NCJ Number
228718
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 14 Issue: 5 Dated: September/October 2009 Pages: 306-312
Date Published
October 2009
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from a literature review on the empirical basis for the existence of a relationship between Asperger's syndrome (AS) and violence risk and the identification of a link between AS and increased risk of violence.
Abstract
The main finding of this literature review is that despite anecdotal reports of increased violence risk in people with Asperger's syndrome (AS), little systematic research about its frequency and character has been published. This finding suggests that (1) there is no empirical evidence to support a claim that there is a link between AS and violence and (2) because of the paucity of studies on this issue, there is no evidence to preclude the claim that there is an increased risk of violence in persons with AS. However, findings indicate possible patterns of dynamics of violence that may prove typical of persons with AS. A tentative comparison of AS and psychopathy indicated that there might be qualitative differences in the characteristics of violent behavior between the disorders. AS was believed, by Hans Asperger, to be caused by genetic factors or brain damage and labeled autistic psychopathy. Asperger believed persons with autistic psychopathy had a stable personality disorder marked by social isolation. AS individuals' intellectual skills are intact; however, they engage in long-lasting, one-sided, sometimes incoherent formalistic speech. Through a review of the literature, this article delineated findings on the empirical basis for the existence of a relationship between AS and violence risk and examined whether certain characteristics of the disorder might have a higher violence-triggering potential. Figure, tables, and references