ASPD Research Paper

If a criminal has Antisocial Personality Disorder(ASPD), is she or he born to be a criminal, or is she or he raised to be one? Before discussing this question further, what is ASPD exactly? According the definition U.S. National Library of Medicine provided, ASPD is “a mental condition in which a person has a long-term pattern of manipulating, exploiting, or violating the rights of others” (Berger). People with ASPD often lack of empathy, ignore rules, and isolate themselves. They also have a tendency of breaking laws because they are not capable of concerning about their own or others’ safety. While researchers suggest that 47 percent of male inmates and 21 percent of female inmates have ASPD (Goldberg), there is only 0.6 percent of U.S.
population has ASPD according to National Institutes of Health. Compared with the low percent of population with ASPD in the United States, the percent of inmates with ASPD is significantly higher. Thereby, if these inmates have the disorder, are they naturally born to be criminals since it influences their personality and moral stance? In fact, not only that both heredity and environment can contribute to developing ASPD, but ASPD does not necessary lead to crimes. Instead, environmental factors such as child abuse and neglect are more accounted for their crimes. Even though researches have yet to find a definite cause that lead to ASPD, there are several theories researches have about its cause. Through brain scanning, researchers suggested that abnormal brain function is a possible cause of ASPD, specifically around temporal lobes and the prefrontal cortex area, which controls emotions and impulses (Black). The damage of the temporal lobes and the prefrontal cortex area can be caused by both genetics and environment. In the research British neuroscientist professor Adrian Raine and his team conducted, one of the subjects he scanned, who is a murderer, was frequently vigorously shaken by his mother as a baby and brutally beaten on a daily bases when he grew older. Considering the prefrontal cortex area is especially vulnerable, Reine believed that the subject’s brain damage, which leads to his ASPD, is likely caused by the physical abuse from his mother(BBC). The damage that physical abuses cause is irrevocable, and it leaves permanent damage to a person’s mind and body. Besides the physical damage child abuse can cause, child abuse often traumatizes children emotionally as well. Since child abuse is not limited to physical abuse, emotional abuse is also detrimental to children.
Researches show that people with ASPD have a higher risk of being abused as children than the others. Considering ASPD can be inherent, it is likely that their parents have the same or similar conditions, which means that many people with ASPD may grow up in an aggressive and neglectful environment. The lacking of care and love in the family may result in children’s inability of developing empathy for others and following laws, which eventually can lead to ASPD. Aside from emotional damage, emotional abuse can result in physical damage as well: “Traumatic events can disrupt normal development of the central nervous system, a process that continues through the adolescent years. By triggering a release of hormones and other brain chemicals, stressful events could alter the pattern of normal development” (Black). Even though emotional abuse seems less “dangerous” than physical abuse, it still gives children permanent scarce not only in their heart but also in their
brain. No matter a person was born with ASPD or developed it later, ASPD is not accounted for crime. It is true that people with ASPD have little regards of law and show little empathy for others, but this disorder still does not lead to criminal behaviors. Even if a person was born with ASPD, he or she can still function normally in life if he or she is raised in a caring environment. Furthermore, though ASPD is not curable, it is treatable. Therefore, a child was naturally born with ASPD can still function normally later on in her or his life if she or he receives right treatments. According to Black, research shows that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help with this condition; and if one recognizes and corrects an ASPD patient’s misbehavior from early age and keeps bad influences away, “it’s possible to stave off this trajectory”, he said. A study has found that 21 percent of senior professionals in the United States have psychopathic traits 1, and an Austrian study has found similar rate of psychopaths 1 in corporate executives (Pearlman). Therefore, both studies suggest that around 20 percent of people who are in executive positions have some level ASPD. Yet, these people hold high-paid jobs and keep a corporation running instead of spending their time in prisons. This is not about judging people in executive positions; rather, it is acknowledging that people with ASPD can not only stay away from prisons but also function well in the society. Thereby, what differs these CEOs from criminals? Jim Fallon, a professor of psychiatry at University of California, proves that environment is the key factor to one’s development using his personal experience. As an expert in this area, Fallon discovered that antisocial behaviors are sometimes genetical. Additionally, he also discovered that there were many murderers in his family tree. Consequently, he tested himself and discovered that he was born with multiple genes and disorders that associated with antisocial behaviors. Yet, growing up in a loving environment, Jim Fallon became a respected professor instead of an apathetic killer. He suggested that he did not show violent and antisocial behavior because he was protected by his happy and lovely childhood. Quoting from the professor himself, “If you've the high-risk form of the gene and you were abused early on in life, your chances of a life of crime are much higher. If you have the high-risk gene but you weren't abused, then there really wasn't much risk. So just a gene by itself, the variant doesn't really dramatically affect behavior, but under certain environmental conditions there is a big difference” (BBC). Jim Fallon’s personal experience proves that disorders do not lead to crime, even if you have more than one of them. In fact, as he points out, environment makes a big difference. People with ASPD can have little risk of crime if they are well-protected and grow up in a loving and caring environment. Like Jim Fallon said, if a person has conditions that are associated with antisocial behavior and was abused as a child, the risk of committing crimes becomes relatively high.
