What Causes Antisocial Personality Disorder?

Many mental health experts believe antisocial personality disorder develops because of a combination of inherited characteristics and environmental influences. Experts often find the tendency toward personality disorders to be genetic. Many also believe environmental influences, such as events that occur during a person's childhood, can actually trigger antisocial personality disorder and similar disorders. In many cases, people who were abused, had to deal with traumatic events as children, or had certain childhood mental health disorders have a higher risk of developing this type of disorder, but a person can develop it even if he did not suffer any of these problems as a child.

Genes influence much about the way a person looks. For example, a person's blue eyes or red hair may be attributed to the genes of one of his family members. Interestingly, scientists believe genes can influence a person's personality as well, including whether or not a person is very reserved or is more outgoing. By the same token, there is evidence that a person can be genetically more likely to develop a personality disorder. As such, if a person has a blood family member with antisocial personality disorder or another type of mental illness, the chances he will develop this disorder may prove higher.

Many experts in the mental health field also believe environmental factors, or a person's surroundings, play a role in the likelihood of developing antisocial personality disorder. For example, traumatic events, especially those a person had to face at a young age, can influence his chances of developing antisocial personality disorder. Mental health experts also believe child abuse and neglect as well as events such as the early deaths of one's parents can actually increase a person's chances of developing this mental condition. In particular, such environmental factors may have a triggering effect if the person also has a genetic risk for developing a personality disorder.

Evidence also suggests that a person who has other types of mental health issues might prove more likely to develop antisocial personality disorder. For example, research shows that people who have a lack of empathy for others may be more likely to develop this and other personality disorders. Likewise, people who had childhood conduct disorder may prove more at risk. Additionally, a person with any type of mental illness may have a higher risk of developing this condition than a person who is not mentally ill.