Causes and Symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder

Antisocial personality disorder, which is commonly referred to as its short form APD is defined as a chronic mental disorder marked by showcasing of destructive or abnormal behaviors towards others. An individual with APD always aims at manipulating, exploiting and violating right of people around him; they often do so by committing some form of crime. More severe form of APD is termed as: dissocial personality disorders, psychopathy or sociopathic personality disorders.

Why does an individual develop APD? The exact causes of this mental health problem are not known as there’s no genetic, laboratory or blood tests that can be used for diagnosis of the condition. Individuals with alcoholic parents, parents suffering from APD, sexually or physically abusive parents or parents not providing steady discipline are susceptible towards developing APD. There are also instances when an undiagnosed neurological disorder has lead to occurrence of antisocial personality disorder. Incidence of APD are more common among men compared to the women; this can be due to the fact that men are emotionally and physically more aggressive.

How will you identify APD? The signs indicating occurrence of antisocial personality disorder generally begin form an individual’s childhood or adolescence. However, diagnosis of ADP is only possible when a person above the age of 18 years exhibit erratic behavior consistently starting from the time when he or she was 15.  The physicians, teachers and parents must be aware of the warning signs of ADP in a child; examples include conduct disorders such as bullying the peers, animal abuse, vandalism, lighting fires and stealing.

The symptoms of this mental health disorder in adults include lying or frequent deceit, child abuse or neglect, tendency of manipulating others using the technique of intimidation, abusive relationships, charm or wit and flattery. Patients with antisocial personality disorder never feel guilty after hurting others; they are extremely callus and cynical and do not possess any idea about right and wrong. They have a tendency of violating law, not fulfilling responsibilities and behaving violently. APD patients suffer from superiority complex, exploit the person with whom they are involved in a sexual relationship and refuse following social laws.

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