Antisocial Personality Disorder Symptoms & Diagnosis

Symptoms

Common symptoms of antisocial personality disorder include:

• Breaking the law repeatedly
• Deceitfulness, repeated lying
• Impulsivity (eg, failure to plan ahead)
• Irritability and aggressiveness (eg, repeated physical fighting)
• Disregard for safety of oneself or others
• Irresponsibility (eg, regarding work, family, finances)
• Lack of guilt over hurting others
• Inability to feel sympathy or empathy for others
• Lack of concern for consequences of actions/behavior
• Inability to learn from experience, modify behavior based on past outcomes or predicted future outcomes
• Bullying or cruelty to animals and/or other humans
• Destruction of property

People with antisocial personality disorder often have substance abuse disorders and legal problems and sometimes have depression , anxiety disorders, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder .

Diagnosis

Diagnosis, usually made by a psychiatrist or other mental health professional, is based on symptoms and medical and mental health history. There are no laboratory tests to help diagnose this disorder. A complete psychiatric assessment is important to determine how severe the disorder is and whether there are any other contributing disorders, such as substance abuse, depression, anxiety disorders, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.