Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-10T19:59:39.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - Antisocial Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2025

By
Devon L. L. Polaschek
Edited by
Stephen Hupp  and
David F. Tolin
Stephen Hupp
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
David F. Tolin
Affiliation:
Institute of Living
Get access

Summary

The primary focus of this chapter is antisocial personality disorder with additional discussion on conduct disorder. Cognitive-behavioral approaches have the most research support, and specific examples of these approaches include Reasoning and Rehabilitation, Cognitive Self-Change, and Aggression Replacement Training. Credible components of treatment include developing treatment readiness, learning key skills, and preparing for post-treatment life. A sidebar describes the treatment process.

Keywords

antisocial personality disorderconduct disordersociopathycognitive-behavioral approachesReasoning and RehabilitationCognitive Self-ChangeAggression Replacement Trainingtreatment readinesspreparing for post-treatment lifescience-based therapy
Type
Chapter
Information
Science-Based Therapy
Raising the Bar for Empirically Supported Treatments
 , pp. 246 - 264
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Useful Resources

The best example of integration between the health and criminal justice research literatures reviewed here is the NICE guidelines: Antisocial Personality Disorder: The NICE Guideline on Treatment Management and Prevention.

For a succinct summary of the RNR model, see www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/rsk-nd-rspnsvty/index-en.aspx

For a series of slides on “what works” for criminal behavior, see, see www.bscc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/Principles-of-Effective-Interventions.pdf

For those doing individual therapy Tafrate, R. C., & Mitchell, D. (2014). Forensic CBT: A handbook of clinical practice. Wiley.

