Where Do I Find Antisocial Personality Disorder Test?

Introduction

In order to understand how to assess antisocial personality disorder, let’s first find out more about antisocial personality disorder or ASPD. ASPD is a diagnosable mental illness according to the diagnostic manual used by mental health professionals. An individual with ASPD is known to have difficulty acknowledging others’ rights and instead ignores and violates them. ASPD leads a person to be inconsiderate towards the safety of self and others. 

A good ASPD test will help verify the presence of ASPD and the presence of specific symptoms. Below, we discuss the ASPD test in detail. 

What is the Antisocial Personality Disorder Test?

Essentially, the antisocial personality disorder test verifies the presence of symptoms of antisocial personality disorder in an individual. A comprehensive test also tells you which symptoms or criteria of the disorder are being met in an individual. There are various ways to assess whether an individual has ASPD or not. Here are the common ways to assess ASPD:

Self Administered Antisocial Personality Disorder Test

Firstly, the most prevalent way of doing an ASPD test is by matching the symptoms mentioned on your own. A self-administered test is usually based on your own experiences and requires you to answer or meet the criteria pre-given in the test. You will find a plethora of such tests online. However, their main drawback is the lack of professional validity and accuracy. It is advisable to use tests from certified and genuine sources only.  Such tests are not usually reliable as an independent way to confirm ASPD. 

Clinical Evaluation

Secondly, clinical evaluation refers to consultation by a medical professional. A psychiatrist or clinical psychologist helps you understand the background of your concerns. Additionally, trained healthcare professionals conduct interviews in which they evaluate your symptoms to reach a diagnosis. Often, psychologists use their own set of tests or a set of assessments to conclude a specific diagnosis. Consider reaching out to a certified and licensed mental health professional for a clinical evaluation. The main advantage of this form of test is accuracy and reliability. 

Neuropsychological Assessment 

Thirdly, a relatively uncommon medium is combining neurological functioning with the individual’s symptoms. There has been evidence that mental health illness, specifically ASPD, affects and changes parts of the brain functioning. Therefore, researchers and psychologists collect data to find a correlation between the data regarding brain functioning and the presence of ASPD. Unfortunately, this type of assessment is time-consuming and not usually available to laymen. However, certain simpler aspects of brain functioning are evaluated by psychologists to support the diagnosis. 

Why do I need an Antisocial Personality Disorder Test?

Ideally, not everyone has to go through an assessment for ASPD. ASPD is not easy to diagnose in children, and the symptoms manifest only in adolescents and adults. Moreover, ASPD is inherited, so it would be advisable to get an assessment if your family member has been diagnosed with ASPD. Even without history, there are apparent signs of ASPD that can confirm if you require a test or not. Let’s learn about these signs in detail below:

Reckless Behavior

In comparison to general reckless behavior, if you have ASPD, you are bound to not care about your safety while making decisions. Not only will you be impulsive and irrational, there will be a high tendency to not think about the damaging consequences of your actions. You will find yourself regularly getting into accidents or arguments due to how you have caused injury to others. It is important to note that recklessness is present in spite of understanding the rules and consequences of your actions. 

Disregard for Rules and Authority 

As mentioned above, reckless behavior is added with your partial or complete ignorance towards punishments and adherence to the law or regulations. You will not be bothered by how your actions are illegal or break the rules. Rather, you will focus purely on the thrill of the activities. If you have ASPD, you will regularly find yourself involving yourself in petty crimes and theft. Moreover, you will not fear punishments such as jail terms or fines even if you have to encounter them. 

Impulsive and Irritable 

Finally, if you are easily impatient and irritated to the point that you make decisions in a heartbeat, you might have ASPD. You will have difficulty calculating decisions and directing your urges. Rather, you will want things immediately and make spur-of-the-moment decisions to get what you want. When you couple irritability and impulsivity with reckless behavior as well as disregard for authority, it turns into unlawful or criminal activities. 

Where do I find the Antisocial Personality Disorder Test?

Particularly for diagnosis and confirmation of ASPD, you will need to get assessed from the right sources. An ASPD test requires carefully drafted criteria, usually designed by trained mental health professionals. Furthermore, knowing that a test is accurate requires you to check for its background and the setting in which it is available. Below are the appropriate settings to get an ASPD test:

Online

Most commonly, there are several mental health-based websites and startups that provide checklists and self-administered tests. These tests are designed as the first step to understanding ASPD and if you match any of its criteria. The main purpose of these assessments is to help you decide if further professional help is needed or not. It is ideal to not consider the results of self-administered tests as a final diagnosis. 

Hospital and Clinics

Practically, diagnosis falls under the role of healthcare professionals. Since healthcare professionals are experts and trained rigorously to achieve the right conclusion, they are ideal for assessment. Reach out to a hospital or clinic with a mental health professional, such as a Psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist, for optimal care. They will be able to confirm ASPD with their own evaluation skills and technically advanced tests. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, in this article, we learned about what ASPD or Antisocial Personality Disorder means. We also discussed how ASPD tests differ from self-administering and clinically evaluating them. Finally, signs you need to look out for, along with settings where you can find an ASPD test, are covered. If you would like to get in touch with a trained healthcare professional to help you in dealing with Antisocial Personality Disorder, reach out to United We Care. 

References

[1]  K. A. Fisher and M. Hany, “Antisocial Personality Disorder,” National Library of Medicine, May 08, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546673/

[2] M. C. S. Paap et al., “A Psychometric Evaluation of the DSM-IV Criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder: Dimensionality, Local Reliability, and Differential Item Functioning Across Gender,” Assessment, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 89–101, Dec. 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191117745126.[3] American Psychiatric Association, “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR),” Psychiatry.org, 2013. https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm