What is the difference between antisocial and sociopath

ASPD is also more likely to occur in males than in females. ASPD and psychopathy share many symptoms. However, additional signs that may indicate that a person has psychopathy include:. Healthcare professionals do not know for sure why some people develop ASPD. However, both environmental and genetic factors can contribute. For instance, they may have experienced:. The authors of a Current Biology article note that studies involving twins have shown that psychopathic traits may be moderately or highly inheritable.

They also state that antisocial behavior with psychopathic traits is more inheritable than antisocial behavior alone. In a study looking at the brains of males with psychopathy, researchers found poor connections between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala is the part of the brain that processes emotions, while the prefrontal cortex plays a role in decision-making. The researchers also found high levels of testosterone in these individuals, which may help explain why psychopathy is more common in males than females.

However, this research involved only a small number of male participants, so further research is necessary to confirm the results. Traumatic brain injury and damage to the prefrontal cortex in childhood may also cause psychopathic traits to develop. Neither ASPD nor psychopathy currently has a cure. However, certain treatments can help a person manage the symptoms of these conditions. ASPD can be challenging to treat. Treating conduct disorder when it occurs in a child may help reduce certain ASPD behaviors as they get older.

Treatment options for ASPD include :. In the U. In this type of social therapy, people join therapy groups that focus on community issues and allow everyone involved to contribute to decisions.

There may also be opportunities for vocational and educational work. As with ASPD, psychopathy can be very hard to treat. Individuals with psychopathy may not agree that they need treatment, or they may not commit to treatment.

Starting treatment in childhood for psychopathic traits can be helpful in reducing them. CBT may also be useful when treating children who develop psychopathic behaviors following traumatic brain injuries TBIs. A case series found that clozapine reduced the severity of ASPD and psychopathy symptoms in males. Clozapine was especially beneficial in reducing anger, aggression, impulsive behavior, and violence.

However, the study was small and only included males, so further research is necessary to confirm these effects. However, those with NPD are not necessarily impulsive, aggressive, or deceitful. If you believe you may be someone with high-functioning ASPD, you can find help, too. Mental health experts can talk with you and your friends or family members to understand the behaviors you exhibit. Looking for signs that someone might be a sociopath? Learn the correct terms for this type of behavior and how to recognize it in adults and children.

Dealing with someone who has a narcissistic personality can be a challenge. We'll give you ten tips for coping and help you recognize when it's time…. While everyone lies, pathological lying is different. Also known as mythomania or pseudologia fantastica, it's the chronic behavior of compulsively or…. Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by patterns of manipulation and violation of others. Learn about symptoms and treatment.

Malingering is pretending to have a psychological or physical condition to gain a reward. Learn more about why people do it and how doctors diagnose…. A sociopath is someone who has antisocial personality disorder ASPD. Here are the symptoms, treatment options, and how to cope. Learn about narcissistic personality disorder and its symptoms, causes, and treatment. Personality disorders are a group of mental health conditions that are characterized by inflexible and atypical patterns of thinking, feeling, and….

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. What Is a High-Functioning Sociopath? Medically reviewed by Timothy J. The label psychopath is often used loosely by a variety of participants in the system, commonly - police, victims, prosecutors, judges, and prison officials, even defense lawyers, mostly with the one associated with criminals and that's because the criminals often tend to do things which are generally not expected by a normal minded human.

Law and psychiatry, even at the zenith of their rehabilitative optimism, both viewed psychopaths as a kind of exception that proved the rehabilitative rule. Psychopaths composed that small but embarrassing cohort whose very resistance to all manner of treatment seemed to be its defining characteristic, says NCBI. On the other hand, people that are sociopaths are most commonly very nervous by nature, and they can get agitated quite quickly and easily.

They behave violently when they reach their low tipping point, and their rage is very tough to be controlled. Most sociopaths, also struggle to maintain meaningful relationships with other people. A simple difference between the two is 'psychopath' is a clinical term, and 'sociopath' is not a clinical term.

However, mental health professionals instead prefer to understand both psychopathy and sociopathy as types of antisocial personality disorders APDs.