Psychopathy as a cause of violent crime in South Africa : a study into the etiology, prevelance and treatment of psychopathy as a cause of violence with particular reference to domestic violence in South Africa

Abstract

Murder, rape, corruption and gang wars, sounds like something out of a bad movie but for many it is their way of life and not a movie they can stop. Many people today live with the constant threat of attack and the threat is often not by some stranger but someone they know, their neighbour, their uncle, their father, their domestic worker and on occasion even their own mother. As crime escalates more people are asking the question,"Why this rapid increase in crime and why is there such an increase in the number of violent crimes?" South Africa is well known, unfortunately, for its high crime rate and in particular it's exceptionally high violent crime rate. South Africa is rated in the top 10 for the highest murders per capita (UNDOC 2011). Over the past 20 years the number of violent crimes has progressively increased and the reason for this increase needs to be examined. there appears to be a rapid increase in the number of people presenting personality disorders in society. A number of studies have been conducted on the etiology of anti-social personality disorder and on psychopathology. In the past the majority of these studies had been conducted in developed countries and in the past few years a number of studies have started to be conducted in developing countries. Although very interesting with great insight very few have tried to examined any trends and differences between developed and developing countries. During the course of these studies it has been observed that inmates and people exhibiting Psychopathy traits are more likely to commit violent crimes and in addition reoffend. The thesis proposed examines trends between developed and developing countries to find any links between crime and psychopathology and in addition the etiology, prevalence and prevention of psychopathology. The study will identify a number of models utilised to understand violence in society and personality disorders with particular reference to psychopathy. The study is being done in order to obtain a better understanding of a link between psychopathology and escalating crime in South Africa and what, if anything can be done to decrease this prevelance. This thesis outlines a number of diagnostic tools utilised in order to determine if a person is indeed suffering from psychopathy. Each one of these is discussed and the validity of each considered for both developed and developing countries as a diagnostic tool. The study clearly show that there are a number of unanswered questions around psychopathy within South Africa and that more research within a South African context needs to be conducted if this disorder is to be properly understood.