Self-control strength in prison inmates with antisocial personality disorder

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the difference in self-control strength between individuals with and without antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) in a Chinese male prisoner sample. Thirty-seven male inmates who met the criteria for DSM-IV ASPD and 38 who did not were asked to watch a four-minute silent videotape of an interview, and ignore the words displayed on screen during the videotape to deplete their ego strength. A handgrip task was conducted both before and after watching the videotape, with participants’ time squeezing the handgrip being the dependent variable. Result showed a significant interaction between group (ASPD/no-ASPD group) and time (baseline/post-manipulation measure). The post-manipulation result was significantly worse than the baseline result for the ASPD group, but not for the no-ASPD group. These results indicate that tasks that contribute to ego depletion lead to a deficit of self-control strength in prisoners with ASPD.

Keywords:

• self-control
• antisocial personality disorder
• prisoner
• ego depletion

Additional information

Funding

Funding. This research was supported by The Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China [grant number 2010CB833903] and Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.