There is gender bias in our current mental health diagnostic system. This bias occurs for three reasons.
- There are genuine gender differences in the manifestation of behavioral disorders.
- Those creating the diagnostic categories are biased.
- Those making the diagnoses are biased.
Each of these reasons for gender bias is operative with regard to sociopathy. We would hope though that gender differences found in behavioral disorders reflect true physiologic differences between men and women. This week I will attempt to convince you that physiologic differences between men and women account for the higher prevalence of sociopathy in men.
That men and women are different physiologically is apparent from our appearance. Other than the obvious difference in external genitalia, men are on average taller, stronger, have facial hair, deeper voices and smaller breasts. But take each of these secondary sex characteristics individually and you will see where the problem lies. There are some women who are taller than many men. There are other women who are physically very strong and others who have deep voices. Much money is spent on fixing the “problem” of facial hair and small breast size in some women. The point is that gender differences represent group differences in aggregate qualities.
The real question is, “is there some physical difference between men and women that causes more men to develop into sociopaths?” Alternatively, maybe we just label men with aggressive behavior sociopaths and we fail to label women, or we call them something else.
Hormones and sociopathy
There are two fairly consistent hormonal findings in sociopaths as a group. Sociopaths tend to have higher levels of masculine hormones like testosterone (androgens). They also have lower stress hormone (cortisol) output in response to stress. Higher androgen levels have been found in both male and female sociopaths. However, the abnormal stress hormone response to stress has only been documented for male sociopaths. There is one study that shows this characteristic is not present in female sociopaths. Hold this thought in mind because I am going to come back to it.
Borderline personality disorder is more common in women
Although more men than women are diagnosed with sociopathy, there is a sister condition to sociopathy that overwhelmingly more women get diagnosed with. That condition is borderline personality disorder (BPD). There is even more gender bias in the diagnosis of BPD than there is in the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD/sociopathy). It is relatively unusual for men to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
The DSM-IV defines BPD as: “a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.” If you have been involved with a sociopath, you may be saying, “Wow that sounds like my ex!” In fact many with ASPD could also be diagnosed with BPD and vise versa. Nearly 40% of a clinical population met criteria for BOTH disorders in one study.
Many psychoanalysts consider those with ASPD to have an “underlying borderline personality organization.” I can’t really comment on that because it all sounds like psychobabble to me. But I can comment on why there is so much over lap between borderline and antisocial personality disorders, and why one is more common in men and the other in women.
Over the course of human evolution, there has been substantial selection pressure for women to have empathy and self control. Simply speaking, a woman without these had much less chance to survive and reproduce. Empathy is important, but differentially important for males. Therefore, when our nervous systems develop under the influence of our sex steroids, it is relatively more unusual for a woman to develop completely devoid of empathy. Lack of empathy is a central characteristic of ASPD but is not as pronounced in BPD.
The development of ASPD and BPD
Mother Nature also selected for women who are more cautious, less risk taking and more fearful. This is why anxiety disorders are much more common in women. Fearlessness and risk taking are part of the ASPD diagnosis. Anxiety is a central feature of BPD.
On this blog, I have written a great deal about the human social dominance drive. This drive is also called the power motive or need for power. I have explained that this need for power motivates much of the sociopath’s behavior. The power motive is also largely under the influence of testosterone in both men and women. The power motive causes women with BPD to be “manipulative.” But they do not show the proactive aggression that characterizes ASPD. If they did, they would be called ASPD rather than BPD.
So why is there a gender difference in the manifestation of the power motive? The reason is stress hormones. There is an interesting overlap between sex hormones and stress hormones. The interplay between sex hormones and stress hormones is partly responsible for the development of ASPD, and an excessive focus on power in relationships. I believe this is the major reason why we more commonly see BPD in women and ASPD in men.
The hormonal stress response is different in males and females. In boys and men, stress activates the sympathetic nervous system and also releases cortisol from the adrenal gland. The sympathetic nervous system stimulates the testis to release more testosterone. This is likely why childhood stress is related to the development of ASPD in boys and is also why harsh punishment increases, not decreases aggressive behavior in problem boys. Stress substantially increases testosterone in many boys and testosterone increases power motivated behavior.
