Antisocial personality - A person who has an underdeveloped (or perverted) sense of responsibility, low moral values, and a lack of interest in others. Another name for an antisocial personality is a sociopath.

Characteristics of an antisocial personality

Behavior is almost entirely determined by a person's own needs.

Painful reactions, frustrations to the state of one's own displeasure.

The desire for immediate deliverance (and deliverance at any cost) from unpleasant sensations.

Impulsiveness, the tendency to live in the moment.

The extraordinary ease of lying.

Often very skillfully play roles.

Unstable self-esteem.

The need to excite oneself (to excite).

Inability to change one's behavior as a result of punishment.

Surrounding people are often often perceived as attractive, intelligent, charming people.

Easily come into contact, especially easily converge on the basis of entertainment.

Lack of genuine empathy for others.

Lack of feelings of shame or guilt for their actions.

Three groups of factors contributing to the development of an antisocial personality are presented below: biological determinants, features of the relationship between parents and the child, style of thinking.

Biological factors

Research suggests genetic correlates of antisocial behavior. Identical twins have twice the concordance for criminal behavior than related twins, making it clear that this behavior is partly heritable.

Adoption studies show that the crimes of adopted boys are similar to those of their biological fathers.

It is also noted that antisocial individuals have low excitability, which is why they, with the help of impulsive and dangerous actions, seek to receive stimulation that causes appropriate sensations.

Family factors

Research also shows that the quality of parental care received by a child with a history of hyperactivity and behavioral problems determines to a large extent whether or not they develop into an antisocial personality.

Children who are often left unattended or who are poorly cared for for long periods of time are much more likely to engage in criminal behavior patterns.

Also, children whose parents are not involved in their daily lives are more likely to become asocial.

Biological and family factors often coincide, which enhances their effect. Children with behavioral problems often have neuropsychological problems resulting from maternal drug use, poor intrauterine nutrition, pre- and post-natal toxicity, abuse, birth complications, and low birth weight. Such children are more likely to be irritable, impulsive, awkward, hyperactive, inattentive. They slowly learn the material at school, which over time leaves a strong imprint on the child's self-esteem.

Thinking style

In children with behavioral disorders, an inadequate picture of the world, the processing of information about social interactions occurs in such a way that they develop aggressive reactions to these interactions. They expect aggression from other children and adults, interpret their actions based on the assumption of malevolence.

Not knowing how to behave assertively, the child eventually comes to the conclusion that aggression is the most reliable and effective tool.

The responses of others to the child's aggression usually only lead to the strengthening of the idea of ​​the need for aggression.

Thus, a vicious circle of interactions develops, supporting and inspiring the aggressive and antisocial behavior of the child.

An asocial personality is an individual who has a too low or completely absent sense of responsibility for his actions, interest and compassion for others, and such a person is dominated by a low level of moral values.

In general, asociality is a person's behavior that does not fit into the generally accepted framework, does not comply with the rules and moral standards. If a person does not strive to interact with others and his motivation is expressed only for solitary activity, they say about him that he is asocial. This definition is the opposite of antisocial, since people with a penchant for the latter show their dislike for others and for society as a whole openly.

As a rule, antisocial personality disorder has its roots in a person's deep childhood, and its signs become noticeable from an early age. If parents treat the child inattentively, ignoring the oddities in his behavior, antisocial traits become more and more open over time. What causes and family circumstances lead to the development of such disorders? Here are the main ones:

Often, signs of association begin to appear precisely in adolescence, which is considered a turning point in the life of any child. If the family has a normal healthy environment and the child is in the element of understanding and harmonious interaction with society, he will be able to develop his personality, contact with others and put forward adequate demands both on others and on himself.

In a healthy family, any deviation in the behavior of a teenager immediately becomes noticeable, and parents immediately take measures to eliminate provoking factors. Children growing up in an unfavorable family environment, often absorbing the harmful influence of the street and antisocial peers, begin to show signs of deviant behavior that is destructive.

How does asociality manifest itself in adolescents:

Summing up, we can say that disorders that are laid down in early childhood and adolescence can be formed due to difficulties in the family, rejection of the child by peers and constant ridicule, low self-esteem, self-doubt, and also after suffering physical or moral abuse.

Research by scientists has proven that asociality is inherited, for example, adopted children often showed tendencies to violence and sadism, left over from the biological father at the gene level.

