Antisocial+Personality+Disorder,+Criminal+Behaviour+and+the+Criminal+Justice+System

Criminal activity is proven to be prevalent in the ASPD population. People with ASPD have a higher rate of criminal activity than the average population (Fridell, 2008). “ASPD subjects…being more criminally active, more likely to commit multiple types of crimes, and being registered for theft or other property crimes” (Fridell, 2008). For example, in the UK prison population, about 63% of male prisoners and 31% of female prisoners have been identified with antisocial personality disorder (Khalifa, Duggan, Stoffers, Huband, Vollm, Ferriter & Lieb, 2010).

In terms of ASPD in the criminal justice system, there are challenges to diagnosing the prevalence based on the fact that there is an “inmate code” that has similar characteristics of ASPD (Rotter, 2002). Characteristics include “do your own time, don’t snitch, and don’t show weakness”. Inmates are also resistant to admit to ASPD because this may make them vulnerable to predators within the criminal justice system (Rotter, 2002). This is very similar to how ASPD presents itself to a psychiatrist (Rotter, 2002). One study suggested that ASPD is three times more likely to be prevalent in the criminal justice system than in the general population (Rotter, 2002).

Psychopaths, who are a subset within ASPD, have a greater tendency to violently offend and reoffend (Rice, 1997). Therapeutic interventions have not always proven effective and in some cases have even exacerbated the problem (Rice, 1997). For instance, interventions that increase the psychopaths self esteem have been proven to increase their tendency toward aggression (Rice, 1997).

As an example of antisocial personality, please view the first portion of this video (approx. first 15 min) as it will be incorporated into our discussion. Feel free to watch everything if interested. (WARNING: Some Graphic Content)

media type="youtube" key="psoq8qYvx18" width="425" height="350" align="center" (Kuklinski, 2011)