Anti-social Personality Tied to Alcohol and Drug Misuse

FROM WITHIN –

Oct. 13, 2024 – Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by traits such as manipulativeness, impulsivity, irritability, and a lack of remorse. People with this disorder often struggle with a variety of behavioral issues, including substance use disorders, which encompass problematic use of substances like alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, cocaine, and opioids.

Previous research has shown that individuals with substance use disorders are more likely to also have antisocial personality disorder, but the specifics of this relationship remained unclear. The researchers sought to fill this gap by investigating whether antisocial personality disorder was related to the severity of different substance use disorders and specific patterns of behavior associated with substance misuse.

“One of my research interests is to understand comorbidities affecting patients affected by psychiatric disorders,” said study author Renato Polimanti, an associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. “With respect to addiction, we still know very little about differences among substance use disorders. Because Ms. Aislinn Low (a former postgraduate associate in my group, now a PhD student at Michigan State University) was interested in personality research, we decided to investigate the different relationships of substance use disorders with antisocial personality disorder.”