Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)
Definition
DSM-5 / ICD-11 disorder defined primarily by behavioural history with conduct disorder before 15 as a prerequisite. Found in 50-80% of male prisoners; overlaps with but is not equivalent to PCL-R psychopathy.
- Classified in
- DSM-5 and ICD-11
- Prerequisite
- Conduct disorder with onset before age 15
- Prevalence
- Found in an estimated 50-80% of male prisoners
- Relation to psychopathy
- Overlaps with but is not equivalent to PCL-R psychopathy
Common questions
Why isn't ASPD the same diagnosis as psychopathy?+
ASPD is defined largely by a documented history of rule-breaking and antisocial behaviour, while PCL-R psychopathy also requires specific personality traits such as shallow affect and lack of remorse, so many people who meet ASPD criteria score low on the interpersonal and affective items of the PCL-R.
Why does the high prevalence of ASPD among prisoners make it a weak forensic risk marker on its own?+
Because the diagnosis is so common in correctional populations, meeting ASPD criteria alone has limited power to distinguish higher-risk from lower-risk individuals, so structured risk assessments generally weigh more specific factors such as PCL-R traits or offence history alongside it.
Related terms
- BSA 2023 § 39
- Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, the provision governing expert opinion evidence in Indian courts. Replaced Indian Evidence Act 1872...
- Cleckley's Sixteen Criteria
- Hervey Cleckley's phenomenological description of the psychopathic personality (The Mask of Sanity, 1941, 5 editions through 1976), covering interpersonal charm, affective poverty,...
- Factor 1 (Interpersonal-Affective)
- The PCL-R facets covering charm, grandiosity, lying, manipulation, lack of remorse, shallow affect, and callousness. The affective core of the construct; most...
- Glenn-Raine Neuroimaging Findings
- Meta-analytic findings (NeuroImage 2011) of bilateral amygdala volume reduction, reduced vmPFC activity, and abnormal uncinate fasciculus integrity in high-PCL-R individuals, supporting a...
- PCL:SV and PCL:YV
- Derived instruments: the 12-item Screening Version (Hart, Cox and Hare 1995) for research/screening contexts; the Youth Version (Forth, Kosson and Hare 2003)...
- Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)
- A 20-item semi-structured interview plus file-review instrument by Robert Hare, scored 0-40. Research threshold for psychopathy designation is 30 or above in...