Use of dispositional mindfulness in people exhibiting psychopathic tendencies including antisocial behavior has been shown to help decrease the chances of those traits increasing over time. Those using more mindfulness have had a tendency to have less increase in antisocial behavior.

Dispositional Mindfulness to Treat Psychopathy and Antisocial Behaviors

Defined as communication and behavior, including feelings and actions, between at least two people.

Interpersonal Traits

Defined as consistent or habitual behaviors, actions, and feelings of a person. These can be helpful to predict a person's actions.

Behavioral Traits

Defined as a person's normal amount of expressed emotion.

Affective Traits

Child psychopathy is difficult to define concretely; however, research shows there are two factors important in recognizing psychopathic tendencies in children:
- conduct problems (CP) and impulsivity
- callous-unemotional factor (CU)

Factors of Child Psychopathy

While they have similar tendencies, psychopathy and antisocial behavior these two things are not the same.  Psychopaths may have antisocial behaviors but people with antisocial behaviors may not classify as psychopaths by the DSM. 

Clarification Between Psychopathy and Antisocial Behavior

Research shows that crime is extremely common among psychopaths. In fact, psychopathy is the variable most highly correlated to being in prison. For instance, 16% of adult males currently in prison, jail, parole, or probation are psychopaths. Additionally, about 1,150,000 adult males in the United States meet the criteria for psychopathy and 93% of them are in prison, jail, parole, or probation.

The above data is as of 2011.

Crime and Psychopathy

Evidence suggests that an interactive model is the best way to explain how psychopathy develops. As of now, many scholars believe that those who become psychopaths have a genetic predisposition for it and when they are immersed in an unhealthy environment, the disorder blossoms.

Potential causes of psychopathy

Dr. Hare, a psychologist focused on the field of criminal psychology, published his Psychopathy Checklist in 1980. It is made up of three models that include different factors. Hence, his clinical definition of what traits a psychopath holds is described in this checklist, which many professionals use to diagnose such disorder.

Dr. Robert Hare's clinical definition of a psychopath

All psychopathy references are listed here.

Psychopathy References

Based on earlier studies, researchers used to believe that one of the many roots of psychopathy are defects in the brain’s frontal cortex — especially in areas associated with reasoning and executive control. For example, one study published by scholar Antonio Damasio and his colleagues found that some cases of lesions to areas of the frontal lobe led to psychopathic behaviors.

Neurological differences found in the brains of psychopaths based on static images

Similar to sociopathy, this condition is a lack of empathy and understanding of others. Emotions may not be experienced much at all in these individuals. However, the emphasis relies more on manipulative behavior. True social connections may not be possible, only feigned. Though manipulative and unempathetic, these individuals can be seen as charming to others and capable of maintaining a relatively normal life. Unlike the sociopath, they tend to be more risk-averse and caring about themselves. 

Additional definition of psychopathy

One highly debated question amongst psychologists is the extent to which individuals who fit the DSM-5's diagnostic criteria of a psychopath are responsible for their actions and understand the difference between right and wrong given the nature of their condition. A strong case can be made that they do understand the difference between right and wrong and thus can be held responsible for their actions. 

Psychopathy and Moral Responsibility

Psychopathy is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by impaired emotional responses, lack of empathy, and poor behavioral controls, which most often leads to antisocial deviance and criminal behavior.  It is commonly defined by using three main categories: interpersonal, affective, and behavioral traits.

University of California, Davis

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

- Anxiety
- Current depression
- Depression relapse risk
- Stress
- Chronic pain
- Emotional distress
- Parkinson's Disease
- High blood pressure
- Sleep problems
- Psychopathy
- Antisocial Behavior
- Antisocial Personality Disorder

Conditions Mindfulness Can Help Alleviate/Treat

Salekin, R. T., & Lynam, D. R. (2010). Handbook of child and adolescent psychopathy.

Handbook of child and adolescent psychopathy

Anderson, N. E., & Kiehl, K. A. (2014). Psychopathy: developmental perspectives and their implications for treatment. Restorative neurology and neuroscience, 32(1), 103–117. https://doi.org/10.3233/RNN-139001

Psychopathy

Mindfulness practice has the potential to help alleviate eating disorders through its effect on maladaptive cognitive and affective processes. Dysfunctional cognitions fuel negative ideas of personhood or self-worth (such as, negative thoughts of personal weight and shape). These negative thoughts can lead to negative eating behaviors such as binging, purging, or restricted eating habits. Mindfulness techniques are then used as a means of expressing to the individuals that their thoughts are only temporary and do not require immediate self-intervention to mend. Therefore, mindfulness reduces the impact of dysfunctional cognitions on individuals, and thus alleviates/treats some of the mechanisms that support eating disorders.

Alleviates/Treats Eating Disorders

Generally speaking, anxiety is a reaction by the body that ensues negative internal experiences such as negative thoughts or feelings. Physical changes may also follow, such as an increase in blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, trembling, and so on.

Anxiety

Generally speaking, depression is an overall feeling of sadness. More specifically, those with depression tend to experience several things such as: an increase or decrease in weight, troubles with concentration, feelings of meaninglessness or worthlessness, thoughts of death or suicide, and so on. 

Depression

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder. It is caused when the nerve cells that produce domaine in one’s brain die.

Parkinson's Disease 

High blood pressure is when one’s blood pressure, or the force of blood that flows through one’s blood vessels, is too high.  Systolic blood pressure represents the pressure that blood exerts against the walls of the artery. Diastolic blood pressure represents the pressure between the heart’s beats 

High Blood Pressure 

Antisocial behavior can be defined as delinquent or criminal behavior such as manipulation, lying, and criminal activity such as stealing and assault.

Antisocial behavior

According to the DSM-5, antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a complete disregard for the rights and feelings of others. This disregard manifests in several ways, including repeatedly engaging in illegal acts, deceiving or conning others, acting with impulsivity and recklessness, showing irritability and aggression, and failing to fulfill responsibilities like paying debts. Specific examples of these behaviors include involvement in illegal enterprises, cruelty toward others, abandoning jobs with no alternative plans, having multiple sexual partners, getting into frequent fights, and showing reckless disregard for safety, such as through repeated arrests for driving while intoxicated. Individuals with this disorder feel no remorse for their actions and will manipulate, exploit, or abuse others without any sense of guilt.

Learn Before

Related

Learn After