The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus The Rest Of Us

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness and child abuse.

Since The Sociopath Next Door was published in 2005, there have been significant advancements in diagnosing, understanding, and treating ASPD. The term “sociopath” is no longer accepted or used in a clinical setting, with “antisocial personality disorder” being favored in its place. This is because there is heavy stigma associated with labels that encircle the entire person, and referring to it as a personality disorder more clearly implies that there is still a human behind the disorder. Current research focuses heavily on the genetic and neurological components of ASPD, with studies examining differences in brain function and structure, as well as family history, to determine the origins of ASPD. It is now known that people with ASPD have a differently functioning prefrontal cortex (which is responsible for executive functions like decision-making, problem-solving, impulse regulation, and empathy) and amygdala (which controls emotional processing and learning, social behavior, and stress regulation).

It is also now understood that ASPD is an adult disorder but can only be classified as such if the person exhibited conduct problems during childhood and adolescence. Environmental factors like abuse and neglect are also more widely known to be linked to ASPD.