Sociopaths, Anti-social Personality Disorder, is it genetic or learned, and can it be cured?
[from a LinkedIn discussion]
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Jo-Anne Burns • I am not a specialist in this field through education but rather through experience. I grew up with a Sociopath. We were both adopted as infants from different birth families. Right from the start - at age 2 my sibling started to exhibit anti-social and violent behaviour. But by the time he was an adult he had learned to hide his violent side and use charm instead. Whether intervention at any stage could have changed the outcome I am not certain but he was not traumatized in anyway, rather he traumatized the rest of us. Biology was certainly key.
I have read a great many books on the subject of what makes a sociopath trying to understand how people can behave like my sibling -without conscience. Dr Hare's book referenced above "Without Conscience" is an excellent reference tool as Dr Hare has developed the Psychopath checklist used around the world to evaluate Psychopaths. His other book - Snakes in Suits- also is good as it describes not just the criminal psychopaths but the ones we experience every day.
I would imagine the hardest thing about treating a sociopath is that you may never be able to tell whether your treatment is working. They are so adaptive, and some such good actors that you can not believe a word they are saying.
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