Question about Antisocial Personality Disorder?

Question

I looked at multiple site about a diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder and some say that you had to have only some symptoms of a conduct disorder when you were young and some say that you had to qualify"Which means having the official diagnosis"to be able to have a diagnosis of ASPD when your older then 18.Which one is right?

Answer 1

Not all people who are diagnosed with conduct disorder grow to be APD, but 1/3 of them do. Still, if you have been a child and not been diagnosed, it doesn't mean you that you can't have APD. It just means that either people didn't catch on, or you just simply never got diagnosed.

You DO have to have had symptoms though, especially things such as manipulative behavior...

People are often diagnosed with APD after having a childhood of neglect and abuse. Not always, though, I don't think. But like all personality disorders, they are definitely mostly environmental - though environmental factors DO affect the brain. The chemical problem with APD is - like with depression - the saratonin and dopamine levels are down, and the amygdalia - which controls the fight or flight chemicals - is also affected; also, the frontal lobes are affected, too, methinks. Not quite sure, can't remember much from studying, but it's one you can't really self-diagnosis. I know a lot of people with APD tendencies who aren't APD...Definitely see someone about it, if you think you have it. Also, other symptoms involve law-breaking behaviors, total disregard for rules, hatred for authority, et cetera.

Make sure to really, really study it before self-diagnosing.

(My apologies if you're not talking about yourself. I'm just assuming, since that's usually the case with these questions.)    

Answer 2

They both can't be right? If they have symptoms of conduct disorder and are under 18 the official diagnosis of ASPD is not there, because they are under 18, a minor. Then magically, on their 18 birthday, boom, there it is. A legal official diagnosis versus a purely clinical one.