NCJ Number
181509
Journal
Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 1-21
Date Published
February 2000
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article examines research on personality disorders and their treatment in light of recent proposals for dealing with offenders who have “severe personality disorders.”
Abstract
Problems in classifying and diagnosing personality disorders are highlighted by the extensive comorbidity between personality disorders and between these and other mental disorders. Those identified as antisocial or psychopathic are heterogeneous and are likely to have multiple psychological dysfunctions. Although applied to only a limited range of personality disorders, treatment of these disorders in mental health settings has successfully reduced impairment and demonstrated personality change. The article concludes that personality disorders among serious offenders are a health care problem and attempts to develop the more promising treatment methods in existing settings are justified. It also questions the logic of segregating personality disordered offenders from other mentally disordered offenders either for treatment or for incapacitation. References