| Abstract: | The clinical characteristics of antisocial personality disorder are well defined, but poorly explained in developmental or etiological terms. After reviewing basic tenets of sociobiology, a theory of the etiology of antisocial personality is developed. Predictions that flow from this etiological theory are compared with published data for the disorder. These comparisons suggest that sociobiological theory provides a powerful and predictive etiological hypothesis for antisocial personality disorder. Social and clinical implications and avenues for future study of antisocial personality are suggested, as are potential relationships of this theoretical approach to other psychopathological conditions. |
