Psychopathy: Antisocial, Criminal, and Violent Behavior [Hardcover]

Theodore Millon (Author), Erik Simonsen (Author), Morten Birket-Smith (Author), Roger D. Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 1998

Psychopathy remains one of the least understood personality disorders and one of the most intransigent to therapeutic amelioration. Better understanding of this disorder is not helped by its DSM definition, which specifies diagnostic criteria in terms of concrete antisocial behaviors rather than psychological dynamics. In a concerted effort to remedy this situation, Psychopathy brings together a distinguished array of contributors to provide an up-to-date review of this perplexing disorder, including its causation and manifestations. Etiological explanations range from genetic to cross-cultural influences. Encompassing all the significant viewpoints regarding the nature of psychopathic personalities, the volume surveys current typologies and treatment approaches. This volume would be of interest to clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, clinicians working in correctional facilities, health care settings, private practice and community-based programs as well as researchers and students.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is impressive in its scope, which is truly encyclopedic. It is remarkable for its treatment of both theory and research, for its international perspective, and for its inclusion of critical views. It should be required reading for everyone interested in this perplexing disorder." --Stephen D. Hart, PhD, Associate Professor and Associate Chair (Graduate) Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia

"This book is an indispensable reference for psychologists evaluating and treating antisocial populations. The book's greatest asset is its conceptual framework that elucidates antecedent and comorbid conditions that complicate the assessments and subsequent interventions. Countering popular perspectives that psychopaths are untreatable, the book offers valuable treatment alternatives and reviews existing research on their effectiveness." --Richard Rogers, PhD, University of North Texas

About the Author

Theodore Millon ,PhD,DSc , Institute for advanced Studies in Personology and Psychopathology, Coral Gables ,Florida ,
Erik Simonsen ,MD , Institute of Personality Theory and Psychopathology , Roskilde ,Denmark ,
Morten Birket-Smith ,MD, Department of Psychiatry , Bispebjerg University Hospiyal , Copenhagen ,Denmark
Roger D. Davis ,PhD , Institute for advanced Studies in Personology and Psychopathology , Coral Gables ,Florida.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 476 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1st edition (August 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572303441
• ISBN-13: 978-1572303447
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly "Bedtime Reading," but Really Useful, April 16, 2008

By 

Rodger Garrett "SighKoBlahGrr" (Loma Linda, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Psychopathy: Antisocial, Criminal, and Violent Behavior (Paperback)

Michael Stone and Joel & Ethan Coen fans and Donnie Darko's of the world, -this- one's for you. (I may need a month laying out on the beach, myself, after wading through this thing.)

I'd read Millon's other work on the antisocial and sadistic personalities. I'd read Stone's, Bobby Hare's and Reid Meloy's stuff. I can administer a PCL-R from memory. I thought this would be "edifying." It's more like -really disturbing-.

Millon and his estimable crew, including all the afforementioned along with criminal behavior stalwarts like Eysenck, Blackburn, Lykken, Parris, Dorr, Dolan, and the emminent Otto Kernberg, cover the whole nasty matter as well as it ever been done in any single volume I've ever seen and very much -then- some.

At the tariffs for which it is available here, the society-damning piece by John Lykken is worth the price of admission all by itself. The same could be said about Bridget Dolan's inside look at the therapeutic community model most widely used in the Veterans' Administration Health System's immense, nationwide substance abuse treatment program (the largest by far in the world).

Or Henry Richards' -superior- examination of the developmental path to the likes of "Anton Chigruh." Or Kernberg's incredible grasp of object relations as it applies to the full range of deviant behavior. Anyone who thinks he can tangle with these people without understanding Otto's grasp of transference and counter-transference in this milieu is probably out of his mind.

The sociology or criminal justice major can legitimately expect to build 75 percent of his major papers through the master's level on the material and references laid out here. If one has the wherewithall to tolerate the affective upshots and questions one may ask about -themselves-, the foundation for a career in probation, corrections or rehabilitation management is all here in 450 pithy pages. I daresay this book will demystify a lot of complexities for police detectives and even cops on the beat.

If you're dealing with psychopaths, you're playing with fire. Here's a hose.

SighKoBlahGrr

33 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very comprehensive review of psychopathy, April 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Psychopathy: Antisocial, Criminal, and Violent Behavior (Hardcover)

Utilizing this book in writing a paper for graduate school, I found it to be very helpful and thorough. The foremost experts in antisocial personality disorders and psychopathy have collaborated to comment on everything from history and etiology, to recent developments in comorbidity and treatment. A must have for anyone interested in the subject.

-Lee Cohen

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent material, but slow going, January 1, 2005

By 

J. L. Derringer - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Psychopathy: Antisocial, Criminal, and Violent Behavior (Hardcover)

Offers a wonderfully comprehensive collection of current theories and trends, but is (for the most part) *very* dry reading.