Ed Gein, Elizabeth Bathory, Jeffery Dahmer, and Jack the Ripper are all famous serial killers that unmercifully killed their victims and by no coincidence were all victims themselves of antisocial personality disorder. The essential feature of the antisocial personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and the violation of, the rights of others. This pattern begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood (Dual Diagnosis and the Antisocial Personality Disorder). One heart-wrenching characteristic people with this disorder have is the lack of remorse for their victims or anyone involved. The exact causes of antisocial personality disorder are still unknown, but are believed to be hereditary or from …show more content…

"Supporting evidence has accumulated since the 1940s, when the first EEG tracings of brain was activity revealed that aberrant slow-wave patterns were two to three times more common among antisocials than among others. Today, modern techniques like MRI and positron emission tomography (PET) scans provide detailed pictures of brain activity and allow researchers to match certain phenomena to different brain regions (112)." When part of the brain's system is thrown off balance, a variety of biological and behavioral problems can emerge, resulting in antisocial personality disorder.
"The current attention given to biochemical, physiological, and development causes of ASP overshadows a considerable body of evidence that points directly to the family and home environment as major contributions to antisocial behavior. Many children who become antisocial endure poverty, substandard housing, bad neighborhoods, parental abuse and neglect, and inadequate nutrition and medical care.

Low socioeconomic level alone is probably not an important factor in delinquency, since poor children whose family lives otherwise normal are unlikely to become antisocial. But combined with other environmental hazards, it may become a risk factor in the development of ASP. It comes as no surprise that parents of troubled children show a high level of antisocial behavior themselves, and that in some cases can be traced to the disorder. The irony is that