ABSTRACT
Psychopathy and ASPD are diagnostic frameworks that help us to understand the emotional and behavioural characteristics of people who engage in violent offending.
Psychopathic individuals differ from people with ASPD in terms of high levels of grandiosity, charm, self-centredness, a capacity for manipulation and a lack of empathy and remorse. They tend to engage in pre-planned, goal-driven violence that confers some form of benefit for the individual. This is known as instrumental violence.
People with ASPD differ from those with psychopathy in terms of their emotional instability and typically chaotic lifestyle. They tend to engage in emotionally-driven, impulsive violence that is prompted by an immediate trigger. This is known as reactive violence.