In social interactions, children learn submissive behavior due partly to cortisol released in response to encounters with adults who are dominant or more powerful. When the average at-risk boy has these power encounters with adults, his body releases more testosterone than cortisol. Thus, power struggles increase dominance/aggressive behavior in at risk boys because these boy’s adrenal glands do not release enough cortisol in response to stress.
Since women do not have testis, they do not have this androgen boost in response to stress. The adrenal glands of some women do release more androgens in response to stress, this is why stress is associated with the development of ASPD in some girls. Remember also, nearly all cultures pressure girls from an early age to suppress their dominance drives, whereas boys are encouraged to be competitive and aggressive.
Most women with BPD were sexually molested as young girls. A history of sexual molestation is also common in incarcerated women and in women diagnosed with ASPD. It is very likely that the body’s response to childhood stress dictates whether a woman develops ASPD as opposed to BPD.
There are many adults with ASPD and BPD who did not experience excessive childhood stress. Many of these adults had ADD/ADHD as children. Impulsivity is a primary symptom of ADHD, BPD and ASPD. In antisocial individuals this impulsivity is associated with the enjoyment of aggression and power over others. In BPD others are manipulated but the aggression is primarily directed at the self.
To sum it all up then, an out of control drive for social dominance is required for the full manifestation of ASPD. Sociopaths thrive on power. Physiologically, boys and men are predisposed to develop an excessive dominance drive. This difference in the power motive is responsible for part of the gender differences found in ASPD and BPD. The other part of the gender gap is explained by increased levels of anxiety in women.
Just to through a wild one out there . Is it possible that some alien genetic material got thrown into the mix and psychopaths just happen to have more of that alien DNA in them than the rest of us . These people are basically predators on the human species . The fact that they have different hormone levels than the average human would seem to be beside the point . If anything it would indicate , perhaps a different species . I’ll bet that pigs and cows have different levels of certain hormones than what humans have . In my mind trying to understand psychopaths in terms of hormone levels is rediculous . The reason these people cannot feel empathy and love for another human is because they are not human . Their nature would appear to be more similar to that of the black widow spider who eats her mate after mating . What I also find bizarre is the similarities between psychopaths . Its as if they have a universal consciousness . They all do the same stuff . I have read many books on psychopathy and thought to myself ,jokingly , the author must have met my X and wrote a book about her . The similarites go so far as playing the same head games , how is this possible when considering subjects from different countries that have never met . I suppose whats really scary is that the internet may be enpowering them . Even this website could be helping them develope new skills that they perhaps would not have picked up on . I read in one book that psychopaths , after therapy actually get worse as all the therapy tends to do is enlighten them to weaknesses in the human psyche . To me this all indicates a lack of humanity not just a variation .
Dear Quest,
It is very normal for groups of people (starting at the tribal level) to look at other tribes or groups as “bad” and having something about their make up that makes them “less than human” or “bad humans” (look at the German people’s views of the Jews, gypsies etc. during and before WWII) The de-humanization of the “other” makes it OK for us to hurt them or treat them poorly, or single them out for abuse.
Actually, the psychopaths de-humanize everyone else except themselves. They don’t have a functioning conscience or empathy so that makes them more easily able to do so.
I can step on a bug or kill a poison snake and not feel guilty about it at all–but my son D gets all over me for killing a poison snake because he says they are beneficial to the environment by eating rodents and other things that carry disease.
I tell him “I DO NOT CARE IF THEY EAT GODZILLA I have seen a poison snake bite and I do NOT WANT ONE and If they come into MY TERRITORY I will kill them.” PERIOD. So I have DE-VALUED poison snakes so that I have NO guilt about killing them. If I were to accidently kill a non-poison king snake though, I would be upset with myself because I VALUE them as rodent control and encourage them to live around here. They also eat poison snakes! If I come on one (a king snake) unexpectedly it may STARTLE me, but I won’t hurt it.
