Forensic mental healthcare module. critical analysis Essay tittle-

Forensic mental healthcare module. critical analysis tittle- VIOLENCE RISK AMONG PEOPLE WITH SEVERE PERSONALITY DISORDER - Essay Example There have been violence risk assessment schemes devised to measure the risk based on common standards (Webster and Hucker, 2007, p.44). Before exploring such risk assessment tools, it is paramount to understand the causes and nature of personality disorder and also the existing psychological theories on the same. Biological aspects The earliest reported diagnostic tendency in history, linked with personality disorders was to find a connection of heredity and genetics with the said disorder. It was Patrick (qtd. in Forrest, 1994) who carried out the â€Å"first comprehensive genealogical investigations of psychopathy and heredity† (p.70). The findings of that study as well as other studies that followed have suggested â€Å"between 50 and 70 percent of psychopaths have ancestral disturbance† (Forrest, 1994, p.70). Studies that were conducted in 1980s and 1990s also have proved the same (Forrest, 1994, p.71). The studies which investigated the biological aspects of perso nality disorder included twin studies, family studies, adoption studies, and also â€Å"criminality, male homosexuality and alcoholism† studies (Russell and Hersov, 1983, p.25). But there also has existed a counter argument, which says that there is no connection between heredity and psychopathy (Cloninger, Reich and Guze, 1975). An aberration in the chromosomal pattern was identified in early research as one aspect of the biological side of a personality disorder (Forrest, 1994, p.72). A study conducted â€Å"among mentally subnormal male criminals† had found that their genetic structure has an â€Å"extra Y chromosome† (Forrest, 1994, p.72). This genetic pattern has been named as â€Å"XYY genotype† and the characteristics of the individual having this chromosomal pattern have been described as â€Å"extreme episodic violence or aggression, low intelligence, behavioral pathology, and gonadal abnormalities† (Forrest, 1994, p.72). But more recent r esearch has refuted this assumed violence risk associated with XYY chromosome (Forrest, 1994, p.72). Another approach has been to link personality disorders to â€Å"brain damage and neurologic pathology† (Forrest, 1994, p.72). This is to suggest that a personality disorder is the result of a neurological disorder (Forrest, 1994, p.72). Further explorations in this direction have concluded that the major cause of a personality disorder is the damage to hypothalamus and this in turn might be the result of â€Å"hereditary or genetic factors as well as intrauterine or post-birth head trauma† (forrest, 1994, p.72). Hare (1970) has made another interesting observation in which it is argued that a psychopath often has lesions inside the brain, which impair the psychopath’s skill to control behavior which may invite social disapproval. Psychological perspectives & theories From a psychological point of view, personality disorders can be defined as personality â€Å"s ystems that are poorly functioning and/or inefficiently adapting to the requirements of contemporary society† (Magnavita, 2004, p.3). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- IV) has defined a personality disorder as â€Å"an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment†