Psychopathic traits in adolescence: a review

Currently, and throughout the history of mental healthcare, the literature highlights that there is no agreement on the use of the terms "antisocial personality disorder" and "psychopathic personality". This paper aims to promote a debate over these concepts and their evaluation for both adults and adolescents. With this aim, a systematic review was conducted in the MedLine data base between 1968 and March 2011 using the terms "adolescent", "antisocial personality disorder", and "personality assessment". From the 59 identified articles 29 were selected to further analysis. The discussion of these terms was confirmed, as well as the importance of assessing psychopathic traits during adolescence. An initial tendency to disregard the term psychopathy and its affective implications was evidenced. However, the latest psychological instruments return to the discussion regarding the use of this diagnosis and its implications.

Download Full-text

1. How can we know if someone is a psychopath or is at risk of becoming one?

Psychopathy: A Very Short Introduction ◽

10.1093/actrade/9780198802266.003.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 4-20

Author(s):

Essi Viding

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Information Processing ◽

Personality Disorder ◽

General Population ◽

Antisocial Personality Disorder ◽

Psychopathic Traits ◽

Psychopathic Personality ◽

Antisocial Personality ◽

Psychopathy Checklist ◽

The Difference

What are individuals with psychopathy like and what are their defining features? ‘How can we know if someone is a psychopath or is at risk of becoming one?’ considers two case studies to give an idea of the developmental course of criminal psychopathy and what psychopathic personality traits look like. It discusses the Psychopathy Checklist, developed by Robert Hare in the 1980s, and explains the difference between antisocial personality disorder, sociopathy, and psychopathy. Research has shown that whether we look at criminal psychopaths, individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits in the general population, or children who are at risk of developing psychopathy, similar patterns of brain function and information processing are seen.

Download Full-text

DSM-5 Antisocial Personality Disorder in Two Non-Incarcerated Samples: Links to Psychopathic Personality Traits

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e571212013-112 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Jaime L. Anderson ◽

Martin Sellbom

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorder ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Antisocial Personality Disorder ◽

Psychopathic Personality ◽

Antisocial Personality ◽

Dsm 5

Download Full-text

Association of monoamine oxidase-A genetic variants and amygdala morphology in violent offenders with antisocial personality disorder and high psychopathic traits

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-017-08351-w ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Nathan J. Kolla ◽

Raihaan Patel ◽

Jeffrey H. Meyer ◽

M. Mallar Chakravarty

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorder ◽

Monoamine Oxidase ◽

Antisocial Personality Disorder ◽

Genetic Variants ◽

Violent Offenders ◽

Psychopathic Traits ◽

Monoamine Oxidase A ◽

Antisocial Personality

Download Full-text

CSF 5-HIAA and Family History of Antisocial Personality Disorder in Newborns

American Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1176/ajp.154.12.1771 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 154 (12) ◽

pp. 1771-1773 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

John N. Constantino ◽

Jennifer A. Morris ◽

Dennis L. Murphy

Keyword(s):

Family History ◽

Personality Disorder ◽

Antisocial Personality Disorder ◽

Antisocial Personality ◽

History Of

Download Full-text

On Moral Judgements and Personality Disorders

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.153.4.505 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 153 (4) ◽

pp. 505-512 ◽

Cited By ~ 126

Author(s):

Ronald Blackburn

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorder ◽

Antisocial Personality Disorder ◽

American Psychiatric Association ◽

Antisocial Behaviour ◽

World Health ◽

Psychopathic Personality ◽

Antisocial Personality ◽

Specific Category ◽

Health Organization ◽

Psychopathic Disorder

Psychopathic personality has always been a contentious concept, but it continues to be used in clinical practice and research. It also has its contemporary synonyms in the categories of antisocial personality disorder in DSM–III (American Psychiatric Association, 1980) and “personality disorder with predominantly asocial or sociopathic manifestations” in ICD–9 (World Health Organization, 1978), and some overlap between these and the legal category of psychopathic disorder identified in the English Mental Health Act 1983 is commonly assumed. Although the literal meaning of ‘psychopathic’ is nothing more specific than psychologically damaged, the term has long since been transmogrified to mean socially damaging, and as currently used, it implies a specific category of people inherently committed to antisocial behaviour as a consequence of personal abnormalities or deficiencies.

Download Full-text

Neurological soft signs in homicidal men with antisocial personality disorder

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2004.05.011 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 19 (7) ◽

pp. 433-437 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Nina Lindberg ◽

Pekka Tani ◽

Jan-Henry Stenberg ◽

Björn Appelberg ◽

Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorder ◽

Antisocial Personality Disorder ◽

Brain Dysfunction ◽

Antisocial Personality ◽

Age And Gender ◽

Neurological Soft Signs ◽

System Defect ◽

History Of ◽

Forensic Psychiatric ◽

And Gender

AbstractNeurological soft signs (NSS) are characterized by abnormalities in motor, sensory, and integrative functions. NSS have been regarded as a result of neurodevelopmental dysfunction, and as evidence of a central nervous system defect, resulting in considerable sociopsychological dysfunction. During the last decade there has been growing evidence of brain dysfunction in severe aggressive behavior. As a symptom, aggression overlaps a number of psychiatric disorders, but it is commonly associated with antisocial personality disorder. The aim of the present study was to examine NSS in an adult criminal population using the scale by Rossi et al. [29]. Subjects comprised 14 homicidal men with antisocial personality disorder recruited from a forensic psychiatric examination. Ten age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers as well as eight patients with schizophrenia, but no history of physical aggression, served as controls. The NSS scores of antisocial offenders were significantly increased compared with those of the healthy controls, whereas no significant differences were observed between the scores of offenders and those of patients with schizophrenia. It can be speculated that NSS indicate a nonspecific vulnerability factor in several psychiatric syndromes, which are further influenced by a variety of genetic and environmental components. One of these syndromes may be antisocial personality disorder with severe aggression.

Download Full-text