Yize (not his real name), my cousin, suffers from antisocial personality disorder. He is twenty years old. He was diagnosed at the age of thirteen following a series of violent episodes. These were always preceded by anger fits and signs of withdrawal. A psych evaluation confirmed the diagnosis, and he has been put on regular psychotherapy. He has made quite good progress, and he is now more sensitive to other people's needs and feelings. It is a personality disorder associated with a persistent pattern of behavior aimed at undermining other people's right in ways of manipulation, violation, and exploitation. Antisocial personality disorder (APD) According to Derefinko & Widiger, 2016, this is a psychological problem characterized as a personality …show more content…
The peak age for the disorder is teenage and early 20s. Symptoms of APD can broadly be classified about emotions, safety, and response. People suffering from APD are witty, charming and flirtatious with intent of manipulation of other people's emotions. They disregard the law, get involved in substance abuse and steal from others since safety never seems like a big deal to them. There is a standard display of anger and arrogance, and therefore rarely show remorse for their actions. Complications of APD resulting from the extension of the symptoms include imprisonment for unlawful acts, drug addiction, frequent incidents of involvement in violent activities like fights and suicide attempts. A proper diagnosis is necessary for a treatment plan to be formulated. Diagnosis is made psych evaluation with a basis on a person's symptoms, both emotional and behavioral. Treatment through therapy is initiated following the diagnosis. Both talk and behavior therapy modalities are employed. More often than not, APD manifests with mood disorders and substance abuse. Therefore, treatment of these factors needs to be included in the treatment …show more content…
Cognitive model Psychologists deduce a concept of the nature-nurture effect of explaining behavior in APD patients. A stimulus can be thought to provoke to elicit emotions which eventually manifest as a reaction in behavior display. For people suffering from APD, their thought stimuli are clouded with assumptions which help create bias leading to actions that exploit and violate other people's right. Behaviors like arrogance and lack of remorse stem from biased interpretations of environmental stimuli (Beck, Davis & Freeman, 2015). Humanistic model Application of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is used by psychologists in explaining the manifestations of APD. People suffering from this personality disorder tend to make impulsive choices for the needs they would like to satisfy. They also do not reflect back after their actions as do the people without APD. This absence of reflection further hurts other people's rights. Socio-cultural model With the use of this model in explanation of how APD victims behave, blame is mainly given to environmental