The radical Muslims have de-humanized non-Muslims and so to them it is okay, or even admirable to kill them. They were willing to kill themselves as they plunged planes into the Twin Towers on 9/11, but if we then turn around and DE-humanize ALL Muslims we are doing the same thing that they are doing, we are forming a “them” vs “Us” situation where WE are All OK and THEY are ALL NOT OK.
If a person had no arms and no legs it would not make them less than human, or if they are blind and had no arms and no legs, or were mute and had no arms and no legs and blind as well as deaf…where does “humanity” stop being human as you take away things that are “human attributes?”
How about the children born literally with empty skulls, they have no brain (just a brain stem like a snake that makes them breathe and be aware maybe of pain) are THEY human? Would it be okay to smother them? Put them out of their misery.
I think we have to be careful, and I just had this argument with a friend of mine a week or so ago about our tendency to de-humanize psychopaths because of their violence, their lack of bonding, their manipulation of others.
I used to fully believe in the death penalty, and I actually still do believe that there are some crimes for which someone who is guilty of them should be put to death—BUT at the same time I am not very trusting of our “justice’ system to do the right thing so I am actually against the death penalty now because after examining the number of INNOCENT PEOPLE that DNA evidence has shown were Convicted and sentenced to death or life without parole etc. that have been RELEASED from prison, I figure if they get life at least there might be a chance if they are innocent they might be released and have some portion of their life back, but if we execute them, there’s no home.
I think there is one innocent man on death row here in Arkansas now, bot 17-18 years and the two others he was convicted with that have had life sentences, are up for a review of the DNA evidence that looks like it will free them because they HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MURDERS they were railroaded for.
Recently a young man convicted of murder but given life was pardoned because DNA evidence showed he was INNOCENT and the cop that FRAMED HIM is on trial now. If he had been put to death, what could have been done for him?
I AM for harsher sentences and I think the fact that the VIOLENCE and other crime rates are LOWER THAN IN YEARS now is BECAUSE more of the psychopaths that are REPEAT offenders are locked up. (we have more people locked up now as a percentage of population than just about any country in the world) Put violent offenders in super max prison and throw away the key.
As much as I hate to admit that psychopaths are people/human, I think they are, and deserve a certain amount of “humane” treatment, but at the same time, I DO think that they must be controlled. If I had a dog that was violent and dangerous I would have NO problem putting it down, but I wouldn’t even put it down in an INHUMANE WAY. If a person is violent and I have to protect myself I will do it; and it is called “self defense,” and I won’t lose any sleep over doing what I have to do to protect myself. I won’t go out and seek revenge on someone though if they will leave me alone in safety in my own territory. Just like I won’t go out into the woods and hunt poison snakes, but if they come into my territory and I find them, I’ll defend my territory.
Dear Ox Drover,
I am not sure what your conclusion was . However consider this . I live in Grizzily bear country . If I go into the woods I always carry a 12 guage shot gun and about 3 cans of bear mace in case I should run into one by accident . I do not hunt any animal whether it be for trophy or food as I am for the most part vegetarian . In the last 20 years since I have been living here I have never had to kill any animal in self defence . I have had a few close calls when I have run into mother black bears with cubs . I have never run into a grizzily while walking as yet and I hope I never do . I know people who have been attacked by grizzily bears . They did not fair to well although they did survive to tell the story . Psychopaths have been a problem for humanity since the beginning of time it would seem . If you consider the more famous ones like Hitler , Caligular etc and perhaps some of our modern day leaders I think it is certainly time that humanity opened its eyes to the potential threat of these beings whether they are considered alien or non human or whatever . You can hardly class them as human any more than you would class a grizzily bear as human . Yogi bear may seem cute and funny and many unsuspecting american tourists come up here with that in mind it would seem . Occasionally some of them get to learn a lesson that they probably did not wish to learn . Yogi bites hard . The same is true of psychopaths . It is inperative that humanity realise the difference between a human and a psychopath . If you look at history it is hard to imagine that most of the wars that have occured did not have something to do with psychopathic involvement at the top . During the first world war there were so many incidences of almost total annialation because troops were sent to invade beaches where they were under fire from the cliffs above . The guy who ordered these invasions should have been put before a firing squad . Stupidity is one thing premeditated stupidity is unforgivable . Psychopaths hide in plain view and sometimes are declared hero’s because the public never gets to hear the whole story . There are enough unresolved questions about 911 to wonder, who were the true culprits . Defend yourself accordingly is my only advice as I can asure that a psychopath knows no mercy .
