Antisocial Personality Disorder Diagnostic Criteria (DSM IV TR)

Although criminal activity is not a necessary requirement for the diagnosis, these individuals often encounter legal difficulties due to their disregard for societal standards and the rights of others. Therefore, many of these individuals can be found in prisons. However, it should be noted that criminal activity does not automatically warrant a diagnosis of APD, nor does a diagnosis of APD imply that a person is a criminal. It is hypothesized that many high achievers exhibit APD characteristics.

Research has shown that individuals with APD are indifferent to the threat of physical pain, and show no indications of fear when so threatened; this may explain their apparent disregard for the consequences of their actions, and their lack of empathy for the suffering of others.

The recent, controversial science of sociobiology attempts to explain animal and human behavior and social structures, largely in terms of evolutionarily stable strategies. For example, in one well-known 1995 paper by Linda Mealey, chronic antisocial/criminal behavior is explained as a combination of two such strategies.

1 Diagnostic criteria (DSM-IV-TR)

The DSM-IV-TR, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental disorders (see also: DSM cautionary statement), defines anti-social personality disorder as a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

2 Diagnostic criteria (PCL-R test)

In contemporary research and clinical practice, APD is most commonly assessed with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist- Revised (PCL-R), which is a clinical rating scale with 20 items. Each of the items in the PCL-R is scored on a three-point scale according to specific criteria through file information and a semi-structured interview. The items are as follows:

Score 0 if the trait is absent, 1 if it is possibly or partially present and 2 if it is present. The item scores are summed to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 40 which is then considered to reflect the degree to which they resemble the prototypical psychopath. A score > 30 supports a diagnosis of psychopathy. Interesting, forensic studies of prison populations have reported average scores of around 22 on PCL-R; control "normal" populations show an average score of around 5.

A note of caution: the test must be administered by a trained mental health practitioner under controlled conditions for it to have any validity.

3 Fictional psychopaths

Svidrigaïlov ( Crime and Punishment)
Hannibal LecterHannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter is a fictional character appearing in four novels by author Thomas Harris and their film adaptations. The novels in which the character of Lecter appears are Red Dragon (published in 1981, filmed in 1986 as Manhunter and in ( Red DragonRed Dragon is a novel written by Thomas Harris and featuring the brilliant-but-insane psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter. It was originally published in 1983, but found a new audience in the early 1990s after the success of its sequel, The Silence of the Lambs', The Silence of the LambsThe Silence of the Lambs is a novel by Thomas Harris, his second to feature sociopath psychiatrist and cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In the novel and the film based on it, Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, is sent to question an imprisoned sociopath, HannibalHannibal is a film about Hannibal Lecter's time in Italy following his escape from imprisonment. It is based on a novel, the last in the trilogy, by Thomas Harris. It is set ten years after The Silence of the Lambs where a surviving victim of Lecter's is)
Alex DeLargeAlex (Alexander) DeLarge (his last name is never given in the novel) is the narrator and antihero of Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange and the movie of the same name. Alex is portrayed as a sociopath, who robs, rapes and ultimately murders without ( A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange is a dystopian 1962 novel by the Mancunian writer Anthony Burgess, adapted as a film by Stanley Kubrick in 1971. It is widely regarded as a successor to earlier great British dystopian novels such as Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New W)
Patrick BatemanPatrick Bateman is a fictional character, the protagonist of the novel American Psycho' by Bret Easton Ellis. Bateman works at the Wall Street firm of Pierce & Pierce (also Sherman McCoy's firm in Bonfire of the Vanities and lives on the Upper West Side i ( American PsychoAmerican Psycho ( 1991) is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis about a young Manhattanite serial killer. It was made into a movie in 2000. The novel Plot American Psycho is set in the late 1980s, mainly in Manhattan. The novel describes roughly two years of the)
"The Caller" ( Phone Booth)
Chad ( In the Company of Men)
Don Logan ( Sexy Beast)
The Punisher ( Marvel Comics)
Lieutenant Loren Singer (JAG)
Tom Ripley ( The Talented Mr. Ripley)

Psychopaths in popular fiction and movies generally possess a number of standard characteristics which are not necessarily as common amongst real-life psychopaths. The traditional "Hollywood psychopath" is likely to exhibit some or all of the following traits.

High intelligence, and a preference for intellectual stimulation (music, fine art etc.)
A somewhat vain, stylish, almost "cat-like" demeanor.
Prestige, or a successful career or position.
A calm, calculating and always-in-control attitude.

It is this last feature which is probably most at odds with the typical real-life psychopath: an individual with APD is much more likely to be impulsive, disorganised and short-tempered rather than the smooth-talking, self-disciplined character portrayed by Anthony Hopkins or Kiefer Sutherland.

In popular culture, "psychopath" is often used interchangeably with " serial killer" (such as the characters in slasher films) though the terms are not synonymous. It is, however, true that 90% of serial killers are psychopaths.

4 Corporate Psychopathy

The Corporation, a documentary exploring the psyche of the corporation, came to the conclusion that if the corporation can be regarded as a legal person, as it is under United States law, its personality would meet all of the DSM-IV requirements for being a psychopath (such as conning others for profit and recklessness).

5 External links

Mental illness Personality disorder

<Hide>

Home > Antisocial personality disorder