Antisocial Personality Characteristics Research Articles

Neuropsychological functioning in alcoholics: Psychiatric comorbidity, drinking history, and demographic characteristics

Information about the contribution of psychiatric comorbidity to problems in cognitive functioning in alcoholics is quite limited, although recent reviews imply that the additional presence of psychiatric disorders in alcoholics may further impair cognitive ability. We evaluated the effects of psychiatric comorbidity in conjunction with drinking history and demographic characteristics in a sample of 276 hospitalized, detoxified alcoholics. No effects were found for depression, drug abuse/dependence, or antisocial personality characteristics, regardless of the form in which these variables were measured. Aspects of drinking history were also found to have no effect, although age, education, and ethnicity were strong predictors of cognitive impairment. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Antisocial backgrounds of defendants evaluated for insanity: A research note

Defendants evaluated for criminal responsibility have received much attention regarding their sociodemographic characteristics (Pasewark, 1981; Steadman, 1985), post-acquittal disposition (Weiner, 1985), and how their assessment was conducted (Rogers, 1986). Comparatively little attention has focused on the antisocial backgrounds of these defendants including developmental and adult symptoms of antisocial personality disorder. This neglect is largely due to the relative infrequency of insanity evaluations and the descriptive nature of early studies. The basic role of clinicians in criminal responsibility assessments is generally to assist the court in determining who is bad and who is mad. At present, no empirical data exist which systematically compare antisocial personality characteristics of those clinically evaluated as sane and insane. If the antisocial backgrounds of these two groups are comparable, then the distinction between bad and mad is likely to be blurred. Available research on antisocial personality characteristics of insanity acquittees have been limited to an examination of prior arrests. Pasewark (1981) in a review of studies from New York, Wyoming, Michigan, and Missouri found that 47% to 74% of defendants acquitted as NGRI (i.e., not guilty by reason of insanity) had at least one prior arrest. Steadman and Braff (1983) compared the prior arrest histories of defendants adjudged insane and those found guilty. Their results suggested that the majority of defendants had at least one prior arrest (57% for NGRI’s and 70% for those convicted) with a non-significant trend towards fewer arrests among NGRI’s (i.e., an average of 3.5 for NGRI’s and 4.7 for those convicted). Finally, Steadman (1985) found no significant differences in either criminal history or the details of the target offence for those adjudicated insane and those convicted. Prior criminal history apparently has some effect both on clinical recommendations and legal outcomes of criminal responsibility evaluations. Rogers, Seman, and Stampley (1984) studied variables associated with clinical recommendations of non-responsibility in insanity assessments. They found that

Problems in the management of aggressive behavior on a medical ward: A multidisciplinary case conference

Following admission to a medical ward, a 69-year-old man with a life-long history of seizure disorder and antisocial personality features showed poor control of aggressive impulses, assaulted staff, and presented a host of problems for the consulting psychiatrist. These problems included staff's denial of the man as a patient on the medical ward, a breakdown in the medical workup, and hostility toward the consulting psychiatrist. This paper described how these specific problems were approached, with emphasis on the need for a systems approach in treatment planning.