Ammon: There a variety of prevailing theories on what causes antisocial PD. Hervey Cleckly is considered to be "the man" in regards to research and working in the field. I can't recall the name of the experiment but I remember the jist of one that I feel well illustrates ASPD. I found this to be the most telling:
A group of controls was compared to a group of diagnosed ASPD. They were lead into a simulation where they had electrical wires hooked up to them. They were told that they would be given a painful, nonlethal, electric shock; and then, they were asked if they wanted the shock to be administered immediately or if they preferred to sit, wait over a 60 min period, and have the shock randomly given to them during that interval. The group of controls had a 90% response to give it immediately, ie..get it over with. The group with prediagnosed ASPD were fifty-fifty on waiting or immediately. It was a coin toss for them. Furthermore, the 10% of controls who elected to wait had elevated blood pressure, pulse, and appeared very anxious throughout the waiting period. The group of ASPD had no change in pulse/blood pressure, and appeared calm throughout. It is important to note that no electrical shocks were ever given.
When I examine "why people are the way they are" it almost always comes down to a combination of nature-nurture. Twin studies separated at birth have tremendously higher ratios of concordant psychiatric illnesses but never even remotely approach one hundred percent.
I believe there are two categories of people that get diagnosed with ASPD. The vast majority of the first category is what is found in prison populations. In this population it is extremely difficult to tell which part of the nature-nurture discussion they fall more heavily on. The second category is a much smaller precentage of the prison population and found predominantly operating in society. These people range from manipulative boyfriends with girlfriends in different states, to the business man that cheats grandma for millions, to the infamous "clown killer" John Gacy. These people have a tendancy to be very intelligent and charming. On first meeting them they are almost universally liked. They are unable to feel remorse and unable to anticipate punishments. In this population, I am convinced the overwhelming cause for their behaviors is genetic. I do not think it is a chemical imbalance. If it was a chemical imbalance then I would expect psychotropic medications to have some effect on them. I.e...depression, schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety, PTSD are all chemical imbalances and can be treated with psychotropics. When treating a patient with ASPD, psychotropic medication have no effect. My personal belief, is that there is a 'broken circuit' caused at the genetic level that interferes with Dopamine processing in the limbic system, nucleus acumbens, and possibly the cingulate gyrus and anterior cortex. PET scans have showed some deficiencies in function but are largely nonconclusive. In general, I feel PET scans are not the tool necessary to study causality in the brain.
All: From reading these posts I have gained a better understanding of people's views. It is safe to say that everybody responding in this forum are moral people. It is safe to say that our variance of opinions is based on how to best protect our loved ones. It is also safe to say that nobody responding in this thread is arguing for a complete ban of all guns. We recognize that weapons have created a tragic problem for a very small percentage of society. Due to the sudden and devasting effect they can have, opinions on how to best manage these rare abuses vary widely. Most all of us agree that some legislation is necessary. The question is "How much?" I will continue to propose that we make changes in legislation and seek a better solution to this problem. I think Ammon is right, knee jerk legislation would be foolish and most likely not helpful. However, the most recent tragedy can be used as a focal point to help us move forward. I am one of the younger members of this discussion. Youth has a tendancy to seek change. Hopefully, as a society, we can continue civil discussion and move forward to address these problems calmy and rationally.
Merry X-Mas and Happy Holidays!
Assault actually starts verbally, once physical contact is made it becomes battery