Aggressive behavior, complicated by a low level of intellectual development, forces a teenager to develop appropriate reactions to any interaction with others. Being in anticipation of aggressive behavior towards themselves, such adolescents interpret the actions of other people with their own hostility, therefore, they perceive any ridicule or criticism as a deliberate humiliation of their own dignity, responding to this with uncontrolled attacks. What will be the results of such violations? Open manifestations of asocialization will fully manifest themselves already in adulthood with certain symptoms.

Signs of asociality

Asocial people show their personality disorders by a certain style of behavior, which is formed already at an early age. Children with antisocial disorder are prone to the following symptoms:

Symptoms of antisocial behavior that manifest themselves later in adult life:

Also, in adult life, an antisocial person does not develop family relationships due to frequent lies, a tendency to alcoholism, a lack of responsibility for the health and financial well-being of their loved ones. An asocial introvert thinks only about his own needs, often goes into the world of his own fantasies and does not seek to survive in harmony with society. No wonder in the 20th century monks, hermits and vagrants were considered asocial. Such a political term gathered in itself all the lower strata of society - beggars, drug addicts, homeless people, prostitutes and just people with mental disorders.

Treatment

Therapy of antisocial behavior should begin as soon as manifestations of deviant behavior have been noticed. Most often, parents of children with similar disorders turn to doctors, who complain about manifestations of unreasonable aggression on the part of the child, his commitment to bad companies, unwillingness to learn and contact with others.

In such cases, individual therapy is carried out, which aims to create a trusting partnership between the child and parents. However, an individual approach is not always effective in addressing behavioral deviations.

Group therapy, which is considered more effective, is aimed at increasing the level of control over anger and at modifying the pathological style of relating to others. What are the challenges facing parents?

• setting clear limits and expectations in relation to the child;
• an agreement between parents and the child regarding his responsibility for his actions and duties;
• encouraging the child's desire for obedience, increased self-confidence and self-control.

The technique of psychotherapeutic treatment includes role-playing games, practical exercises, and situation modeling. Before starting treatment, the doctor conducts a test for asociality, which can be drawing tests, questionnaires. The Eysenck test is required to determine the extra-introversion of the personality.

In the treatment of adults, the same approach is followed, with the addition of pharmacotherapy. There are no specific drugs created to correct antisocial behavior, but complex therapy usually includes:

If the symptoms are too pronounced and behavioral abnormalities are not subject to the usual correction, the placement of a person in a psychiatric hospital is indicated.

Having considered the concept of an antisocial personality, who it is and what are the signs of such behavior, it becomes clear when it is time to sound the alarm if the symptoms appear in a child or loved one. Pathology is not treated at home and, as a rule, requires complex therapy, combined with the work of all family members, aimed at achieving harmonious trusting relationships (they should be based on responsibility, moral standards and self-control).

The concept of asociality in the sense in which we all know it, was formed relatively recently. In the twentieth century, an asocial personality began to be called those whose behavior and life arrangement did not correspond to generally accepted norms of ethics and morality.
Asocial elements are:

• persons without a fixed place of residence,
• beggars,
• dependent on alcohol and drugs,
• people with different from social behavior due to mental health problems.

Historically, the word "asociality" ("a" from the ancient Greek - a particle meaning negation) meant the same thing, but was not purely negative.
They were called monks, and in many religions this way of life was a positive feature, as it implied remoteness from society for closer service to God.
Now, in society, the concept has taken on a purely negative connotation.

What does antisocial lifestyle mean?

The social way of life familiar to everyone is a certain set of actions that a person performs all his life:

• gets an education
• works,
• talking to friends,
• creates a family
• brings up children.

The opposite way of life is behavior that is contrary to social norms. Those who lead such a way of life consciously or unconsciously oppose themselves to society, live contrary to established norms and canons.

Often such a way of life is destructive in relation to others, and because of this, a negative attitude has been formed in society towards asocial personalities. The opinion was formed that:

• those who do not work provide themselves illegally;
• who does not communicate with others, does it because of mental reasons;
• those who do not start a family and raise children do so because of problems with violence on their part.

This is true, but not always. Such manifestations are more often characteristic of misanthropes - those who have developed hatred of others. They also have an asocial lifestyle, but it develops against the backdrop of a different worldview.

