title: Experiential avoidance, empathy, and anger-related attitudesin antisocial personality disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In prevailing opinion, a strong relation exists between lack of empathy and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). However, recent data fail to wholly clarify this relation, especially in consideration of empathy dimensions. In this study our aim was to address ASPD and social functionality from a contextual behavioral science viewpoint.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study was conducted with a sample of 34 individuals with ASPD and 32 healthy individuals as the control group. The participants were assessed with a sociodemographic form, Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM I and II (SCID-I and SCID-II), Social Functioning Scale (SFS), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II for measuring experiential avoidance, Interpersonal Reactivity Index for measuring empathy dimensions, and the State-Trait Anger Scale for anger-related attitudes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Experiential avoidance, dysfunctional anger regulation patterns, and lack of perspective-taking levels were higher in the ASPD group than in the control group. Experiential avoidance and perspective-taking processes were related with social functioning in ASPD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings may provide initial data for understanding ASPD clinical features and related social interaction problems. Further relations between scales and social functionality also analyzed and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Bakırköy Mazhar Osman Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Education and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kaasım Fatih
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Yavuz
authors.affiliation: Bakırköy Mazhar Osman Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Education and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Oktay
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Şahin
authors.affiliation: Elazığ State Hospital for Mental Health, Elazığ, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sevinç
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ulusoy
authors.affiliation: Iğdır State Hospital for Mental Health, Iğdır, Turkey.
authors.forename: Okan Ufuk
authors.initials: OU
authors.lastname: İpek
authors.affiliation: Bakırköy Mazhar Osman Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Education and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erhan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kurt
mesh_terms: D000786:Anger; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder; D004645:Empathy; D006801:Humans; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Anti-social personality disorder; anger; empathy; experiential avoidance; perspective-taking; psychological flexibility