DEFINITION:
The phrase “antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)” refers to a mental illness characterized by a lack of normal empathy for other people, which may lead to a disregard for the rights.
Symptoms of APD include impulsivity, irresponsibility, substance abuse, gambling addiction, sexual promiscuity, domestic violence, deceitfulness, aggressiveness, criminality, absence of remorse, and suicide.
ETYMOLOGY:
The invention of the phrase “ASPD” is often attributed to the American psychiatrist Hervey M. Cleckley (1903–1984), who used it in his landmark textbook, The Mask of Sanity—An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So-Called Psychopathic Personality,” first published in 1941. Cleckley also served as a screenwriter for the hit Hollywood film, The Three Faces of Eve,” directed in 1957 by Nunally Johnson.
The word “antisocial” is attested from around the turn of the nineteenth century. It is composed of two elements:
(1) The English adjective “social” is attested from the mid-seventeenth century. It derives from the Classical Latin adjective sociālis, from the noun socius, meaning “ally,” which is connected to the verb sequor, sequi, meaning “to follow” or “to accompany.”
(2) The English prefix “anti-” is attested from the late sixteenth century. It derives, via Middle English and Middle French, from the Old Latin preposition anti (later, ante), meaning “before,” “opposite,” or “against,” which is connected to the Greek preposition anti, with the same meaning.
For the etymology of the term “personality,” see the Glossary entry, personality.
For the etymology of the term “disorder,” see the Glossary entry, borderline personality disorder.
DISCUSSION:
Before ASPD was coined, patients suffering from this constellation of pathologies were referred to in various other ways, notably, as “psychopaths” or “sociopaths.”
The reason for the shift to ASPD was the desire to create a more-precise and therapeutically more-useful diagnostic category for patients who persistently disregard or violate the rights of others.
ASPD may occur in very young children, often before the age of eight. In almost 80 percent of cases, symptoms appear by the age of 11. To receive a diagnosis of ASPD, the disorder’s characteristic symptoms must be present before the age of 15.
ASPD diagnoses peak in young and middle-aged adults, aged 24 to 44. They frequently decrease in older adults, aged 45 to 64.
In all age groups, ASPD is more common in males than females.
The prevalence of ASPD in the overall US population is estimated to be between one and four percent.
Being “antisocial” should not be confused with being “asocial.” While both types of personality show disregard for other people and their rights, the former type is hostile to others and may seek to exploit them, the latter type is indifferent to others and seeks to avoid them.