Forensic Patients With Tattoos More Likely To Have Antisocial Personality Disorder

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Mental Health
Article Date: 16 Jul 2008 - 1:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

The presence of tattoos on forensic psychiatric inpatients should alert clinicians to a possible diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), and also about the potential for histories of suicide attempt, substance abuse, and sexual abuse, according to research published today in Personality and Mental Health.

ASPD is a mental disorder characterised by several psychological and behavioural phenomena, including a lack of empathy and remorse, a low tolerance for anxiety, and shallowness. People with ASPD prefer action to thought, and pathological lying, cheating, stealing, physical aggression and drug abuse are not uncommon. To be diagnosed with ASPD, the individual must have developed this behaviour before the age of 15, and as such is qualitatively different from the idea of a scheming, dishonest business person or politician, unless the behaviour began earlier in life.

For this research, 36 male inpatients of a maximum-security state forensic psychiatric facility were studied by psychiatrists from the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry (CFP). Around half of the subjects had been admitted because they were found to be unfit to stand trial and the other half had been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Of the patients studied, 15 had tattoos and 17 were diagnosed as having ASPD. Of those with tattoos, 11 of 15, or 73%, had ASPD, whereas only 6 of 21, or 29%, of those without tattoos had the same diagnosis. The research also uncovered an increased likelihood for those with tattoos to have previously suffered from sexual abuse, abused substances or to have attempted suicide.

"Our findings suggest that forensic psychiatric inpatients with tattoos are significantly more likely to suffer from ASPD than those without tattoos, and patients with ASPD were also significantly more likely to have higher numbers of tattoos, a larger percentage of their body covered with tattoos, and tended to have tattoos in more visible locations" said lead researcher Dr. William Cardasis, of CFP, Michigan. "I hope that this provides clues for clinicians to look for ASPD in forensic psychiatric patients with tattoos, and also to look for signs of suicide attempt, substance abuse, and sexual abuse."

"One should keep in mind that the population studied was only a small segment of the population, and not indicative of what may or may not be relevant in the general population" added Cardasis. "Other interesting questions which this research raises include whether adolescents with tattoos are more likely to conduct disorder than those without, and what effect the meaning and subject content of the tattoo has."

Full citation: Cardasis W., Huth-Bocks A. and Silk K.; Tattoos and Antisocial Personality Disorder Personality and Mental Health 2008: Volume 2, Issue 3, 171-182. DOI: 10.1002/pmh.43

Dr. William Cardasis has worked at the Michigan Center For Forensic Psychiatry since 1996, where he is currently Director of the Male Admissions Unit, and in private practice of forensic psychiatry since 1997. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and a member of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, and has rendered over one hundred court testimonies as an expert witness in forensic psychiatry. He is a past President of the Michigan Psychiatric Society (district branch of the American Psychiatric Association) and a past President of the Midwestern Chapter of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

About the journal At the cusp of a rapid expansion, clinically, academically, legally and politically, the field of personality and mental health is an emerging area of research that currently covers three distinct literatures: DSM-IV/ICD-10 defined personality disorders, psychopathy and offending behaviour. Providing leadership in this new, emerging field, Personality and Mental Health: Multidisciplinary Studies from Personality Dysfunction to Criminal Behaviour will define more clearly, not merely react to, the field and disciplines involved in research into personality and mental health and for the first time unite the three literatures. Through its multi-disciplinary and service orientated approach, Personality and Mental Health will provide an authoritative source of information for researchers, practitioners and policy makers working in the field of personality and mental health. Personality and Mental Health can be accessed online at: http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/pmh

The Personality Disorder Institute (PDi) is geographically based at the University of Nottingham, UK and aims to build multi-disciplinary research and development capacity capable of driving the field. The work of the Personality Disorder Institute (PDi) is divided into five domains: Service evaluation and development; Organisational evaluation and development; Law, policy and ethics; Research methodology, research practice and dissemination, and; Education and training. For more information please visit http://www.pdinstitute.org.uk.

Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the acquisition of Blackwell Publishing Ltd. by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and its merger with Wiley's Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,400 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal. For more information on Wiley-Blackwell, please visit http://www.blackwellpublishing.com or http://interscience.wiley.com.

Wiley-Blackwell