The association between Antisocial Personality and Somatization Disorders: A review and integration of theoretical models

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Abstract

Evidence from several sources is consistent with the possibility that antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and somatization disorder (SD) are sex-differentiated manifestations of the same underlying predisposition. Following a discussion of diagnostic issues and a brief review of data on the relation between ASPD and SD, four models of the association between the two syndromes are reviewed; the frontal lobe model, the efferent inhibition model, the behavioral disinhibition model, and the negative emotionality model. Behavioral disinhibition may lead to recurrent antisocial and risk-taking behaviors in some individuals, resulting in elevated negative emotionality and a propensity to develop somatic symptoms. Factors that might be responsible for channeling the diathesis to ASPD and SD into sex-differentiated alternative pathways are discussed.

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