There are numerous issues that may undermine the proper formation of a personality during childhood and adolescence. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the challenges that affect children and teenagers and lead to the development of a broad spectrum of symptoms that may indicate the early stages of mental disorders. The application of the DSM-5 framework allows for enhanced analysis of patients’ behavior. Thus, despite the complex nature of Pete’s case, it is crucial to make the right diagnosis in a due manner to ensure an efficient treatment process.
Pete is described as a teenager with completely different life experiences. A wide spectrum of feelings and emotions influenced him negatively. The adolescent demonstrates arrogance and indifference towards the feelings of people around him, even his caring adoptive parents. Despite being generally perceived as an appealing young man, Pete shows little interest in people’s attention, which may reveal some of the origins of his attitude to others and can help assign the correct diagnosis. Moreover, the problems Pete demonstrates while communicating with peers and adults allows for the full investigation of a wide range of symptoms associated with certain disorders.
Although the symptoms the patient demonstrates may point to various stages and phases of obsessive-compulsive, bipolar, and depressive disorders, the analysis of the entire picture points to the development of an antisocial personality disorder. This mental health issue is generally characterized by established patterns of violation of the rights of others. Moreover, patients suffering from the disorder, in most cases, show diminished ability to establish long-term relationships with people. Therefore, the diagnosis helps explain Pete’s decision to communicate predominantly with a group of counterculture teenagers that reject most social norms. The desire to be accepted, combined with the lack of necessity to establish proper relationships, may have originally motivated Pete to spend a substantial amount of time with these adolescents.
Personality disorders, in general, are characterized by a wide range of maladaptive patterns of behavior and cognition. People diagnosed with personality disorders may experience challenges in emotiveness, interpersonal functioning, cognition, or impulse control. Moreover, it is also crucial to take into consideration peer influence and pressure that Pete experienced when assigning the diagnosis and deciding on the most efficient treatment. According to Andrews et al. (2021), hypersensitivity to social rejection and heightened susceptibility to peer influence in adolescence can lead to both risky and prosocial behavior in the presence of peers. Therefore, it is essential to make Pete feel needed and valued again in order to make him be motivated by his parents and teachers.
Pete tries to refrain from any efforts to assist him, as he rejects having troubles with establishing proper relationships and fitting into society. Moreover, his failed attempts to overcome the numerous issues associated with antisocial personality disorder led to the development of even more severe symptoms, which include extreme anxiety, distress, or depression. It was Pete’s impaired psychosocial functioning that led him into anxiety about the police trying to arrest him.
The above mentioned evidence suggests that Pete demonstrates all the symptoms that are strongly associated with an antisocial personality disorder. Therefore, it is crucial to address the issue duly, as this mental disorder tends to cause the most harm in people aged 24 to 44. Psychologists should guide parents in the development and establishment of a complex framework that can assist Pete in his attempts to reintegrate into society fully. The patient’s ability to admit having a wide range of problems rooted in the permanent sense of anxiety indicates the initial motivation to start the treatment process.
References
Andrews, J. L., Ahmed, S. P., & Blakemore, S. J. (2021). Navigating the social environment in adolescence: The role of social brain development. Biological Psychiatry, 89(2), 109 –118. Web.