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The Symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder

Children, especially when they become teenagers, can be hard to deal with sometimes. They go through stages of hating you and thinking everything you say is wrong. For the most part these feelings are a normal part of growing up and eventually they make that realization that you do know a little more than they gave you credit for. What happens when this bad behavior keeps getting worse? According to The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and related Conditions (NESARC), 7.6 million people in the United States suffer from a chronic personality disorder that goes far beyond a teenager with a bad attitude. They suffer from Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Antisocial Personality Disorder begins in early childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood. It is characterized by disregard and violation of the rights of others. They basically don’t care about anything or anyone including themselves. They don’t care if they hurt others and manipulation is their favorite game. Sociopath and psychopath are terms that are often used to describe a person with the disorder.

The symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder are manipulation, deceit, blatant disregard, inability to keep a job, failure to pay debts, unable to fulfill parenting duties, violent tendencies, aggressiveness, inability to tolerate boredom, impulsiveness, inability to make or keep friends, lack of remorse, dysphoria, disregard for the safety of self or others, superficial charm or wit, childhood diagnosis of conduct disorders and a sense of extreme entitlement. The intensity of the symptoms peak during the teenage years and early 20’s and will usually begin to decrease as the person reaches middle age.

The cause of Antisocial Personality Disorder is unknown, but there is evidence that it has inherited traits as most mental illnesses do. There are several theories that attempt to explain the cause of the disorder. It is possible that the disorder is caused by abnormalities in the development of the nervous system. Other studies suggest that there may be a link between a mother smoking during pregnancy and Antisocial Personality Disorder. They feel that the lack of oxygen to the fetus may cause subtle brain injury that results in the disorder. Brain imaging studies suggest that abnormal brain function could be the cause. Social and home environments can also play a role in the development of the disorder.

By: C.Olvera
Published: 08/22/08


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    6 Posted Comments:

    @ 11:31 am 09/02/08 by Willow Sidhe
    Great article! I definitely think upbringing has something to do with the cause of this disorder.
    Reply to this Comment

    @ 2:48 pm 09/02/08 by Nax05
    Hm..sounds terrible. Like a more advanced case of depression.
    Reply to this Comment

    @ 9:35 pm 09/02/08 by C.D. Crowder
    Great description. I had never heard of Anti-Social Disorder before. I can't imagine having to deal with something like that.
    Reply to this Comment

    @ 1:43 am 09/03/08 by Ette_Rual
    up to now, i have a different notion of what an anti social is. i usually relate being antisocial as an introvert. but after reading the article, it is more than being an introvert---it is actually a personality disorder

    Reply to this Comment

    @ 8:02 am 09/03/08 by yourstrulyisabel
    Well I am an introvert but definitely not anti-social. I think people with that disease should be put to a rehab where then can learn to socialize with other people and be able to work in groups. Great article though!
    Reply to this Comment

    @ 4:47 pm 09/03/08 by K.F. Lynn
    wow, this is pretty interesting. we all know people who are standoffish, but we do usually chalk it up to them being just "antisocial" or "socially awkward". this may just be one of those things that goes vastly undiagnosed. this was a very interesting read, thank you for sharing with us!
    Reply to this Comment

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