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ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Antisocial Personality Disorder is characterized by an important lack of conformity in the follow-up or adherence to social rules. People with this disorder usually break the laws or may commit serious criminal acts and lose the notion of respecting the rights of other individuals; they can manipulate, deceive or blackmail others.
The disorder is usually detected around 18 years of age; however, it is important to check if similar behaviors had occurred before the age of 15, or if another personality disorder had been previously diagnosed.
Another fundamental characteristic is the lack of empathy towards the feelings of others. People with an antisocial disorder are derogatory in their interactions, which causes severe problems in interpersonal relationships. Contact with others is usually superficial and a person will try to impress those around him or her.
People with this disorder avoid the demands of others and show an inflated self-esteem, a tendency to focus on themselves, and they may even present with delusions of greatness. Generally, these individuals suffer the contempt of society, and while they want to be able to relate they are unable. They struggle between the desire to belong and the fear of rejection, for which they feel very frustrated and take refuge in fantasy.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What causes the development of an Antisocial Personality Disorder?
Several factors can influence the manifestation of this disorder, including parenting styles in which indifference or child abuse prevailed. Other investigations relate it to alterations of the frontal lobe and its executive functions. The executive functions are responsible for creativity and the ability to demonstrate effective and socially acceptable behavior. If the brain has been affected, there will be an altered behavior in the execution of these functions.
How can I identify a person with Antisocial Personality Disorder?
It is important to identify any of the following behaviors witnessed in someone suspected of the disorder:
- Flatters and manipulates the emotions of other people
- Breaks the law and social norms constantly
- Exposes or puts other people at risk
- Uses or abuses drugs and/or alcohol
- Lies and blackmail are used for their benefit
- Exhibits criminal behavior, for example, stealing
- Does not show guilt or remorse
- Cynical, arrogant or angry affect most of the time
How is intervention carried out with people suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder?
At CADE we have an interdisciplinary team of psychologists, nurses, nutritionists and physicians who work on the cognitive character (lack of remorse, deceit, constant irresponsibility, criminal behavior), while for symptoms such as impulsivity or irritability, certain drugs may be administered. Together, these treatments allow for a more adequate management of the patient.
What is the treatment for Antisocial Personality Disorder?
It is difficult to treat people suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder, since they do not usually go to the doctor's office in the first place, and when they do, they are usually obliged to do so. The intervention is more effective when addressing the aspects that lead to criminal behavior: values, antisocial attitudes, relationships with other offenders, drug use and educational-labor deficits. The treatment is aimed at strengthening social skills and modeling pro-social attitudes. In addition, several treatments are proposed, focusing on anger management and impulse control, improving empathy, problem solving and social skills training.
Does Antisocial Personality Disorder have a cure?
The course of the disorder is chronic, although it usually remits or diminishes in severity when the subject accesses a higher level of maturity and consciousness and is accompanied by psychiatric and psychological attention.
OUR TREATMENT MODEL
CADE offers a multidisciplinary treatment according to the characteristics and needs of the patient that is based on the patient´s diagnosis and an individual intervention plan.
A psychological or psychiatric disorder generally has a genetic or biological origin detonated by difficult and early or current traumatic experiences that lead the individual to become ill. Therefore, the clinical intervention in these disorders necessitates the multidisciplinary work of psychiatry, psychology, medicine, nutrition and complementary therapies. The treatment can be outpatient, inpatient or semi-inpatient based.
