Abstract
The more flagrant aspects of Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), particularly criminality, are thought to diminish or “burnout” after age 30. However, empirical evidence of burnout in clinically defined groups is lacking. This study explores burnout in a cohort of forensic psychiatric patients, aged 41 to 67, with clinically diagnosed DSM-III APD (N = 39). Conviction data revealed that criminality did appear to decline from age 27 onward, but not in a straightforward manner. Further, a significant portion of the cohort remained criminally active throughout most of their adult lives. Age did not appear to interact with crime class.
Footnotes
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The authors would like to acknowledge The Calgary General Hospital, The Calgary Police Services, Ms. Maria Anderson, Ms. Irene Brennan, Dr. Bernard Schissel, and Dr. Gordon Fick. This project was funded by Medical Services Incorporated, Alberta, Canada, Grant # 547.
- Copyright © 1991, The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
