Antisocial personality disorder

Personality disorders are a set of psychiatric disturbances of the affective, emotional, motivational and social dimensions of individuals. These disorders include antisocial personality disorder.

Types of personality disorders

• Eccentric or rare disorders
• Dramatic, emotional, or erratic disorders
• Anxious or fearful disorders

How is it produced?

Like all personality disorders, there is no specific cause that is capable of explaining the psychopathology of these patients, but rather they are always pathologies with a multifactorial origin.

It is considered that there is a genetic and congenital component in these patients, but the environmental factors in which the patient grows also have an important weight in the development of this pathology. The history of physical, mental or sexual abuse during childhood, as well as unstructured families, with or consumption of other substances, can influence the development of this pathology in people with an underlying predisposition to suffer it.

Likewise, certain neurological alterations such as deficits of some neurotransmitters or the consumption of narcotic drugs may also play a role in the development of this personality disorder.

Symptoms of antisocial personality disorder

Patients with antisocial personality disorder are people who already present peculiar or unusual behavior since childhood or adolescence, although the diagnosis cannot be established until the age of 18, since the personality before that age is developing and it can vary greatly.

These are people with a total absence of empathy for others and without the slightest hint of remorse for their actions, no matter how serious they may be. They are always in search of new sensations and risk, without taking into account their own safety or that of others, which is why they are frequently involved in police problems due to theft, vandalism or assault, as well as consumption of various kinds of drugs.

They are people with a high concept of themselves, megalomaniacs and egocentric, considering that everything must revolve around them and not flinching at anything or anyone to get what they want.

They are extroverted, impulsive, hedonistic and with a total absence of sense of responsibility, which often prevents them from having a steady job or pursuing studies. They feel a desire for control and power over other people.

Despite having this hedonistic, extroverted and impulsive character, many times, although it seems contradictory, they are people who tend to isolation, without having friends or family support, because they feel distanced from the society that surrounds them and avoid relating within the measure of the possible with the people.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, like that of the rest of these disorders, will be based on the existence of a series of diagnostic criteria that must be established by a psychiatrist. These criteria are:

Contempt and violation of the rights of others from the age of 15 with the presence of three or more of the following characteristics:

• Inability to obey the laws and tendency to break them
• Dishonesty, lies, or scams for profit or pleasure
• Impulsiveness and inability to plan
• Irritability and aggressiveness
• Lack of concern for others or for oneself
• Irresponsibility
• Lack of remorse, indifference when hurting, mistreating or stealing
• Be over 18 years old
• Existence of a conduct disorder since before the age of 15, such as assault on other people, cruelty to animals, destruction of objects, theft, deception or other crimes.
• Presence of these characteristics not exclusively during manic episodes or in the context of schizophrenia

Treatment of social personality disorder

Patients with antisocial personality disorder never seek treatment on their own because they do not think they are ill. As in all psychiatric illnesses, there must be a multifactorial therapeutic approach.

From a pharmacological point of view, antipsychotic medications can be useful to reduce the levels of irritability, aggressiveness and irritability in these patients, as well as the use of mood modulators such as lithium or carbamazepine to control impulsivity.

Likewise, these patients can benefit from psychological, cognitive or group therapy, since the latter will force them to have to interact with other people and socialize.

In spite of everything, it must be taken into account that this disorder, like all personality disorders, is a chronic process and that complete control of it is not always achieved despite therapy and medication.

Precautionary measures

There are no specific preventive measures against antisocial personality disorder. If you suspect it in a close person, it is important to contact a psychiatrist.

• They are people with an unusual character in childhood or adolescence.
• They are self-centered, not at all empathic, without remorse, impulsive, reckless ... They do not contemplate social norms or individual rights.
• They do not seek treatment (which is based on medication and psychological therapy) because they do not consider themselves ill.