Antisocial Personality Disorder - the term itself is enough to identify the problem. A bit risky, scary, unpredictable attitude that keep the individual miles away from normal society. It is associated with crime, violence & delinquency occurring after the age of 15. This diagnosis is not given until age 18, however, it's essential characteristics include a history of continuous & chronic conduct disorder in the period before the age of 15. After 15, the individual must have shown a pervasive pattern indicating disregard for the rights of others & violation of those rights. Such behavior must include at least 3 of types of action listed in the pic.
From the standpoint of abnormal psychology, the defining properties of antisocial personalities are not so much the particular acts they perform like robbing a bank or shoplifting as their distinctive, deeply ingrained approach to life. They always seem to participate in a game where others exist as pieces to be manipulated or utilized & it's the game playing that leads these people to get into trouble with the law. At their worst, individual with such disorder can be cruel, sadistic & violent. They seldom show anxiety & don't feel guilt. They don't see themselves as the cause of problem, instead they see the tough spot they find themselves as due to flaws in other people.
Research on this disorder have been hampered by the fact that it is much easier to identify anti socials among common people who have been convicted of crime. Consequently the group on which research is based may not be typical of all people with antisocial personality disorder. Researchers have looked at many aspects of antisocial individuals like their life histories, psychological & physiological functioning, personality characteristics to understand why these people behave as they do. Biological perspectives yielded some interesting findings like heredity, separation from parents etc. Anxiety had seemed reasonable to assume that antisocial individuals show little compared to others. But this assumption may be true only in limited sense.
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