References

American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition, text revision. American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X., & Warden, D. (2008). Cognitive and affective perspective-taking in conduct-disordered children high and low on callous-unemotional traits. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 2(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/1753-2000-2-16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andrews, D. A., Bonta, J., & Wormith, J. S. (2004). The level of service/case management inventory (LS/CMI). Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Andrews, D. A., Zinger, I., Hoge, R. D., et al. (1990). Does correctional treatment work? A clinically relevant and psychologically informed meta-analysis. Criminology, 28, 369–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social-cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Bateman, A. W., Gunderson, J., & Mulder, R. (2015). Treatment of personality disorder. Lancet, 385(9969), 735–743. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(14)61394-5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernstein, D. P., Arntz, A., & Vos, M. D. (2007). Schema focused therapy in forensic settings: Theoretical model and recommendations for best clinical practice. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 6(2), 169–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Black, D. W., Baumgard, C. H., & Bell, S. E. (1995). A 16- to 45-year follow-up of 71 men with antisocial personality disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 36(2), 130–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-440X(95)90108-6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blackburn, R. (1988). On moral judgements and personality disorders: The myth of psychopathic personality revisited. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 153(4), 505–512.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bonta, J., & Andrews, D. A. (2016). The psychology of criminal conduct (6th ed.). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourgon, G., Bonta, J., Rugge, T., Scott, T., & Yessine, A. K. (2009). Translating “what works” into sustainable everyday practice: Program design, implementation and evaluation. www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2009-05-pd/index-en.aspx.Google Scholar
Boxmeyer, C. L., Powell, N. P., Mitchell, Q., et al. (2018). Psychosocial treatment and prevention in middle childhood and early adolescence. In Lochman, J. E. & Matthys, W. (Eds.), The Wiley handbook of disruptive and impulse-control disorders (pp. 451–466). Wiley.Google Scholar
Brännström, L., Kaunitz, C., Andershed, A.-K., South, S., & Smedslund, G. (2016). Aggression replacement training (ART) for reducing antisocial behavior in adolescents and adults: A systematic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 27, 30–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brazil, I. A., van Dongen, J. D. M., Maes, J. H. R., Mars, R. B., & Baskin-Sommers, A. R. (2018). Classification and treatment of antisocial individuals: From behavior to biocognition. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 91, 259–277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bush, J., Harris, D. M., & Parker, R. J. (2016). Cognitive self-change: How offenders experience the world and what we can do about it. Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coupland, R. B. A., & Olver, M. E. (2020). Assessing protective factors in treated violent offenders: Associations with recidivism reduction and positive community outcomes. Psychological Assessment, 32(5), 493–508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, J., Edens, J. F., Magyar, M. S., et al. (2013). Using the Psychopathic Personality Inventory to identify subtypes of antisocial personality disorder. Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(2), 125–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, L. A., Dixon, L., & Gannon, T. A. (Eds.). (2013). What works in offender rehabilitation: An evidence-based approach to assessment and treatment. Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunningham, M. D., & Reidy, T. J. (1998). Antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy: diagnostic dilemmas in classifying patterns of antisocial behavior in sentencing evaluations. Behavioral Science and the Law, 16(3), 333–351.3.0.CO;2-N>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeLisi, M., Drury, A. J., & Elbert, M. J. (2019). The etiology of antisocial personality disorder: The differential roles of adverse childhood experiences and childhood psychopathology. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 92, 902–917.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Derefinko, K. J., & Widiger, T. A. (2016). Antisocial personality disorder. In Fatemi, S. H. & Clayton, P. J. (Eds.), The medical basis of psychiatry (pp. 229–245). Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickson, S. R., Polaschek, D. L. L., & Casey, A. R. (2013). Can the quality of high-risk violent prisoners’ release plans predict recidivism following intensive rehabilitation? A comparison with risk assessment instruments. Psychology, Crime and Law, 19, 371–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dodge, K. A. (1993). Social-cognitive mechanisms in the development of conduct disorder and depression. Annual Review of Psychology, 44, 559–584.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dowden, C., Antoniwicz, D., & Andrews, D. A. (2003). The effectiveness of relapse prevention with offenders: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 47, 516–528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ehlers, C. L., Schuckit, M. A., Hesselbrock, V., et al. (2022). The clinical course of antisocial behaviors in men and women of three racial groups. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 151, 319–327.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farrington, D. P. (2003). Developmental and life-course criminology: Key theoretical and empirical issues – The 2002 Sutherland Award address. Criminology, 41, 221–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrington, D. P., Gaffney, H., & Ttofi, M. M. (2017). Systematic reviews of explanatory risk factors for violence, offending, and delinquency. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 33, 24–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrington, D. P., Ttofi, M. M., & Coid, J. W. (2009). Development of adolescence-limited, late-onset, and persistent offenders from age 8 to age 48. Aggressive Behavior, 35, 150–163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fazel, S., & Danesh, J. (2002). Serious mental disorder in 23000 prisoners: A systematic review of 62 surveys. The Lancet, 359, 545–550.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
