Antisocial Personality Disorder Research Papers

Antisocial Personality Disorder , in particular, has experienced many changes in diagnostic criteria.  The DSM-III in 1980 reflected the greatest degree of change in criteria.  Developmental criteria included behavioral disturbances in school adjustment, delinquency, or indecorous behavior, such as lying, casual sex, and substance abuse.  Adult characteristics included lack of responsible behavior, antisocial behavior, and risk taking .  In the 1987 edition of the DSM-III-R, the developmental characteristics were revised to reflect an emphasis on violence and other criminal acts.  The adult criteria were left intact. 

Rogers, Salekin, and Sewell (2000) note that the preoccupation in the DSM of violence and aggression in adolescence but not adulthood is peculiar and seemingly inconsistent.   Also, the elimination of the two criteria indicating mainstream socialization, including work history and monogamous relationships, seems misguided, as these adult situations are very indicative of a healthy psyche.  The researchers comment, “DSM-IV continues to offer a bewildering array of diagnostic possibilities with 3.2 million variations”.  Clearly, these authors feel that the American Psychiatric Association has conducted a poor job of clarifying the diagnostic criteria for APD.

In terms of diagnosing antisocial PD, the American Psychiatric Association requires at least three of the following symptoms to accurately diagnose a patient.  The patient must show a failure to conform to social norms, show consistent deceitfulness, impulsiveness, and failure to plan ahead.  They must be irritable and aggressive, and display a consistent disregard for work and family obligations.  They should show indifference toward the safety of themselves and others.  Also, they display no remorse.  A description of an individual with antisocial PD might read, “He is probably male… Although he is neither autistic nor psychotic, he is entirely indifferent to the well-being and interests of others.  He understands intellectually that they have wishes and concerns of their own, but he cares so little that this knowledge rarely affects his behavior.  Believing that he has the right to do what he wants and take what he can, he manipulates others by deception or intimidation or both”.

     The American Psychiatric Association instructs diagnosticians that only persons diagnosed with conduct disorder before the age of 15 can be diagnosed later as antisocial PD.  Conduct disordered individuals steal, lie, bully, and fight.  They are often truant at school, found to abuse animals, and set fires.  Other symptoms include burglary, vandalism, malicious mischief, consistent precocious aggression, deceit, and impulsiveness.  Conduct disorder is often comorbid with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder .

     Children and adolescents can develop antisocial behavior when their sense of community is lacking and they have few opportunities for healthy rewards for socially appropriate behavior.  Under these conditions, “many boys do not learn respect for social rules but come to value coolness, toughness, and immediate gratification”. 

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A research paper is an in-depth examination of Antisocial Personality Disorder. More than just an overview of what was learned on Antisocial Personality Disorder, like a term paper is, a research paper contains analysis of Anitsocial Personality Disorder along the lines of organizational theory and relevant published material. Research papers are highly analytical and can often be more than 8 to 10 pages. The key to a good research project is the examination of recently published journal articles and peer-reviewed material on the Antisocial Personality Disorder chosen. Like the name implies, research papers are exactly that, a paper that examines the information that can be found on Antisocial Personality Disorder.