Quest,
it’s true, that’s how you know a psychopath: they know no mercy.
Kathy Krajco wrote that you could tell one because if you ask a person to please, have a heart, they will. But the psychopath just ramps it up. They have no heart.
But they are not aliens. They are monsters. if you look up monster, it is defined as something that deviates from it’s kind. So they ARE our kind. just grotesquely deviant.
a : an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure
b : one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character
2: a threatening force
3a : an animal of strange or terrifying shape
b : one unusually large for its kind
4: something monstrous; especially : a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty
5: one that is highly successful
Definition #5 is probably a new definition that applies because our society has become so narcissistic that monster is becoming the new normal. BLAH!
Dear Skylar, I agree with you 100%, I think they are deviant humans, but humans none the less. They have “missing parts” like a conscience and empathy.
Quest, You are right too that they show no mercy!
Back when I was a teenager and “knew everything” I thought wars were fought for “truth, justice, the American way and mom and apple pie”—but since then I have come to realize that wars are fought for GREED almost 100% and power is a form of greed.
Some people (psychopaths), and even others to some extent, will do whatever they want to regardless of the consequences to others. Hitler, Mao, Fidel, kings and dictators of all descriptions and all times. Whole societies and cultures believe that some group of humans are “less than we are” and so it is okay to enslave and use them. Women were “second class” for a long time even in western culture and in some cultures today are STILL objects to be owned by men.
That little girl from Iraq whose husband cut off her nose and ears is a perfect example. His is a cultural psychopathy I think, but he also may be a genetic psychopath, at this distance and just reading about it there’s no way to tell but what he did was EVIL in my mind, and his father showing off her nose like a trophy was pure EVIL, but what can you expect too…they were raised that women are not valuable humans, just like cattle.
From the standpoint of my cattle (which I butcher for beef) they view me as a psychopath because I eat them without guilt. I was raised that way, it is my culture—but at the same time, I don’t torture them because I do know they are living creatures and don’t deserve to suffer.
I hope you never meet a grizzly either, I’ve seen some awful photos of the injuries of the people who did survive. I’m glad you do protect yourself though!
Ox Drover,
I think conscience and empathy are what make humans human.
Missing those, then they may have humanoid bodies, but they are animals and not truly human.
My vote is with Skylar. They’re monsters.
Hmmm, G1S I refer to another thread which stated that even animals care for and bond with their young. Monsters do not
G1S,
What about UNconscious people, they have no empathy or conscience, are they human? What about children born ancephalic (without a brain) are they “human?” should they be smothered at birth? They can’t develop empathy or care for anyone or know the difference between right and wrong? How about children with autism, they have no consciences or empathy, are they ‘human?”
Empathy and a conscience (an ability to feel remorse for “wrong” acts) are only two of the qualities that most people have in SOME degree. Dr. Baren-Cohen who researches autism (which children/adults have little or no empathy) shows that empathy is possessed by most of humanity on the “bell curve” of from very little to none (a few) up to the middle in which most people fall, or up to a few on the opposite end of having an over abundance of empathy, just like the “bell shaped curve” of IQ or height or weight, or just about any other characteristic in humans that can be measured.
He sums up the lack of empathy in an autistic person as “Zero+” and the lack of empathy in a psychopath as “zero negative” because the autistic person though they have no empathy, do not enjoy hurting others, whereas the psychopath, having no empathy has “a glee” in hurting others.