First, M. B., Williams, J. B. W., Benjamin, L. S., & Spitzer, R. L. (2016). Structured clinical interview for DSM-5 personality disorders. American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Gannon, T. A., Olver, M. E., Mallion, J. S., & James, M. (2019). Does specialized psychological treatment for offending reduce recidivism? A meta-analysis examining staff and program variables as predictors of treatment effectiveness. Clinical Psychology Review, 73, 101752.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garrett, P. (1985). Effects of residential treatment of adjudicated delinquents: a meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 22, 287–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gendreau, P., & Smith, P. (2012). Assessment and treatment strategies for correctional institutions. In Dvoskin, J., Skeem, J., Novaco, R., & Douglas, K. (Eds.), Using social science to reduce violent offending (pp. 157–177). Guilford.Google Scholar
Gibbon, S., Khalifa, N. R., Cheung, N. H., Völlm, B. A., & McCarthy, L. (2020). Psychological interventions for antisocial personality disorder. Cochrane Database System Reviews, 9(9), Cd007668.Google ScholarPubMed
Glenn, A. L., Johnson, A. K., & Raine, A. (2013). Antisocial personality disorder: A current review. Current Psychiatry Reports, 15(12), 427.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldstein, A. P., & Glick, B. (1987). Aggression replacement training: A comprehensive intervention for aggressive youth. Research Press.Google Scholar
Goldstein, A. P., & Glick, B. (1994). Aggression replacement training: Curriculum and evaluation. Simulation and Gaming, 25, 9–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurley, J. R. (2009). A history of changes to the criminal personality in the DSM. History of Psychology, 12(4), 285–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutierrez, L., Chadwick, N., & Wanamaker, K. A. (2018). Culturally relevant programming versus the status quo: A meta-analytic review of the effectiveness of treatment of indigenous offenders. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 60, 321–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hare, R. D. (2003). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Revised technical manual (2nd ed.). Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Hecht, L. K., Latzman, R. D., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2018). The psychological treatment of psychopathy: Theory and research. In David, D., Lynn, S. J., & Montgomery, G. H. (Eds.), Evidence based psychotherapy: The state of the science and practice (pp. 271–298). Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helmond, P., Overbeek, G., Brugman, D., & Gibbs, J. C. (2015). A meta-analysis on cognitive distortions and externalizing problem behavior: Associations, moderators, and treatment effectiveness. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(3), 245–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henning, K. R., & Frueh, B. C. (1996). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of incarcerated offenders: An evaluation of the Vermont Department of Corrections’ cognitive self-change program. Criminal Justice & Behavior, 23, 523–541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hollin, C. R. (2010). Commentary directions for group process work. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15, 150–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaminski, J. W., & Claussen, A. H. (2017). Evidence base update for psychosocial treatments for disruptive behaviors in children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 46(4), 477–499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kazdin, A. E. (2015). Psychosocial treatments for conduct disorder in children and adolescents. In Nathan, P. E. & Gorman, J. M. (Eds.), A guide to treatments that work (4th ed., pp. 141–173). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Khalifa, N. R., Gibbon, S., Völlm, B. A., Cheung, N.-Y., & McCarthy, L. (2020). Pharmacological interventions for antisocial personality disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020 (9), 1–106.Google Scholar
Krasnova, A., Eaton, W. W., & Samuels, J. F. (2019). Antisocial personality and risks of cause-specific mortality: Results from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study with 27 years of follow-up. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 54(5), 617–625.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Latessa, E. J., Johnson, S. L., & Koetzle, D. (2020). What works (and doesn’t) in reducing recidivism (2nd ed.). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2003). Shared beginnings, divergent lives: Delinquent boys to age 70. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Lipsey, M. W., Landenberger, N. A., & Wilson, S. J. (2007). Effects of cognitive behavioral programs for criminal offenders. The Campbell Collaboration.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Looman, J., Abracen, J., & Fazio, D. (2014). Efficacy of group vs. individual treatment of sex offenders. Sexual Abuse in Australia and New Zealand, 6(1), 48–56.Google Scholar
MacKenzie, D. L., & Farrington, D. P. (2015). Preventing future offending of delinquents and offenders: what have we learned from experiments and meta-analyses? Journal of Experimental Criminology, 11, 565–595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-015-9244-9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCart, M. R., Sheidow, A. J., & Jaramillo, J. (2023). Evidence base update of psychosocial treatments for adolescents with disruptive behavior. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 52(4), 447–474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGuire, J. (2008). A review of effective interventions for reducing aggression and violence. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 363, 2577–2497. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0035.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGuire, J. (2013). What works to reduce reoffending: 18 years on. In Craig, L. A., Dixon, L., & Gannon, T. A. (Eds.), What works in offender rehabilitation: An evidence-based approach to assessment and treatment (pp. 20–49). Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKinley, S., Patrick, C. J., & Verona, E. (2018). Antisocial personality disorder: Neurophysiological mechanisms and distinct subtypes. Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports 5, 72–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moffitt, T. E. (2007). A review of research on the taxonomy of life-course persistent versus adolescence-limited antisocial behavior. In Flannery, D. J., Vazsonyi, A. T., & Waldman, I. D. (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of violent behaviour and aggression. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mulder, R. T., Wells, J. E., Joyce, P. R., & Bushnell, J. A. (1994). Antisocial women. Journal of Personality Disorders, 8(4), 279–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH, 2009). Antisocial personality disorder: Treatment, management and prevention (NICE Clinical Guideline 77). British Psychological Society and Royal College of Psychiatrists.Google Scholar