Child abuse can cause permanent damage to a person, regard it is physical or emotional. As discussed earlier in this essay, both physical and emotional abuse can cause abnormal brain function and alter normal development, which contribute to developing ASPD. Even though ASPD does not lead to crime on its own, ASPD and abused childhood increase the chance of committing crime drastically. A child who is either emotionally abused or physically abused often fails to develop strong bonds with others, especially with his or her family members. Suffering from long term child abuse, these people are likely to develop twisted moral stances and imitate their parents’ aggressive and violent behaviors, including committing crimes, to achieve their goals. Therefore, if a person with ASPD was abused as a child, he or she not only lacks of empathy but also may regard violent as the solution to conflicts. Because of that, a person with ASPD and was abused as a child has a a high risk of crime. However, the latter has more significant impacts on a person. Child abuse increases the risk of crime not only of people with ASPD but also of people without the disorder. Widom conducted the well-known long-term effects of child abuse with a sample of 908 children. She discovered that “being abused or neglected as a child increases
an individual’s risk for an arrest as a juvenile by 53 percent, increases the probability of arrest as an adult by 38 percent, and increases the probability of an arrest for a violent crime by 38 percent” (Princeton). Statistically speaking, whether a person has ASPD or not, he or she has a high risk of crime if he or she was abused as a child. As mentioned earlier in this essay, people with ASPD and was abused as a child has a high risk of crime because they may believe that violence is the way to solve problems. In fact, regards a child has ASPD or not, if he or she was abused as a child, he or she is likely to adopt his or her parents’ violent and aggressive behaviors. This phenomenon is typically explained by three theories: Social Control Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Social-psychological Strain Theory2. Each theory explains the harmful impact of a bad environment can give to children and how it changes them (Princeton). In short, since children are developing their cognition around the time, they naturally learn from and adapt to their environment—in this case, an abusive and violent one. Therefore, regard the person has ASPD or not, child abuse is detrimental to one’s future. Criminals with ASPD are not born. Some of them were unfortunately born with the disorder, but they were not born to be criminals. Others were born without the disorder, but their childhood trauma may trigger their condition. Yet, their ASPD is not the main component that leads to their crimes—their environment is. Their environment twists their moral stance, builds wrong beliefs from their childhood, and teaches them violent and aggressive behaviors. Their ASPD makes them vulnerable to crime activities, and their environment pushes them into committing crimes. With the right environment, these criminals would not become criminals. It is crucial for society to pay more attention on preventing child abuse and neglect. It not only will change a child’s whole life path, but it also will make a difference in the world. If these criminals with ASPD grew up in a loving and caring environment, they might not commit crimes and end up in prison. If these criminals with ASPD received treatment when they were little, they might avoid all these. Yet, unless we start to pay more attention on preventing child abuse and neglect, the same tragedy will only happen again and again.