The reasons for the opposite of a social way of life often do not depend on the will of a person. Its development can be facilitated by:

• lack of livelihood,
• home absence,
• relationship problems with family
• development of addictions to gambling, alcohol or drugs.

In any of these cases, a person needs support. But because of the negative attitude from society, he does not receive it, more and more immersed in problems without the ability to overcome them.

A person has little chance of returning to a normal life, a stable lifestyle is being formed, which is increasingly contrary to established norms.

What is antisocial human behavior?

What distinguishes an antisocial person? What behavior is typical for him? If you ask anyone about this, then the characteristics will turn out to be purely negative. But this issue needs to be approached more broadly. This behavior can be characterized by two simple theses:

• partial or complete self-isolation from society, which provokes the isolation of an asocial personality from society as well;
• the negative attitude of such a person towards society, which turns into a reverse negative.

These characteristics have a boomerang effect. The development of asociality comes from a person, but then there is a response from society.
If we disassemble this type of behavior into smaller particles, we will see that it is characteristic:

• lack of desire to legally work for the benefit of themselves, their relatives and society;
• lack of desire to create a family or live with it;
• lack of desire to participate in the life of society.

These three points cause:

• attempts to find means of subsistence on the edge or beyond the law;
• communication with similar asocial personalities with whom there are at least some common interests;
• the development of a lifestyle that is alien to society, and which provokes the development of problems and inconveniences for those citizens who do not perceive asociality in its essence.

Summarizing all of the above, we can conclude that asociality is one of the types of mental disorder. Its distinguishing feature is behavior that harms society or does not bring any benefit.

There is a fine line between antisocial and antisocial behavior. The anti-social personality purposefully acts against the generally accepted social statutes.

Can antisocial behavior be a positive trait?

In some cases, alienation from society is not an evil, but a blessing. Such a trait is considered positive in the religious world, where distance from society is a step towards rapprochement with God. And such examples are not isolated.

There are also cases of conscious manifestation of an asocial nature. They are called crises of a certain age. A person consciously withdraws "into himself", limits his communication with the outside world in order to resolve internal problems.

Such behavior does not bring any harm to society, and after a certain period the person returns to normal life.
Therefore, asociality cannot be considered a purely negative feature. It must be evaluated in relation to each case.

What is an asocial person?

Summing up what has been said above about such a way of life and behavior, one can come to the only correct conclusion:

Note that there is no negativity in this definition, since it is impossible to generalize all cases.
Asociality can be a positive, neutral, or negative trait.
This type of behavior can also manifest itself due to health problems. It is characteristic of schizophrenia, in which an extreme degree of opposition to society is manifested - the patient's absolute inability to build relationships with others. A negative attitude towards patients does not meet the norms of morality.
Another fairly common example is teenage subcultures. At the age of 13-17, young people often hide from external problems in themselves, not wanting to seek help from their parents.

This condition is very dangerous, as it can provoke mental disorders and suicidal moods. Having noticed antisocial behavior in a teenager, it is important to help him solve problems through the efforts of parents and a psychologist.

Asociality in a negative sense is a serious problem that requires an integrated approach to its resolution:

• treatment, often forced, of individuals with mental illness;
• helping people for whom such a lifestyle is a necessary measure;
• social adaptation of those who led an asocial life due to problems with the law.

Many countries have effective national programs for the socialization of such people, and they show results. This confirms that asociality is not a sentence. But to return to society, such people need help.

In order to take a higher position in society, the individual forms knowledge about his position, which is a motivating factor. However, this does not happen in all cases. Sometimes a person behaves incorrectly from the point of view of society. This behavior is called antisocial.

In Western psychology, a special type of incorrect social development of the individual is distinguished. In our psychology, this is not officially accepted. But both Western and our psychology, the term "asocial behavior" means the same thing.

What is antisocial behavior

Antisocial behavior - behavior that is characterized by overt or covert aggression and hostility towards other members of society. This hostility manifests itself in varying degrees. In some cases, it can be expressed only by some violations of social rules, in other cases, such behavior can bring serious harm to society.

In Western Europe and the USA, this behavior is diagnosed from the age of three. It manifests itself, for example, if a child with a special sadism torments domestic animals.

Types of antisocial behavior

Antisocial behavior can be both hidden and open. At school age, open antisocial behavior often manifests itself in the form of verbal abuse of other children or fights with classmates. The latent form can manifest itself in the form of theft, vandalism and arson.

