ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER BY: MACKENZIE

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1 ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER BY: MACKENZIE

2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS Main: What is antisocial personality disorder? What are the symptoms of antisocial personality disorder? What are some everyday complications people living with APD have? What are some treatments for APD? How do you test for APD?

3 KEY TERMS AND TEST QUESTIONS Term1. Psychopath Term 2. Sociopath Term 3. Antisocial personality disorder Test question 1: What is the difference between a Sociopath and a Psychopath? Test question 2: What are the symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder?

4 WHAT IS ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER? Chronic mental condition in which a persons ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional and destructive. Tends to occur in 1% of women and 3% of men in the United States

5 WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF APD? Disregard for right and wrong Using charm to manipulate others for personal gain or pleasure Lack of empathy for others Lack of remorse for harming others Unnecessary risk-taking or dangerous behaviors Failure to learn from negative consequences of behavior Consistent irresponsibility Hostility, significant irritability, agitation, impulsiveness, aggression or violence

6 WHAT ARE EVERYDAY COMPLICATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH APD? Little to no ability to be intimate with other people Chronic boredom Irritability Pathological gambling Alcohol and substance abuse Variety of mood and/or anxiety disorders Higher risk of suicide Child abuse Getting in trouble with the law, going to jail or prison Low social economic status, homelessness Premature death, usually as a result of violence

7 JAMES FALLON In 2005, James Fallon's life started to resemble the plot of a well-honed joke or big-screen thriller: A neuroscientist is working in his laboratory one day when he thinks he has stumbled upon a big mistake. He is researching Alzheimer's and using his healthy family members' brain scans as a control, while simultaneously reviewing the fmris of murderous psychopaths for a side project. It appears, though, that one of the killers' scans has been shuffled into the wrong batch. The scans are anonymously labeled, so the researcher has a technician break the code to identify the individual in his family, and place his or her scan in its proper place. When he sees the results, however, Fallon immediately orders the technician to double check the code. But no mistake has been made: The brain scan that mirrors those of the psychopaths is his own. After discovering that he had the brain of a psychopath, Fallon delved into his family tree and spoke with experts, colleagues, relatives, and friends to see if his behavior matched up with the imaging in front of him. He not only learned that few people were surprised at the outcome, but that the boundary separating him from dangerous criminals was less determinate than he presumed. Fallon wrote about his research and findings in the book The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey Into the Dark Side of the Brain, and we spoke about the idea of nature versus nurture, and what if anything can be done for people whose biology might betray their behavior.

8 HOW TO TEST FOR APD Physical exam- to rule out other problems that could be causing symptoms Lab tests- complete blood count, thyroid function test and drug and alcohol screening to determine if there are other causes Psychological evaluation- Doctor or mental health professional explores thoughts, feelings, relationships, behavior patterns and family history. This may include psychological tests about personality The Hare Psychopathy checklist, done by a mental health professional

9 WHAT ARE SOME TREATMENTS FOR APD/IS IT CURABLE? For younger people, family or group psychotherapy Cognitive therapy Behavior therapy Some medications can treat some symptoms, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (fluoxetine(prozac) Sertraline(Zoloft)) Treatment is more successful if started earlier For some the tendency for aggression and irritability decreases with age The outlook is highly variable Sometimes treatment is successful The longer someone has APD the higher the chance they will not want to take responsibility for change

10 PSYCHOPATH VS SOCIOPATH

11 PSYCHOPATHY QUIZ While at the funeral of her own mother, a girl meets a man she does not know. They talk for a while, and the girl falls in love with him immediately. A few days later, the girl kills her sister. Why does she kill her sister?