Prognosis
According to professor Emily Simonoff of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, there are many variables that are consistently connected to ASPD, such as: childhood hyperactivity and conduct disorder, criminality in adulthood, lower IQ scores and reading problems. The strongest relationship between these variables and ASPD are childhood hyperactivity and conduct disorder. Additionally, children who grow up with a predisposition of ASPD and interact with other delinquent children are likely to later be diagnosed with ASPD. Like many disorders, genetics play a role in this disorder but the environment holds an undeniable role in its development. Boys are almost twice as likely to meet all of the diagnostic criteria for ASPD than girls (40% versus 25%) and they will often start showing symptoms of the disorder much earlier in life. Children that do not show symptoms of the disease through age 15 will almost never develop ASPD later in life. If adults exhibit milder symptoms of ASPD, it is likely that they never met the criteria for the disorder in their childhood and were consequently never diagnosed. Overall, symptoms of ASPD tend to peak in late teens and early twenties, but can often reduce or improve through age 40.ASPD is ultimately a lifelong disorder that has chronic consequences, though some of these can be moderated over time. There may be a high variability of the long-term outlook of antisocial personality disorder. The treatment of this disorder can be successful, but it entails unique difficulties.
Ultimately, there must be a group effort to aid the long-term effects of the disorder. Epidemiology
As seen in two North American studies and two European studies, ASPD is more commonly seen in men than in women, with men three to five times more likely to be diagnosed with ASPD than women. The prevalence of ASPD is even higher in selected populations, like prisons, where there is a preponderance of violent offenders. It has been found that the prevalence of ASPD among prisoners is just under 50%. Similarly, the prevalence of ASPD is higher among patients in alcohol or other drug (AOD) use treatment programs than in the general population, suggesting a link between ASPD and AOD use and dependence. As part of the Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) study, men with ASPD were found to be three to five times more likely to excessively use alcohol and illicit substances than those men without ASPD. While ASPD occurs more often in men than women, there was found to be increased severity of this substance use in women with ASPD. In a study conducted with both men and women with ASPD, women were more likely to misuse substances compared to their male counterparts.Homelessness is also common amongst people with ASPD. A study on 31 youths of San Francisco and 56 youths in Chicago found that 84% and 48% of the homeless met the diagnostic criteria for ASPD respectively. Another study on the homeless found that 25% of participants had ASPD.Individuals with ASPD are at an elevated risk for suicide.