Case Studies on Dissocial Personality—Bad or Ill?

Dissocial personality is understood as a personality that does not ideologize most social norms and is characterized by a lack of empathy. Precise criteria for diagnosing dissocial personality are included in the ICD-10 classification, which is still in force in Poland. This classification is widely available in both Polish and English. In Poland, there is a fairly wide range of assistance available for people with personality disorders in day care units and 24-h wards for the treatment of personality disorders. Unfortunately, due to some antisocial behaviors that violate the criminal law in force in Poland, people with dissocial personality are placed in prisons. The development of dissocial personality depends on both genetic factors and the demoralizing influence of the social environment. The mutual interactions of genetic and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of dissocial personality can be analyzed both using statistical methods for large groups and by analyzing a case study, which is a qualitative study and is underestimated in modern medicine. Due to the complex pathogenesis of dissocial personality, various ethical dilemmas arise, and the extent of the guilt for the committed, prohibited act depends on genetic factors and brain structure and to some extent on environmental factors. The apparent ability of people with dissocial personality to look into their own actions leaves doctors always with the question of how sick or bad the person is. In this study, we used the method of qualitative analysis of case studies of two patients treated in a 24-h personality disorder treatment unit of the Department of Neuroses, Personality Disorders and Eating Disorders of the Second Psychiatric Clinic of the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw.