In the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy, sociopathy is defined with the term ” antisocial personality disorder “. It indicates a pathology that prevents the individual from adapting to the ethical and behavioral standards of his own socio-cultural community.
A sociopath can become a threat, exhibit criminal attitudes, organize dangerous cults, and / or cause harm to themselves and others.
A person can show several signs of sociopathy , such as absence of remorse, contempt for the law, and a habit of lying and manipulating.
Characteristics of sociopathy
DSM-5 and antisocial disorder
The antisocial disorder is placed by the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) within the cluster personality disorders B. This also includes the borderline personality disorder , the histrionic personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder .
The DSM-5 provides a description of Antisocial Personality Disorder which has many features common with sociopathy and psychopathy.
These latter pathologies are not diagnosable as antisocial personality disorder. However, some research has found that these are specific disorders belonging to the category of antisocial disorder, with which they have several aspects in common. Here is a list of the characteristics of the sociopath :
- Contempt for laws and social customs
- Inability to recognize the rights of others
- Inability to feel remorse or guilt
- Tendency to assume controlling, manipulativeand, often, violent behaviors and attitudes
- dishonesty: the subject lies, uses false names, scams others
- impulsiveness or inability to plan
- irritability and aggression
- inability to meet financial obligations or to sustain an ongoing employment activity
- lack of remorse
- the individual is at least 18 years old
- presence of a conduct disorder with onset prior to 15 years
- antisocial behavior does not manifest itself exclusively during a manic episodeor the course of schizophrenia
- Nervousness
- Tendency to anger
- Poor education
- Solitude
- Inability to hold a job or stay in the same place for too long
- Any crime committed is disorganized and spontaneous, without planning
- Inability to plan often results in a systematic economic non self-sufficiency
- Financial irresponsibility indicated, for example, by inability to provide support for children and systematic accumulation of debt
Prevalence of sociopathy
The sociopatia occurs predominantly in males, with a ratio of 3: 1 as compared to females.
The prevalence is 3% in men and 1% in women in the general population, and increases to 3-30% in the clinical setting.
In some cases, especially when combined with narcissistic disorder or borderline personality disorder , it can lead to criminal behavior.
Sociopathic personality
The feelings that antisocials have most often are: frustration, humiliation, anger, boredom and in some cases even a depressed mood .
These individuals are impulsive people, unable to organize and plan for the long term. Failing to tolerate frustration, they can also lead to the use of violence, raising their hands, killing, but also committing suicide.
Types of sociopaths
Generally, those with antisocial disorder are divided into four categories:
Common Sociopaths
They are unable to feel shame and have distorted morals.
Very often kleptomania is also associated with this type of sociopathy .
They are people who move often and who have very frequent sexual intercourse.
Alienated Sociopaths
They are characterized by very little ability to love and above all to empathize with the other, even if significant.
Usually, they feel misanthropy and hatred of society. They are individuals who do not like to socialize and can in turn be divided into three other “subtypes”:
- “Hostile”, irritable, despotic and always in conflict with the law
- “Cheated”, who tend to commit crimes because they believe that their attitude is justified by what they have suffered from society
- “Non-empathic”, those who know how to feel empathy and affection only for a small group of people (relationships are however tense and manipulative).
Aggressive Sociopaths
They are characterized by a sadistic streak that they show at work and during sexual intercourse.
They usually seek out positions of power (such as policemen but also teachers or parents) and may find it fun to torture animals.
Dissocial Sociopaths
They are characterized by adapting to the rules of a group as long as they involve the violation of the law.
Genetics and sociopathy
Some research seems to suggest that there is a genetic factor in sociopathy , while others point to a denied or abused childhood.
One study, in particular, showed that 50% of sociopaths inherited the disorder through their genetic makeup.
However, it is undeniable that environmental factors and other conditions may be the cause of the pathology affecting the rest of the sociopaths examined by the research.
Due to these conflicting results, it is not possible to identify with certainty the origin of sociopathy to date .
Risk factors for the sociopath
Studies performed on adopted individuals have shown that those who had adoptive parents with antisocial disorder had a high risk of developing this pathology.
The conduct disorder (before the ten years of life) and the disorder attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increase the risk that the individual developments sociopathy .
On the other hand, studies focused on the family environment of individuals suffering from sociopathy have instead found that individuals with this pathology tend to come from families with abusive or violent parents or close relatives.
Relational modalities of the sociopath
A sociopath may have different ways of approaching others.
Controlling, contemptuous and impulsive
There is almost always a tendency to assume the right to occupy certain positions, to “own” people, exercising systematic control over them.
He tends to believe that his own opinions and beliefs are the absolute truth and he despises (although not always directly) the ideas of others.
Generally, these are not shy, insecure or at a loss for words. They have difficulty dealing with emotional responses such as anger, impatience or disappointment. They do not know how to manage direct confrontation and verbally attack others by reacting hastily to these emotions.
Lovers of risk and lies
The attitude can appear overly spontaneous and courageous. He gives the impression of acting outside the reality of social norms and engages in bizarre, risky or outrageous activities, without evaluating the possible repercussions.