Odgers, C. A., Moffitt, T. E., Broadbent, J. M., et al. (2008). Female and male antisocial trajectories: From childhood origins to adult outcomes. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 673–716.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olver, M. E., Stockdale, K. C., & Wormith, J. S. (2014). Thirty years of research on the Level of Service scales: A meta-analytic examination of predictive accuracy and sources of variability. Psychological Assessment, 26, 156–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palmer, E. J. (2019). Group programmes with offenders. In Ugwudike, P., Graham, H., McNeill, F., Raynor, P., Taxman, F. S., & Trotter, C. (Eds.), The Routledge companion to rehabilitative work in criminal justice (pp. 1117–1130). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, F. S., Lipton, D. S., Cleland, C. M., & Yee, D. S. (2002). The effects of behavioral/cognitive-behavioral programs on recidivism. Crime and Delinquency, 48(3), 476–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polaschek, D. L. L. (2017). Reporting change. In Brown, S., Bowen, E., & Prescott, D. (Eds.), The forensic psychologists’ report writing guide (pp. 91–102). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polaschek, D. L. L. (2019a). Interventions to reduce recidivism in adult violent offenders. In Polaschek, D. L. L., Day, A., & Hollin, C. R. (Eds.), The Wiley international handbook of correctional psychology. (pp. 501–514). Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polaschek, D. L. L. (2019b). Treatment outcome evaluations: How do we know what works. In Polaschek, D. L. L., Day, A., & Hollin, C. R. (Eds.), The Wiley international handbook of correctional psychology. (pp. 410–426). Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polaschek, D. L. L., & Skeem, J. L. (2018). Treatment of adults and juveniles with psychopathy. In Patrick, C. J. (Ed.), Handbook of psychopathy (2nd ed., pp. 710–731). Guilford.Google Scholar
Robinson, D., & Porporino, F. J. (2004). Programming in cognitive skills: The reasoning and rehabilitation programme. In Hollin, C. R. (Ed.), The Essential Handbook of Offender Assessment and Treatment (pp. 63–78). Wiley.Google Scholar
Ross, R. R., Fabiano, E. A., & Ewles, C. D. (1988). Reasoning and rehabilitation. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 32, 29–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sesso, G., & Masi, G. (2023). Pharmacological strategies for the management of the antisocial personality disorder. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 16(3), 181–194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skeem, J. L., & Cooke, D. J. (2010). Is criminal behavior a central component of psychopathy? Conceptual directions for resolving the debate. Psychological Assessment, 22(2), 433–445.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, P., Gendreau, P., & Swartz, K. (2009). Validating the principles of effective intervention: A systematic review of the contributions of meta-analysis in the field of corrections. Victims and Offenders, 4, 148–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thøgersen, D. M., Elmose, M., Viding, E., McCrory, E., & Bjørnebekk, G. (2022). Behavioral improvements but limited change in callous-unemotional traits in adolescents treated for conduct problems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 31(12), 3342–3358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomson, N. (2019). Understanding psychopathy: The biopsychosocial perspective (1st ed.). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tong, L. S. J., & Farrington, D. P. (2006). How effective is the “Reasoning and Rehabilitation” programme in reducing reoffending? A meta-analysis of evaluations in four countries. Psychology, Crime & Law, 12, 3–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuvblad, C. (2014). Genetic influences on antisocial behavior across the life-course. In DeLisi, M. & Vaughn, M. (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of biosocial criminology (pp. 77–100). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Usher, A. M., & Stewart, L. A. (2014). Effectiveness of correctional programs with ethnically diverse offenders: A meta-analytic study. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, 58(2), 209–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van den Bosch, L. M. C., Rijckmans, M. J. N., Decoene, S., & Chapman, A. L. (2018). Treatment of antisocial personality disorder: Development of a practice focused framework. International Journal of Law & Psychiatry, 58, 72–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Werner, K. B., Few, L. R., & Bucholz, K. K. (2015). Epidemiology, comorbidity, and behavioral genetics of Antisocial Personality Disorder and psychopathy. Psychiatric Annals, 45(4), 195–199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wetzelaer, P., Farrell, J., Evers, S.M., et al. (2014). Design of an international multicentre RCT on group schema therapy for borderline personality disorder. BMC Psychiatry, 14 (1), 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, D. B., Bouffard, L. A., & MacKenzie, D. L. (2005). A quantitative review of structured, group-oriented, cognitive-behavioral programs for offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 32, 172–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, S. C. P., & Gordon, A. (2006). The validity and reliability of the Violence Risk Scale: A treatment-friendly violence risk assessment tool. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 12, 279–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×