ABSTRACT
Otto Kernberg, an influential and well-known American psychoanalyst, has contributed much to a developmental object relations understanding of antisocial personality, his preferred term. This paper, which first appeared in Psychiatric Clinics of North America in 1989, draws heavily on the object relations theory of Edith Jacobson to formulate a diagnostic understanding of various antisocial psychologies. Kernberg underscores the centrality of pathological narcissism, superego deficits, and sadism in psychopathy. He also mentions some important treatment and transference guidelines that should be helpful to most clinicians.
