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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffPersonality is the combination of thoughts, emotions and behaviors that makes everyone unique. It's the way people view, understand and relate to the outside world, as well as how they see themselves. Personality forms during childhood, shaped through an interaction of these factors:
- Genetics. These inherited tendencies are aspects of a person's personality passed on by parents, such as shyness or having a positive outlook. This is sometimes called temperament.
- Environment. This means the surroundings a person grows up in, events that occurred, and relationships with family members and others. It includes such life situations as the type of parenting a person experienced, whether loving or abusive.
Personality disorders are thought to be caused by a combination of these genetic and environmental influences. Some people may have genes that make them vulnerable to developing antisocial personality disorder — and life situations may trigger its development.
There may be a link between an early lack of empathy — understanding the perspectives and problems of others, including other children — and later onset of antisocial personality disorder. Identifying these personality problems early may help improve long-term outcomes.
- Antisocial personality disorder. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed March 1, 2013.
- Paris J, et al. Antisocial and borderline personality disorders revisited. Comprehensive Psychiatry. In press. Accessed March 1, 2013.
- Black DW. Antisocial personality disorder: Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, course and diagnosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed March 1, 2013.
- Black DW. Treatment of antisocial personality disorder. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed March 1, 2013.
- Shi Z, et al. Childhood maltreatment and prospectively observed quality of early care as predictors of antisocial personality disorder features. Infant Mental Health Journal. 2012;33:55.
- Kendall T, et al. Borderline and antisocial personality disorders: Summary of NICE guidance. British Medical Journal. 2009;338:293.
- Alarcon RD (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 21, 1013.
- Palmer BA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 1, 2013.
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