Antisocial Personality Disorder Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 1273 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 8

Page 1 of 4

Antisocial Personality Disorder preoccupied scientists since the early nineteenth century. People who would be diagnosed today, according to the APA Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, as having Antisocial Personality Disorder were considered in the early stages of psychiatry and then later by psychology as: sociopaths, psychopaths, lunatics etc. According to the American Psychological Association Manual, the Antisocial Personality Disorder is "a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood." A person who is diagnosed with the disorder must be 18 and must have had presented symptoms of antisocial behavior before the age of 15 as well.

According to Moeller and Daugherty (2001) the symptom of the Antisocial Personality Disorder can be traced as having come to the attention of philosophy in ancient times: "Theophrastus, a student of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, described a personality type that he termed the "unscrupulous man" and which included behaviors that are significant elements of the current concept of ASPD (Millon et al. 1998)" (Moeller&Daugherty, 2001)

Although it is a mental illness, the Antisocial Personality Disorder does not exempt a person form being sentenced in a court of law, in the case of criminal activity. The disorder has come to the attention of psychologists and sociologists as behavioral sciences that are equally preoccupied with the subject. Individuals who are suffering from this disorder are unable to comply with social laws and norms, they are acting in disregard of the necessities ad well being of others and, more importantly, they are oblivious to the rights of others. Patients with Antisocial Personality Disorder are highly likely to commit crimes or be found to have committed acts against the law. Although it is a chronic illness, statistics show that persons in their early teenage years and up to their 20 tend to reach a peak of antisocial behavior that qualifies them as suffering from the disorder.

Stuck Writing Your "Antisocial Personality Disorder" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Antisocial Personality Disorder Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written



As other behavioral disorders, in the early ages of psychiatry, the Antisocial Personality Disorder was thought to be an inherited illness so that "during the past hundred years it has appeared as a sub-category of the mentally deficient and defective, or the group which at one time was referred to as the feebleminded" (McCallum, 2001, p. 4). Later, psychology took over and added researches in the field of this particular disorder. Psychiatry, psychology, Education and Sociology have worked together during the last half of a century in order to provide a base for the prevention and treatment of the APD.

Societies are preoccupied with criminal behavior and there are studies and researches undertaken by scientists in all the behavioral sciences in order to find the right solution for what became society's problem: persons with Antisocial Personality Disorder. Adolescents, who became the target of numerous such studies, have been followed by subjects in their childhood years, once scientists agreed that there is a "link between early childhood behaviors and later adulthood outcome" (Sampson, 1992, p. 64).

The diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder has not ceased to produce controversies in the scientific world of behavioral sciences and medicine. While some consider it a mental illness others are strongly contradicting this theory (McCulum, 2001, p. 5). McCullum assumed a different position in tackling this subject and started from the very reason for the scientist who first dealt with this category of patients that were coming from the criminal world and did not fit the rest of the mental illness categories available at the time.

As aforementioned, such a topic should be of crucial importance to every society today since it regards not only the cure for those who suffer from it, but more importantly, the prevention of criminal acts and through the sanitation of the mental state of the society as a whole.….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Applying Criminology Theory in Iceman

Dr. Rietz indicates the following two criminology theories applicable in his case: 1. Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) This constitutes a classification of people who are constantly not complying with societal norms and are exhibiting disruptive or felonious conduct. Antisocial conduct during the childhood phase is of particular concern as it may offer an explanation for developmental pathways resulting in long-run antisocial conduct. While youth brain imaging was earlier restricted on account of the possible dangers linked to the administration of ionizing radiation or radioactive isotopes, magnetic resonance imaging now facilitates brain imaging of youngsters. The PFC (prefrontal cortex) is the best imitated anomaly… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Antisocial Personality Disorder" (2009, November 06) Retrieved May 31, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/antisocial-personality-disorder-17798
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example