[Violent offenders with or without antisocial personality disorder. A comparison]

Area of Science:

• Forensic Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) diagnosis is often discussed in relation to legal offenses.
• This study compares imprisoned delinquents with and without ASPD to identify differentiating characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if ASPD diagnosis can differentiate delinquents beyond their legal offenses.
• To investigate sociodemographic, criminological, and clinical differences between offenders with and without ASPD.

Main Methods:

• 36 violent offenders with ASPD and 29 without ASPD were recruited from a German prison.
• 28 non-offender control subjects were also recruited.
• Standardized assessments including SKID-I, SKID-II, GAF, BIS-11, EPI, and K-FAF were used.

Main Results:

• Violent offenders with ASPD exhibited higher impulsivity, aggression, irritability, neuroticism, and extraversion.
• They also showed lower psychosocial functioning, more "broken home" indicators, and earlier onset of antisocial behavior (before age 11).

Conclusions:

• Certain characteristics can discriminate between offenders with and without ASPD.
• A dimensional approach, focusing on the degree of these characteristics, may better distinguish between these groups.