Psychopathological features in a sample of substance‐abusing individuals with criminal history: Towards a definition of a personality prototype of an ‘Addict with Criminal Conduct’

Abstract

These findings allow us to hypothesise that substance abusers who also have criminal convictions may have a specific personality profile. If further research were to confirm this, then it could have important implications for identifying people for particular treatment pathways and developing more effective treatments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Efficacy of Dog Assisted Therapy in Detained Drug Users: A Pilot Study in an Italian Attenuated Custody Institute

“…Considering addicted inmates, a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorders is about 10 times more likely than in the general population [ 41 ]. Moreover, some studies showed that these patients have a higher tendency to perceive the external world as hostile and to consider others as responsible for their own problems, showing a psychological profile characterized by paranoid ideation and an avoidant defensive style that easily results in antisocial behaviour and/or deviant behaviour [ 42 , 43 ]. Our results corroborate with those found in the literature both from the more general companion animal ownership research [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ] and from other specific studies about prisoners [ 20 , 24 , 46 , 47 ].…”

“…Moreover, some studies showed that these patients have a higher tendency to perceive the external world as hostile and to consider others as responsible for their own problems, showing a psychological profile characterized by paranoid ideation and an avoidant defensive style that easily results in antisocial behaviour and/or deviant behaviour [ 42 , 43 ]. Our results corroborate with those found in the literature both from the more general companion animal ownership research [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ] and from other specific studies about prisoners [ 20 , 24 , 46 , 47 ]. Indeed, the effects on patients’ psychological functioning in social situations highlighted by therapists through Kennedy Axis V were sustained by the significant reduction of symptoms linked to the SCL-90-R dimensions of paranoid ideation and psychoticism in inmates involved in D.A.T.…”

Medical care for transgender individuals at a hospital in southern Brazil: why do they drop out from our service?

“…Long-term assistance programs, such as those for obesity, borderline personality disorder, and drug abuse, are also associated with high dropout rates. In these instances, psychological factors may play a role in premature treatment discontinuation ( 9–11 ). Another study, aimed at investigating dropout rates and associated factors among patients with drug dependence, revealed that, from the patients’ viewpoint, motivational incongruities were deemed the primary cause for either refraining from initiating or discontinuing treatment ( 12 ).…”

An Integrated Approach to Addictive Behaviors: A Study on Vulnerability and Maintenance Factors

“…Gori and colleagues [ 5 ] elaborated an explanation of the relationship among these variables in gambling disorders by integrating previous scientific evidence [ 6 , 7 ]. Therefore, emphasis was placed on the experiences with caregivers and insecure attachment, and negative developmental environments were considered risk factors for addiction occurrence [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

“…These attachment failures might represent the source of childhood traumatic experiences [ 13 ] and deficits in emotion regulation skills [ 14 ], with difficulty modulating, processing, and communicating emotions (i.e., alexithymia; [ 15 ]) as a consequence; this condition, in turn, could lead to a defensive withdrawal into dissociated mental states to cope with painful emotions [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], which has been associated both theoretically and empirically with addictive behaviors [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. However, the escape into the temporary retreat of substance use or addictive behavior further hinders the possibility of developing regulatory skills [ 4 ] by pushing toward an impulsive and compulsive search for immediate (but not lasting) gratification and making the substance or behavior as central in the individual’s life with recurrent and persistent thoughts, therefore facilitating the perpetuation of the addiction and, ultimately, hindering the treatment [ 26 ].…”