Sociopaths can be criminals. Since they have a tendency to disregard the law and social rules, they may have a criminal record. They could be con artists, kleptomaniacs or even murderers.
These people are “chronic liars”. They make up stories and make quirky, unbelievable, but very convincing statements, flaunting confidence and determination.
Manipulative and poorly empathetic
The way a human being interacts with other people is a very good indicator of sociopathy .
A disturbed person is very adept at convincing his audience to do what he desires, either through charm or manipulative and indirect strategies, or by more aggressive and controlling means.
The result is that the people who gravitate to him find themselves, in spite of themselves, acting as the sociopath wants. People with this personality alteration are unable to feel guilt or shame for their actions.
When they hurt an individual, they feel no remorse. They seem completely indifferent or try to make their actions rational and motivated.
They attempt to influence and dominate the people around them and have a tendency to occupy leadership positions or to delude themselves into doing so.
Sentimental and social relationships of sociopaths
These individuals show no empathy and are unable to love. Although, in some cases, they give the impression that they care about a person or a small group, in reality they have a lot of trouble feeling emotions. It is very likely that they have never had a healthy romantic relationship in the past.
Sociopaths have a hard time dealing with criticism. They often want approval from the rest of the group because they feel they have a right.
Often the sociopath is not surrounded by many friends and does not have social relationships, because those who know him tend to withdraw from them.
Usually, those who live in close contact with a sociopath see the quality of their life worsening.
Diagnosis and treatment of sociopathy
How to recognize sociopathy
However, there are clues, clearly to be “taken with a grain of salt “, that could suggest an antisocial personality disorder and which anyone can pay attention to.
Without doubt, however, the evaluation of a specialist, in case of doubt, can clarify the situation.
Visual contact
Try to maintain good eye contact while conversing with the other person and try to notice if this is returned.
Sociopaths, in fact, often fail to sustain the direct gaze of others when interacting. They can also be nervous or irritated.
However, even shy people sometimes react this way, so it’s very important not to jump to conclusions.
Antisocial behaviors
Look for symptoms of sociopathic behavior which include lying, a tendency to aggression , intimidating behavior, a tendency to hurt people or animals, and excessive use of alcohol or drugs.
Affective relationships
Inquire about the person’s past, especially their significant relationships.
Sociopaths tend to have had a lot of bad relationships in their past.
Of course, not just because someone hasn’t been successful in romantic relationships, it means they’re a sociopath.
How to interact with others
Observe how the individual interacts with the people he knows.
If he has no friends or family close to him, this could be because relationships have deteriorated due to manipulative, aggressive, or abusive behavior.
Clearly, even in this case, it is not certain that someone who has no friends is a sociopath. He may have problems with social anxiety , avoidant personality , social withdrawal , depression , etc.
Problems with the law
Sociopaths are often in trouble with the law due to their disregard for the rules of society. Although a sociopathic person will tend to lie about it.
Lack of empathy
Sociopaths also tend to show a lack of empathy and see themselves as victims of others and society more generally.
In some cases they develop forms of extreme self-pity, intolerance towards others in general, delusions of omnipotence and even mild manic tendencies .
Psychotherapy
The typical treatment used for sociopathy is oriented towards the symptoms of antisocial personality disorder. Psychotherapy focusing on skill building and behavior change is prominent with this disorder.
Because sociopaths lack emotional depth, fail to make genuine connections with others, and often engage in criminal acts for personal gain, psychotherapy tends to focus on teaching behaviors that are pro-social. It uses a combination of behavioral therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and personality modification techniques.
The Mayo Clinic recommends psychotherapy as the primary treatment modality to improve sociopathic symptoms.
Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy
The therapy to cognitive-behavioral orientation shows, in particular, in these patients the cognitive distortions that implement to justify their illegal actions and possible substance abuse .
Another peculiarity of this intervention is the treatment of symptoms (eg anxiety, depression) situationally associated with the antisocial disorder.
A particular type of cognitive-behavioral treatment, Schema Therapy , primarily intervenes on childhood traumatic experiences. Using the therapeutic relationship has shown a partial effectiveness with respect to the increase of empathy and social integration of these patients.
Medicines
The ACCG accredited health organization reports that the use of drugs in the treatment of sociopathy is minimally effective.
However, in cases of co-presence with further ailments such as paranoia , anxiety , depression and substance abuse , medications are helpful in reducing these symptoms and facilitating psychotherapeutic work.
The potentially violent nature of the sociopath often requires low-dose anti-psychotic drugs to further control the symptoms of aggressive behavior. In addition to anti-psychotics, mood stabilizers , anxiolytics and antidepressant drugs are also used in the treatment of sociopathy .
Anger management treatment
According to the Mayo Clinic, violence, irritability, aggression and anger are often present in the sociopath. Even if the sociopath has minimal connection to his emotional state, he can respond to the simple construction of reward and punishment skills.
The American Psychological Association (APA) indicates that anger management programs can often offer a means of identifying the connection between emotional states and behaviors, through the consequences of actions.
