Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffSigns and symptoms of antisocial personality disorder may include:
- Disregard for right and wrong
- Persistent lying or deceit
- Using charm or wit to manipulate others
- Recurring difficulties with the law
- Repeatedly violating the rights of others
- Child abuse or neglect
- Intimidation of others
- Aggressive or violent behavior
- Lack of remorse about harming others
- Impulsive behavior
- Agitation
- Poor or abusive relationships
- Irresponsible work behavior
The intensity of antisocial symptoms tends to peak during the 20s and then may decrease over time. It's not clear whether this is a result of aging or an increased awareness of the consequences of antisocial behavior. But while you might be less likely to commit crimes against others later in life, you may still have trouble functioning in relationships, work or school. .
When to see a doctor
If you have any signs or symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, see your doctor, mental health provider or other health care professional as soon as possible. If untreated, antisocial personality disorder can cause significant problems in your life, and it may also result in serious harm to others.
Helping a loved one
If you have a loved one who you think may have symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, have an open and honest discussion about your concerns. You may not be able to force someone to seek professional care, but you can offer encouragement and support. You can also help your loved one find a qualified doctor or mental health provider and make an appointment. You may even be able to go to an appointment with him or her. If you have a loved one who has harmed himself or herself, or someone else, or is seriously considering doing so, take him or her to the hospital or call for emergency help.
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
- MacManus D, et al. Personality disorders. Medicine. 2008;36(8):436-441.
- Pfohl B. Personality disorders. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Kiraly B. Patient information handout. Mental illness: Taking care of yourself. American Academy of Family Physicians. 2008;78(3). https://secure.aafp.org/login. Accessed Aug. 1, 2008.
- Staying well when you have a mental illness. Mental Health America. http://www.nmha.org. Accessed July 2008.
- Goldstein RB, et al. Lack of remorse in antisocial personality disorder: Sociodemographic correlates, symptomatic presentation, and comorbidity with Axis I and Axis II disorders in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2006;47(4):289-297.
- Devens M. Personality disorders. Primary Care. 2007;34(3):623-640.
- Ward R. Assessment and management of personality disorders. American Family Physician. 2004;70(8):1505-1512.
- Andrade JT. The inclusion of antisocial behavior in the construct of psychopathy: A review of the research. Aggression and Violent Behavior. 2008;13:328-335.
- De Clercq B, et al. Childhood antecedents of personality disorder. Current Opinion Psychiatry 2007;20(1):57-61.
- Paris J. Clinical trials of treatment for personality disorders. The Psychiatry Clinics of North America. 2008;31(3):517-526.
- Davidson KM, et al. Cognitive behaviour therapy for violent men with antisocial personality disorder in the community: An exploratory randomized controlled trial. Psychological Medicine. In press. 2008.
- Gelhorn HL, et al. DSM-IV conduct disorder criteria as predictors of antisocial personality disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2007;48(6):529-538.
- Skodol AE., et al. Personality disorders. In: Hales RE. et al. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Publishing Inc. 2008.
