Psychopathy is one of the oldest forms of personality disorder, but it remains to be one of the least understood by both researchers and clinicians. The aim of this paper is to review the published literature on psychopathy as defined both in antisocial personality disorder and dyssocial personality disorder. The focus will be on the definition and history of the disorder, its etiology, prevalence, and treatment. Limitations of the current research and areas of future understanding are highlighted and explored in order to direct the future understanding of the topic.Literally translated as the "disease of the mind," psychopathy has had a variety of meanings over the past century. The term originally referred to mental disorders in general, but in the 19th and early 20th century it was used to describe various types of disorders that ranged from the general disintegration or deterioration of mental functions to more specific impairments of emotion, and intellect (Berrios, 1996). Current research characterizes psychopathy as a specific form of personality disorder with a distinctive pattern of interpersonal, affective and behavioral symptoms (Hare, 1996). In interpersonal relationships, psychopaths are seen as grandiose, arrogant, callous, superficial, and manipulative. In affect they are short-tempered, unable to form strong emotional bonds with others and lack guilt or anxiety. These characteristics usually translate into behavior that is typically irresponsible, impulsive, and prone to delinquency or criminality
[...] Hare, R. D. (1970). Psychopathy: Theory and research. New York: John Wiley. Hare, R. D. (1980). A comparison of procedures for the assessment of psychopathy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 7-16. Hare, R. D. (1991). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Toronto, Ontario: Multi-Health Systems. Hare, R. D. (1993). Without conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us. New York: Simon & Schuster. Hare, R. D. (1996). Psychopathy: A clinical construct whose time has come. Criminal Justice and Behavior 25-54. [...]
[...] The Psychopathic mind: Origins, dynamics, and treatments. Northvale, NJ: Aronson. Newman, J.P., & Wallace, J. F. (1993). Psychopathy and cognition. In P.Kendall and K. Dobson (Eds.), Psychopathology and cognition, 293-349. Ogloff, J.R. P., Wong, S., & Greenwood, A. (1990). Treating Criminal psychopaths in a therapeutic community program. Behavioral Sciences and the Law 81-90. Rice, M. E., & Harris, G. T. (2000). A comparison of criminal recidivism among schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic offenders. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 397-408. Robins, L. [...]
[...] The prevalence rates for both antisocial personality disorder and dyssocial personality disorder are also in need of further research in order to fully assess the situation. The discrepancy appears to be an issue related to the definitions used to describe pathology, the methodology used to assess the disorder, and the populations assessed. Systematic research needs to determine the prevalence of psychopathy in the general population, the varieties of ways in which the disorder manifests in both criminal and non criminal ways, and the extent to which the research completed with criminal psychopaths can be extended to the general population (Babiak, 2000; Forth, Brown, Hart and Hare, 1996). [...]
[...] Psychopathic and antisocial personality disorders: Treatment and research issues. London: Gaskell. Feighner, J.P., Robins, E., Guze, S. B., Woodruff, R.A., Winokur, G., & Munoz, R. (1972). Diagnostic criteria for use in psychiatric research. Archives of General Psychiatry 57-63. Forth, A.E., Brown, S. L., Hart, S. D., & Hare, R. D. (1996). The assessment of psychopathy in male and female noncriminals: Reliability and validity. Personality and Individual Differences 531-543. Fowles, D.C., & Missel, K. (1994). Electrodermal hypo reactivity, motivation, and psychopathy: Theoretical issues. [...]
[...] Psychopathy and the DSM- IV criteria for antisocial personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 391-398. Hart, S. D., Cox, D. N., & Hare, R. D. (1995). Manuel for the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised: Screening Versions (PCL:SV). Toronto: Multi-Health Systems. Hemphill, J.F., Hare, R.D., & Wong, S. (1998). Psychopathy and recidivism: A review. Legal and Criminological Psychology 141-172. Lykken, D. T. (1995). The antisocial personalities. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Lynam, D. R. (1996). Early identification of chronic offenders: Who is the fledgling psychopath? [...]
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