Ed602 Lesson 1

Lecture Information: Antisocial Personality Disorder

i. Mental illness (or Emotional disability, Cognitive dysfunction)

1. a broad generic label for a category of illnesses that may include affective or emotional instability, behavioral dysregulation, and/or cognitive dysfunction or impairment. Specific illnesses known as mental illnesses include major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to name a few. Mental illness can be of biological (e.g., anatomical, chemical, or genetic) or psychological (e.g., trauma or conflict) origin. It can impact one’s ability to work or go to school and contribute to problems in relationships. Other generic names for mental illness include “mental disorder”, “psychiatric disorder”, “psychological disorder”, “abnormal psychology”, “emotional disability”, “emotional problems”, or “behavior problem”. The term insanity is used technically as a legal term.

2. It is a diagnostic label applied to people whose thinking and feeling or mood may affect their ability to relate to others and/or their ability to work. The definition of mental illness is highly controversial, given that many people experience emotions or cognitions that may be classed as abnormal, yet live productive lives and are not commonly considered "mentally ill". For example, recent studies suggest that occasional auditory and visual hallucinations are not unusual in the general population (as was previously supposed) and are therefore not limited to those labeled schizophrenic. Mental illness is distinct from the legal concepts of sanity and insanity. Other terms used to describe aspects of mental illness and mental health include behavioral health, mental hygiene, mental wellness and behavioural dysfunction.

ii. Antisocial personality disorder (APD or ASPD)

1. A psychiatric diagnosis that interprets antisocial and impulsive behaviours as symptoms of a personality disorder. Psychiatry defines only pathological antisocial behavior; it does not address potential benefits of positive antisocial behavior or define the meaning of 'social' in contrast to 'antisocial'.

2. Professional psychiatry generally compares APD to sociopathy and psychopathic disorders (not to be confused with psychosis). Approximately 3% of men and 1% of women are thought to have some form of antisocial personality disorder according to DSM-IV.

iii. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 4), a widely used manual for diagnosing mental and behavioral disorders, defines antisocial personality disorder as a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest

2. deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure

3. impulsivity or failure to plan ahead

4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults

5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others

6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations

7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

iv. The manual lists the following additional necessary criteria:

1. The individual is at least age 18 years.

2. There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.

3. The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia or a Manic Episode.

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