How to Indentify Antisocial Personality Disorder

Personality disorder refers to a disarrayed mentality that involves ongoing dysfunctional patterns of thought and action that may cause serious personal and social difficulties. Antisocial personality disorder is also known as psychopathic or sociopathic personality. Individuals with this condition manifest a lack of concern toward the rights of others and persistently violate the laws of society.This type of behavioral disturbance is often diagnosed past the age of 18, but usually starts to build up before age 15. Males are more susceptible than females; the disorder is often at its peak during adulthood and then improves in middle age. In many cases, psychopathic patients have a high risk of experiencing an early and violent death--which can be caused by serious accidents or suicides. Below are symptoms to help you detect antisocial personality disorder.

Instructions

• 1

  Observe how many times the potential sufferer has violated the law. Respect never crosses the minds of psychopathic individuals. Following social norms is not their ideal way of living. They just go on doing what they want to do, even if they have to violate the rules. These individuals always have problems with the law, and are often arrested for their unlawful actions.

• 2

  Notice how often the person lies. Psychopaths aren't big on telling the truth about things. Their deceitfulness may be expressed in different forms--from repetitive lying to stealing, cheating or conning others.They take these deceptive actions for the sake of their own pleasure and to get what they want (especially as regards financial matters).

• 3

  Note how he frequently the subject gets into fights. Due to his violent and aggressive behavior, a sociopath always gets into heated arguments or physical disputes with others. Even if he is wrong, he digs in his heels and expresses his opinions in a violent way. When the person he is fighting with is badly hurt, he doesn't feel any remorse, and will even think other party deserves it for getting in his way.

• 4

  Take note of how he disrespects other people. Individuals with antisocial personality disorder are often inconsiderate of the needs of others. They tend to control people through intimidation or deception and violate their rights--be they physical, sexual or legal.

• 5

  Keep track of how he handles responsibilities. When it comes to obligations, psychopaths are not capable of handling them responsibly. Difficulty in holding down a steady job is always an issue--due either to a recurring pattern of quitting or being fired because over a failure to perform assigned duties. People with this disorder are not good at handling financial matters, either: Bills often pile up, since they don't have any intention of paying their debts. Their home life is often unstable, with no plans of improving it. As parents, they often neglect and abuse their children; as spouses, they tend to ignore and mistreat their partners.

• 6

  Watch how he isolates himself from the crowd. Individuals with antisocial personality disorder are usually loners. As a result of their extreme irritability and impulsiveness, they are unable to keep friends or establish good relationships with others. They often have short-lived marriages, which can be due to mistreatment and continuous misunderstandings.

• 7

  Get a close look at how he handles himself. A person with a psychopathic personality usually exhibits a lack of concern for himself by not minding the consequences of his unlawful actions. He doesn't care if he's engaging in activities that may endanger his own life. He often abuses his body with alcohol or drugs, showing no intention of changing or stopping.