Psychology

APD is a chronic psychological disorder in which an individual ways of perceiving situations, thinking as well as relating to other people are dysfunctional (Rutherford, 1999). A person with antisocial personality disorder usually has no regard for what is wrong or right and may frequently go against the rights of other individuals, leading him or her to frequent conflicts. APD is sometimes referred to as psychopathy or sociopathic personality disorder. However, a number of psychological researchers suppose that there is a major difference between APD and psychopathic conditions (Rutherford, 1999). The purpose of this research paper is to explore the causes, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment of antisocial personality disorder.

The biological cause of APD is not yet known. However, the abnormalities within the front lobe of the brain have been extensively implicated as a precipitating factor (Narayan, 2007). The frontal cortex is very essential for brains executive functions. Its liable for regulating individuals emotions, self-monitoring, movements, inhibition, self correcting together with overall cognitive behavior. Thus, any damage to this brain part leads to unregulated behaviors that are usually depicted by individuals suffering from antisocial personality behavior. The diagnostic symptoms or features of APD comprise an individual failure to abide by social norms, impulsivity, deceitfulness, aggressiveness, glibness and disregard for the law. These features usually intensify when an individual is in his or her 20s and then decrease after sometime. Though, its not apparent whether the decrease in these symptoms is a result of increased orientation of the antisocial behavior impacts or aging factor (Narayan et al., 2007).

There are numerous assumptions concerning the actual cause of antisocial personality disorder. One of these assumptions supposes that individuals with this psychological disorder have inadequate sensory input and thus their brains cannot function normally. Brain imaging researches have as well suggested that antisocial behavior among individuals emanates from abnormal brain function (Narayan et al., 2007). Neurotransmitters, such as serotonin have been associated with aggressive, deceitful and impulsive behavior portrayed among the antisocial personality disorder sufferers. Both prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe assist in regulating behavior as well as mood. The functional anomaly in the levels of serotonin or within these two brain parts may result in impulsive characteristics. To support this, a recent research carried out has indicated that mothers who smoke while pregnant give birth to offspring who are at a greater risk of developing APD. This supposes that smoke lowers the level of oxygen, thereby resulting in subtle injury to the fetus brain regions, such as temporal lobe or prefrontal cortex (Narayan et al., 2007).

Apart from brain abnormalities, environment and social background have been found to contribute to sociopathic behavior. Parents or guardians of troubled offspring often portray an elevated level of sociopathic behavior themselves (Luntz and Widom, 1994). Children belonging to criminal or alcoholic parents or those who grow in absence of one of the parents due to separation or divorce are likely to develop antisocial personality disorder. In cases of adoption or foster caring, a young child could suffer from lack of emotional bond from his or her biological parents and this may affect the capability of forming a trusting and intimate relationship with other people around him or her. Whats more, lack of supervision and erratic discipline has been associated with sociopathic behavior among individuals, especially in children. Antisocial parents frequently have no motivation to monitor their offspring.  This increases the likelihood of children getting involved in risk behaviors that ultimately predispose them to sociopathic characteristics (Luntz and Widom, 1994)

Several risk factors are linked to antisocial personality disorder, including gender, abuse, family history, childhood brain injury and low socioeconomic status. It has been established that antisocial behavior is more common among men than women. In recent studies, APD has been found to affect approximately 4  of men and one percent of women. Subjecting an individual to sexual, verbal and physical abuse at a tender age (childhood), predisposes him or her to sociopathic behavior. According to Luntz and Widom (1994), persons neglected or abused in their childhood are more likely to develop antisocial behavior than non-neglected or non-abused children. Thus, childhood abuse of any kind is very detrimental to an individuals behavior and precipitates injurious behaviors among the abused individuals. Additionally, if a person is from a family with APD or schizophrenic history, he or she may be at a higher risk of antisocial behavior than a person coming from a family free from any psychological disorder (Luntz and Widom, 1994).

When an individual is believed to have antisocial personality disorder, physicians usually run a chain of psychological and medical exams and tests. These assist to eliminate other problems that could be the source of symptoms. Besides, they help pinpoint an exact diagnosis and other correlated complications (Widiger, 2003).  These tests and examinations used normally include physical exams, laboratory tests and psychological evaluation. Physical exams may comprise weight and height measurement, examination of essential signs like temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. Laboratory tests may include total blood count, carrying out thyroid function tests and testing for drugs plus alcohol. Psychological evaluation is always provided by a mental health provider or a physician, who talks to an individual regarding his or her feelings, behavior patterns, thoughts and relationships. During the evaluation, a client or patient is asked concerning his or her symptoms, including the severity of these symptoms and impacts on daily life. The health provider as well discusses with the patient about possible thoughts of attempting suicide, self mutilation or even injuring others. That said, DSM symptom criteria needed for diagnosis of APD include lying, conning other, vandalism, bullying, cruelty to pets or domestic animals and impulsive behavior (Widiger, 2003).

Like other DSM disorders, people with APD infrequently request for treatment, without being forced to interventions by a court or substantial order. Court recommendations for examination and treatment for suspected individual with this order are the most frequent referral source. Treatment options for antisocial personality disorder comprise psychotherapy, anger or stress management skills, hospitalization and medications (Widiger, 2003). The treatment options are dependent on the situation and rigorousness of the symptoms. Psychotherapy is the most identified way of treating APD. It includes talking to an individual about the disorder and the associated issues with a physician or a mental health provider. During the process, a client is able to acquire much knowledge about antisocial personality disorder and his or her feelings, behavior, mood, and thoughts. An individual using this knowledge plus insight gained in the therapy can learn better approaches to manage symptoms.

Psychotherapy types utilized in APD treatment may comprise cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoeducation and psychodynamic psychotherapy. A part from psychotherapy, building of management skills to overcome volatile situation, such as anger, aggression, irritability and violence in an individual suffering from APD may assist control the disorder before reaching a harmful stage. Though there are no approved medications specifically to treat APD, a number of psychiatric medications can assist lessen certain symptoms related to antisocial personality disorder. Therefore medications, such as antidepressant, mood-stabilizers, antipsychotic and anti-anxiety medications may be utilized (Widiger, 2003).