Many animals, especially primates, do show empathy and shame, so not being human, they still may bond with their mates and/or their young, and their herd, pack or group.
But even acknowledging that psychopaths are “humans” doesn’t mean that they should not bear the consequences of their behavior.
the definition of monster is that it is truly the same species, only deformed beyond recognition.
The spath, when unmasked, fits that description. It is a mirror image of a human being. it is 180 degrees the opposite, yet resembles us in many ways, superficially, but with no depth.
It is because they are human that they must bear the consequences of their choices. Luckily, there is an omniscient being who can judge better than us, what kind of karma the spaths have reaped.
I’d like to address the question of power, which must have by default aggression factored in as well.
When my son was little and going through all the sports activities kids his age do, he clearly lacked the aggression that was evident in his better-playing teammates. In fact, since he is so tall (currently 6’5″,) he was often called a “gentle giant.” Based on what Dr. Leedom said here, it seemed that athletes would be more prone to sociopathy/psychopathy than others. I haven’t picked up on that in my readings, although you have to wonder about the prevalence of pedeophile coaches.
In contrast, my P sister has a masculine edge to her appearance. She has an “edge/hardness” to her and cannot tolerate “not doing anything.” She needs to be doing something all the time. She and my S mother both claim that they need to use up the energy that pulses through them. I’ve watched them appear agitated for no obvious reason. They may pace a bit, looking for something to do. They exhaust me sometimes because they will not sit down and take a break.
There is no question that I am far more feminine/pretty than my sister. She might be classified (a term I saw used for some women in the early 20th century) a “handsome” woman. I assume this is hormone related. That being said, I know lesbian women who are very masculine in appearance, but are also very kind, empathetic, and loving. So, just because somebody may appear more masculine, I’m not buying that they would be more prone to psychopathy. Maybe hormones are part of the equation, but I don’t think they are a defining factor.
If hormones factor into what makes a P a P, wouldn’t it then follow that male psychopaths etc. would be very masculine in appearance and athletic? Based on the photos that I have seen of known Ps, I don’t think this follows. And what type of masculinity exactly? Think of the big, line-backer types versus those who are very wirey. Two very different body types, but both very masculine in my mind. My P sister has a much more masculine body than I do. I’ve got all the curves (and body fat to go with it!) We used to joke that she looked like a line-backer – not big, but she lacked the curves and a more pronounced feminine appearance. I’ve got the curvy, big butt. Both my S mother and P sister are not hippy and have small butts. Sexually, my P sister likes men. She is on husband #3.
As for monsters, I think somebody who enjoys hurting others is deformed beyond recognition. I would modify what I said earlier by adding that if the person has the capability of knowing right from wrong, but still has glee over hurting or scamming somebody else, they are monsters. No, children born without brains or autistic children would not be monsters by that definition. They present no danger to their fellow human beings. Monsters are dangerous and kill for the sport of it.
Yes, I know that many animals bond and care for their young, but I also know that among certain primates that if a female loses her mate and a new male steps in, the new male may murder her off-spring by her former mate. The theory behind that is to give his off-spring by this female a better chance of survival, possibly even paving the way to eventually becoming the alpha male of the group. Killing the other male’s off-spring reduces the female’s need to care for other off-spring and makes more food available. Having been a pet owner all my life, I know that cats and dogs are capable of empathy, guilt, remorse, and shame.
I believe that it was Dr. Hare who pointed out that one theory why some males abandon their children may be due to some species never know their off-spring, such as fish, certain birds, or turtles. They deposit their sperm and move on. They are not even aware that off-spring have been born or that the infants of their species had anything to do with them. As humans evolved over the centuries, there may have been some males to whom Mother Nature gave this trait, i.e., impregnate but don’t bond or interact with the off-spring, just move on. This is all theory.
The bottom line is that I don’t think anybody really knows and that much more research is needed. It will be probably be many decades before anyone can even begin to make an educated guess.