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Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a personality disorder It is defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual: “The essential feature for the diagnosis 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.”[1] Deceit and manipulation are considered essential features of the disorder. Therefore, it is essential in making the diagnosis to collect material from sources other than the individual being diagnosed. Also, the individual must be age 18 or older as well as have a documented history of a conduct disorder before the age of 15.[1]People having antisocial personality disorder are sometimes referred to as “sociopaths” and “psychopaths”, although some researchers believe that Psychopathy/Sociopathy are not synonymous with APD.[2] It is not to be confused with Avoidant Personality Disorder, which more accurately describes people colloquially referred to as “anti-social”.
The criteria for the Antisocial Personality Disorder were made by Andrew, Endicott and Robbins because of concern in the development of the DSM-IV that too much emphasis was focused on research data. Note that researchers have heavily criticized the APD criteria (see below) because not enough emphasis was placed on traditional psychopathic traits such as a lack of empathy, superficial charm, and inflated self appraisal. These latter traits are harder to assess than behavioral problems (like impulsivity and acting out). Thus, the DSM-IV framers sacrificed validity for reliability. That is, the APD diagnosis focuses on behavioral traits, but only limited emphasis is placed on affective and unemotional interpersonal traits.
Three or more of the following are required:[1]
The antisocial behavior must not occur exclusively during an episode of schizophrenia or a manic episode.[3]
Sex differences: According to DSM-IV (in a 1994 publication by the APA), Antisocial Personality disorder is diagnosed in approximately three percent of all males and one percent of all females.[1]
Characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder may include:[citation needed]
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