Psychopathy - What Is Psychopathy?, Psychopathy And The Criminal Law, Bibliography
crime causation theories
This entry covers the definition and scientific validity of psychopathy and related mental conditions and the criminal law's response to criminals who manifest this condition.
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Although there is much dispute about the definition of and the criteria for the term psychopathy, the best current conceptual and scientific understanding is that psychopathy is a mental disorder marked by affective, interpersonal, and behavioral abnormalities. In particular, people with psychopathy demonstrate an incapacity for empathy and guilt, impulsivity, egocentricity, and chronic violations…
Psychopathy provides a theoretical and practical challenge to criminal law and the criminal justice system in general because psychopaths are at disproportionate risk for persistent criminal behavior, their criminal conduct appears to be primarily the product of a mental disorder, and there seems little efficacious treatment. Psychopathy and competence. Unless a psychopath who offends also suffers…
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., text revision. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Association, 1994. ——. "Psychopaths and Their Nature: Implications for the Mental Health and Criminal Justice Systems." In Psychopathy: Antisocial, Criminal, and Violent Behavior. Edited by Theodore Millon, Erik Simonsen,…
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