In adolescence, girls are less prone to antisocial behavior than boys. However, they are characterized by more sophisticated forms of its manifestation. For example, they can provoke aggression towards each other or organize collective bullying of others. Representatives of the stronger sex are more prone to public manifestation of their antisocial behavior and to physical aggression.

Causes of antisocial behavior

Often the emergence of antisocial behavior is caused by family troubles and unhealthy relationships with parents. Often children subconsciously protest against any foundations and rules that have developed in their families. Such children may show aggression towards their pets or younger siblings after they have been subjected to aggression from outside or have participated in a conflict situation.

What to do about antisocial behavior

In order to save the child from antisocial behavior and give him the opportunity to integrate normally into society, he must be taken to a psychologist. This specialist will teach the child to manage anger, recognize their own and other people's emotions and find compromise solutions while in a team. Group activities have a positive effect on the healing process.

For adults, to get rid of the signs of such behavior, in addition to a psychologist, in many cases, the use of drug therapy that reduces the frequency of manifestations of impulsive behavior is required.

If you ask passers-by on the street what “asocial lifestyle” means, the answers are likely to mention alcoholism, drug addiction, begging, the homeless, etc. What causes this phenomenon? How can you fight him?

antisocial lifestyle

Most of society does about the same thing every day: someone goes to work, someone goes to school or college, some stay at home and take care of the household. In a word, everyone performs his role, one way or another useful to the others. However, there are also people who act contrary to generally accepted norms and morality. An asocial way of life is usually understood as destructive, when a person not only separates himself from society, but also opposes himself to it, while behaving accordingly. This is a narrow understanding of the term.

In fact, people who lead an antisocial lifestyle do not always belong to disadvantaged sections of society: drug addicts, alcoholics, the homeless, beggars, people without certain occupations, etc. In the classical sense, they just avoid normal interactions with other people as much as possible, or simply incapable of it. In this case, this category can include, for example, introverts or people suffering from mental illness.

Is it always bad?

If we talk about the classical scientific understanding of this term, asociality is not a vice. Moreover, in some conditions it is even a blessing. Suffice it to recall the monks and hermits who voluntarily refuse to actively interact with the rest of society. In some religions, an asocial way of life testifies to the spiritual enlightenment of a person, a departure from the worldly, as a result of which he acquires a completely different attitude, and sometimes a certain gift. Something similar is practiced today in some currents of Christianity, Buddhism, etc. But such an example is rather an exception and has nothing to do with what an asocial lifestyle means outside of any religious practices.

Effects

It is rather difficult to imagine that several thousand respectable citizens at once suddenly began to lead an asocial lifestyle. Nevertheless, one can imagine what consequences this will have. Some of them will be felt only in the distant future, and some will be noticeable almost immediately. It is worth listing at least a few.

• Decline in the general level of health, increased epidemiological danger. In addition to the fact that tobacco, alcohol and drugs affect the human body in a destructive way, some people are likely to stop paying attention to personal hygiene, which will be reflected in the reproduction and spread of dangerous bacteria. Promiscuous sex contributes to infection with sexually transmitted diseases, and also increases the risk of unplanned pregnancy. This situation often leads either to an abortion or to the abandonment of the child immediately after birth.
• The appearance on the street of more homeless and unemployed will increase the crime rate. The level of crimes, including extremely dangerous ones, such as murders and rapes, will increase significantly.
• As a result of a decrease in the number of respectable law-abiding citizens, tax revenue will decrease, the share of the shadow economy will increase, which will sooner or later undermine the foundations of the state.

Countermeasures

Children are the future of the world, first of all, because with the right upbringing of one or two generations, significant shifts in society in any direction can be achieved. By instilling the wrong values, you can later encounter a very unpleasant result. That is why effective measures to prevent an asocial lifestyle among young people are so important, especially when it comes to the so-called dysfunctional families. Anti-advertising of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, hectic lifestyle, conversations with psychologists, help centers, helplines, offering an affordable alternative in the form of sports. In addition, sometimes it is necessary to remove children from this environment, that is, to separate them from the family in order to instill in them other values ​​that meet generally accepted morality. In less neglected cases, patronage and regular checks are enough. However, such measures are not very popular and may cause rejection. Also, such power can serve as a breeding ground for abuse. But sometimes it's just necessary.