more severe than the second type, which is adolescent onset. This is when the child is diagnosed after the age of 10. This form may be a phase, and it’s seen as less problematic than the childhood diagnosis. Childhood diagnoses can lead to more aggressive behavior and can be harder to treat.
Approximately 25-40 percent of those with conduct disorder will develop into APD as they grow into adults.
Symptoms
Here is the complete list of symptoms of APD.
- Someone with APD may constantly tell lies.
- They may be deceitful to take advantage of others. Everything they do is for their gain.
- They disrespect other people, whether that person is above or below them on the ladder.
- They have a strong, unwarranted sense of arrogance. They think their opinions matter more than anyone else’s.
- Someone with APD lives a life of crime. They may commit petty crimes or perform a crime that is much more dangerous. Someone with APD may spend their entire lives in prison.
- Intimidating others. They may use violence or other threats to get what they want.
- Unable to empathize or feel remorseful for their actions
- They may be hostile or violent.
- They are impulsive and don’t know how to make plans.
- They take unneeded risks. They may take risky behavior.
- Their relationships may be short, often abusive.
- They don’t learn from their consequences.
For conduct disorder, symptoms include:
- Hurting animals
- Destroying property
- Disobeying rules
- Stealing
Diagnosing APD
How does a doctor diagnose APD? It can be difficult for a few reasons. First, it’s hard for someone who has APD to get a diagnosis because of their ego. They believe that they do not need to be treated or diagnosed, so they avoid the doctor. As APD is an adult disorder, they have the choice to avoid doctors usually. Often, they may visit the doctor for an irrelevant reason. They may feel depressed or want to calm down their anxiety and then discover they have APD.
Even if they visit a doctor, they may not paint an accurate picture of themselves, glossing over any negative behaviors they exhibit. One way to know if someone has APD is to talk to the person’s friends and family. Relationships are an important clue.
A professional needs to have a full psychological evaluation, medical history, personal history, and the patient needs to meet all the criteria in the DSM5 to be diagnosed with APD.
Treating APD
Due to the resistance of the patients with APD, treating the disorder is difficult. However, long-term treatment may be effective, and the results may depend on the severity of the disorder, the patient’s ability to listen, and other situations.
Therapy
Some forms of therapy may be able to help those with APD. Talk therapy, where the patient talks about issues they’re dealing with to put them into a new perspective, can be effective. If the person has anger issues, talk therapy may be able to help them resolve their anger. If they are dealing with addiction, talk therapy can be able to help.
Talk therapy can make the person with APD realize their disorder and make changes to improve it. However, this all depends on the severity. Sometimes, the person with APD may refuse to talk, which means that the treatment will go nowhere.
A therapist who treats APD needs to be experienced in that department. Therapists who haven’t dealt with an antisocial personality disorder may not have the patience to handle someone with it. Treating a patient like this will require the therapist to deal with the patient berating the therapist and refusing to listen. Even the most well-trained therapist may not have the patience to handle the abuse someone with APD may throw at them.
However, a therapist who has the strongest tolerance may reach the patient with APD, which could change that patient’s life.
Medication Treatment
Sadly, there have yet to be FDA-approved medications to help treat APD as a whole. Sometimes, the patient may receive medications that can treat the symptoms, such as depression or aggression. Those who are prescribed may need to have their symptoms monitored, as drug abuse is common among people who have APD.
For severe cases, imprisonment is sometimes the best solution. Keeping them away from society is needed if they cannot function. One day, we may be able to treat people with APD better once it’s more understood.
In Summary
There has been confusion when it comes to antisocial personality disorder. When many think of this disorder, they may imagine someone who isn’t talkative and keeps to themselves. They may mistake being antisocial with being shy or socially awkward, which can be symptoms of other mental disorders. This can create some stigma around those who are shy.
Instead, an antisocial personality disorder is an even more terrifying disorder to have the more you think about it. Those who have it can have no regard for others, but they cannot control it. They are almost relying on instincts, and treatment can be difficult.
If someone you know, or you, have symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, it’s best if you seek counseling today. A therapist can teach you different techniques to empathize with others, learn the consequences of your actions, and use yourself for good instead of for your gain.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you prevent antisocial personality disorder?
To answer this question, it’s crucial to understand the difference between conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder ASPD. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the first is considered an earlier stage of APD and found among children. Symptoms of conduct disorder include high aggression, “acting out,” and harm toward animals and peers. Many children with conduct disorder also show signs of oppositional defiant disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. While these are a precursor to APD, antisocial personality disorder cannot be diagnosed in individuals under 18.
