Abstract
The paper identifies the central aspects of antisocial personality disorder and explains how it can lead to deviant behavior and criminal activities. The paper explores the literature on the link between mental disorders such as antisocial personality disorder and deviance and crime. The paper concludes that more research is necessary in this field, especially with regard to the extent to which it is environmentally determined and influenced.

Outline:
Introduction
Overview and Background
Deviance, Crime and APSD
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The causes of this disorder are usually ascribed to a combination of two main factors; mental and genetic defects or dysfunction and environmental and developmental issues. More recent research on this subject has tended to focus on the environmental factors that can cause this disorder, such as an unstable home life and other social and cultural factors. (LaBrode) However, "... an increasing number of recent studies have also taken into consideration genetic and biological influences and their interaction with the environment." (LaBrode) This refers more specifically to inherited tendencies or proclivities towards this disorder, and is also related to the nature versus nurture debate. (Antisocial personality disorder) On the other hand, environmental elements have also been cited as causative factors. These include aspect such as"... the type of parenting you had, whether loving or abusive." (Antisocial personality disorder)"

Tags:emotions, indifference, deviance, crime, delinquency, alcohol, drug, abuse

Abstract
The paper discusses the popular tendency to refer to ASPD and psychopathy interchangably but argues that this is incorrect. The paper provides an exploration of psychopathy and looks at different approaches to the problem of psychopathy as well as newer research directions. The paper asserts that a public tending to avoid any and all persons of known criminality can be most naive in under-assessing the numbers of bona fide psychopaths in their midst.

From the Paper
"Despite a leap forwards in the study of offending personalities as has been made possible by diverse research in developed countries, psychologists can still err in referring to Anti Social Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Psychopathic personality, interchangeably. Indeed, lay people can be quite used to media materials to discuss the diagnoses as one and the same, detailed exploration needed to understand what is meant by one category as opposed to the other. This paper explains that psychopaths normally feature the symptoms of ASPD but by no means all..."

Tags:aspd, psychopathy, comparison

Abstract
The paper discusses how the designations "Anti-Social Personality Disorder" (ASPD) and "Psychopathy" are mental conditions whose definitions, while classified under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM, currently DSM-IV), remain widely controversial within the field of psychology. This paper explores both conditions, their histories and current scholarly perspectives. The paper shows how while these conditions are significant in the study of criminal behaviour, and particularly with regard to assessing risk of recidivism, our lack of clear understanding of these conditions and their classifications remain as challenges to their critical assessment and possibilities of treatment.

From the Paper
"The designations "Anti-Social Personality Disorder" (ASPD) and "Psychopathy" are mental conditions whose definitions, while classified under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM, currently DSM-IV), remain widely controversial within the field of psychology. This essay will explore both conditions, their histories and current scholarly perspectives. As will be seen, while these conditions are significant in the study of criminal behaviour, and particularly with..."

Tags:psychology, psychopathy, antisocial

Abstract
Type I alcoholism affects both men and women, requires the presence of a genetic as well as an environmental predisposition, commences later in life after years of heavy drinking and can take on either a mild or severe form. This paper shows that, in contrast, type II alcoholism affects mainly sons of male alcoholics, is influenced only weakly by environmental factors, often begins during adolescence or early adulthood, is characterized by moderate severity and usually is associated with criminal behavior. The paper presents an overview of these type alcoholism types and discusses different studies performed on the subject.

From the Paper
"The personality traits of harm avoidance, novelty seeking, and reward dependence likely are inherited independently of each other and are influenced by three brain systems that differ in the neurotransmitters they use. For example, the brain system for novelty seeking is predominantly influenced by the neurotransmitter dopamine. Accordingly, people who have a high novelty-seeking trait are expected to react strongly to the stimulation of dopamine nerve cells. Researchers recently confirmed this hypothesis after finding the predicted correlations between novelty seeking, plasma prolactin levels, and heritable variants of cellular components mediating dopamine's effects. Likewise, the serotonin-using (i.e., serotonergic) nerve cells have complex effects on behavior, including facilitating harm avoidance and social cooperation."

Tags:milieu-limited, psychiatric, disorder, ASPD, neurotransmitter, dopamine