Antisocial personalities The FACTS

Published Jul 22, 2004

242 Posts

antisocial personalities characteristically act out their conflicts & flout normal rules of social order. these persons are impulsive, irresponsible, amoral, & unable to forego immediate gratification. they cannot form sustained affectionate relationships with others, but their charm, and plausibility may be highly developed and skillfully used for their own ends. they tolerate frustration poorly, and opposition is likely foresight and is not associated with remorse or guilt, since these people seem to have a keen capacity for rationalizing & for blaming their irresponsible behavior on otheres. frustration & punishment rarely modify their behavior or improve their judgment & foresight. owing to impulsivity, a person with an sntisocial personality may attempt suicide if his aggressions become turned inward instead of being directed against others. dishonesty manifested by lies, frequent geographic moves, & use of false identification are common. this personality type often is associated with a history of alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual deviation, promiscuity, occapational failure, or imprisonment. in our culture men are more often labeled as antisocial & women as histrionic personalities, but the two patterns have much in common. in families of patients with both patterns, there may be antisocial and histrionic male & female relatives, & in both patterns there is frequently a history of parental strife & severe emotional deprivation in the formative years. their life expectancy is diminished, but among those surving there is some tendency to stabilization after age 40. the effects of either severe cerebral injury or undiagnosed alcoholism may closely simulate the picture of an antisocial personality. :) :rolleyes: