Tom Riddle and Antisocial Personality Disorder (Sociopathy)

I LOVE my abnormal psych class. Easily my favorite one this semester if not my entire college career. I just finished one of our assignments and decided to share a snippet or two of it here. It certainly isn't my best written paper, but it was easily one of my favorite to ever write. The lovely paper was nine pages long, but I digested a bunch of it for your reading pleasure. You're welcome.

Patient Profile

Full Name: Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr.

Birth Date: December 31, 1928

Eye Color: Blue/Red

Hair Color: Bald

Weight: 190

Height 6' 3''

Referral

The reasons for Tom’s referral are almost innumerable. His continual murders are the most prominent characteristic of concern. Tom has illegally controlled, tortured and killed countless wizards and muggles using the three unforgivable curses. He shows a complete lack of remorse for his actions and seems to actually derive an intense pleasure from killing. He has admitted to killing muggles in particular for the sole purpose of amusement. Another characteristic of concern is his grandiose sense of self-worth and his exaltation of himself in all aspects (Lykkan 2006). Tom believes he is the most powerful and most important wizard to ever live. This belief instills a sense of entitlement for anything he desires whether it is legal or not. Tom commands a small band of followers known as the Death Eaters who he demands refer to him as “Lord Voldemort” or any other title of superiority. He tortures those in the group who do not treat him with the upmost reverence. Should one of his Death Eaters displease him in anyway, Tom will mercilessly kill them. He tends to kill the displeasing Death Eaters in front of the others in the group as means of reinforcing his superiority and terrifying his followers into complete submission. His continual and extreme disregard for the law and more importantly, humanity, are areas of serious concern.

Diagnosis

Tom Riddle meets all of the criterions of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) for Antisocial Personality Disorder. The first criterion consists of a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others indicated by meeting three of the seven outlined personality patterns. Tom definitively meets five of the listed seven patterns: (1) Tom consistently shows a failure to adhere to lawful behaviors through his numerous murders and use of illegal curses. (2) He repeatedly lies to not only those closest to him, the Death Eaters, but to anyone he desires to manipulate. (3) He uses aggression and terror as tactics to attain his desire for power. He also shows no remorse for “having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another” (DSM-IV-TR). (4) Tom is easily irritated by the minutest things, such as an individual laughing, and responds aggressively by torturing or killing the one causing him annoyance. (5) Tom’s only concern is for his own well being, but he shows a complete disregard for the safety of both those he knows personally and strangers alike.

The second and third criterion for antisocial personality disorder are that the individual is at least 18 years old and there is evidence of conduct disorder before the age of 15. As Tom is roughly 71-years-old, he far exceeds the necessary age limit to be diagnosed with this disorder. Knowledge of his past aggression, cruelty, superficial charm, and deceitfulness while in the orphanage indicates he likely had conduct disorder before entering Hogwarts at age eleven.

Reviewing the stories known of his childhood, it appears he had conduct disorder opposed to oppositional defiant disorder. While still at the orphanage, the workers described Tom as extremely odd and frightening at times and at others the most polite little boy one could ever encounter. There are no known instances of Tom purposely defying the workers other or arguing with them (Czunder 2005). As previously mentioned, Tom often stole possessions from the other children and hoarded them like trophies. Tom usually initiated fights and after getting into one with a fellow orphan boy, he hung the boy’s rabbit from the rafters in the boy’s bedroom. Another occasion indicating Tom’s having conduct disorder occurred a year before he left the orphanage for Hogwarts. He took two orphans, Dennis Bishop and Amy Benson, into a cave while on a field trip. The worker, Mrs. Anne Cole, who was with the children during the field trip said Tom did something so horrifying to Amy and Dennis while in the cave that the children were unable to speak for months afterward.

Tom does not have schizophrenia or manic episodes characteristic of bi-polar disorder. There is no record of him having delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, or lack of motivation. On the contrary, Tom has excessive motivation in achieving any and all of his plans. Though Tom has an inflated sense of self-worth, he shows no signs of a flight of ideas, distractibility, or decreased need for sleep.

Another unlisted characteristic in the DSM-TR-IV, but included in the Hare’s Revised Psychopathy Checklist is superficial glibness or charm (Hare & Neumann 2006). “People with this disorder appear to be charming at times, and makes relationships, but to them, these are relationships in name only. They are ended whenever necessary or when it suits them…. They seem to have an innate ability to find weakness in people, and are ready to use these weaknesses to their own ends through deceit, manipulation, or intimidation and gain pleasure from doing so” (Blais, Smallwood, and Groves 2008). The previous mentioned instances of Tom killing his most faithful followers meet the criterion of ending relationships whenever it suits the individual. Tom has also shown instances of being able to perfectly pinpoint weakness in others and play upon those for his purposes.

Treatment

There are only a few options for treatment of this disorder. “A combination of firm but fair programming that emphasizes teaching individuals skills that can be used to live independently and productively within the rules and limits of society” (Sheil 2011) has been shown to be effective. Medications to help treat some of the comorbid conditions, anxiety and depression, should they exist, have also proven to be effective. Tom, however, shows no sign of anxiety or depression. With Tom’s numerous murders on his record, he will likely be sentenced to the forensic unit of the newly renovated Azkaban Mental Hospital for life. Treatment options should focus on helping Tom adjust to life in prison specifically focusing on teaching him interpersonal skills to reduce incidents with fellow patients and staff.