By the time a person reaches adulthood, it may be too late to address the disorder symptoms (or may be misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder or several related disorders). Early intervention can help resolve conduct issues, identify personality disorder symptoms, and potentially prevent antisocial personality disorder and related disorders from developing. However, with so many genetic, environmental, and cognitive factors at play, more research is needed into how personality disorders and other psychiatric disorders emerge.
What factors can increase the risk of developing antisocial personality disorders?
Children who grow up in abusive or unstable households are more likely to develop antisocial personality disorder ASPD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Common risk factors include witnessing domestic violence perpetuated by one or both parents, abusive and violent parenting, and having an inconsistent home life (such as being bounced among different foster homes). However, many children experience these conditions and do not show personality disorder symptoms or develop conduct disorder or antisocial behavior. Moreover, many people with antisocial personality disorder grew up with a stable, loving family.
That’s why, when diagnosing psychiatric disorders, it’s important to look at medical history as well. Severe trauma as a child (such as witnessing extreme violence) and brain injuries can also contribute to antisocial personality disorder and related disorders such as oppositional defiant disorder, avoidant personality disorder, and bipolar disorder. These, in turn, increase the risk of eating disorders and narcissism.
What causes antisocial personality disorder?
According to the Harvard Medical School, people with antisocial personality disorder ASPD and related disorders often had traumatic, conflicted, or abusive childhoods. However, that is hardly the only cause. Research shows that people with antisocial personality disorder have significant brain differences, especially the frontal lobe, which governs decision-making, the nucleus accumbens, the center of “reward” processing, and the brain's parts that govern stress. Altogether, this means that people with antisocial personality disorder are more likely to act impulsively, perceive exaggerated rewards, and experience little response to stress and trauma. This may make them more likely to engage in violent or manipulative behavior and develop eating disorders.
What are the symptoms of antisocial personality disorder?
As the name suggests, people with antisocial personality disorder ASPD (or children with conduct disorder) generally display antisocial behavior. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM, other disorder symptoms include a general disregard for morals or social order. They also tend to have low empathy, to the point that they do not acknowledge or identify with others’ feelings. Often, their manner of social interaction seems tactless, callous, and highly negative.
The brains of people with APD and related disorders show an enlarged reward system. Often, higher levels of narcissism make them more likely to manipulate others for their personal gain, but they do not have the sense of guilt or concern that others would have. This is unique among personality disorder symptoms, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
People with an antisocial personality disorder also often engage in reckless, violent behaviors and may develop addictions or eating disorders. They tend to have high tempers and a generally hostile demeanor. This may seem like bipolar disorder, but people with antisocial disorder symptoms often don’t have the characteristic disorder depression or self-negative beliefs seen in bipolar. Moreover, some can be very charismatic as they learn to manipulate others for their benefit.
In short, it can be challenging to differentiate antisocial personality disorder from other conditions that cause aggressive, isolating behaviors, such as oppositional defiant disorder in children or bipolar disorder, depression, and PTSD in adults. Only a qualified professional can diagnose personality disorders.
Can you treat antisocial personality disorder?
If caught early, an antisocial personality disorder can be treated with strategic counseling that teaches the patient how to resolve conflicts, modulate their moods, develop empathy, and process their emotions. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM, children can be evaluated for oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, all of which can be predictors of APD.
To treat adults, it is also important to address any comorbid psychiatric disorders, such as depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or other personality disorders. A stable, supportive environment can also help people with antisocial personality disorder recover a sense of self and orient themselves within a social framework.
How can you cope with having antisocial personality disorder?
Despite the harmful media portrayals of personality disorder symptoms, many people with antisocial personality disorder (or other personality disorders) are not serial killers or violent criminals. Some are not aware of their condition; others experience stigma about it. They know how they “should” feel about their lives and the people in them, and they may be frustrated that they feel so different from other people. Moreover, they are also often bored and restless (especially if they also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), making them feel directionless and irritable about life.
People with antisocial personality disorder (and related disorders such as avoidant personality disorder) often benefit from talk therapy that provides a safe place to express themselves. Highly engaging hobbies, such as sports, art, and puzzles, can also be a great way to help patients with antisocial personality disorder feel more integrated and connected to the world. This can also reduce personality disorder symptoms such as aggression, manipulation, self-aggrandizement, and related conditions such as eating disorders and other psychiatric disorders.
