Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 7-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

‘Dangerous and severe personality disorder’: A psychiatric manifestation of the risk society

‘Dangerous and severe personality disorder’: A psychiatric manifestation of the risk society This paper analyses the newly proposed United Kingdom (UK) psychiatric diagnosis of ‘dangerous and severe personality disorder’ (‘DSPD’). The aim is to show how the category of ‘DSPD’ manifests aspects of Beck's analysis of the ‘risk society’ and poststructural ‘governmentality’ approaches to understanding the notion of risk. Concepts such as ‘dangerousness’, ‘violence’ and ‘risk’ are critically reviewed in relation to ‘DSPD’ and are found to be less than objective. The paper interrogates the political underpinnings of this newly proposed diagnosis and analyses pre-existing frameworks of potential utility for developing further understanding of dangerousness and violent behaviour. Key issues are critically discussed in relation to the concept of ‘dangerousness’ including the reliability of assessment tools, the socioeconomic status of those potentially diagnosed with DSPD and detention without committing any prior offence. The paper also discusses the potential for conflict between the proposed legislation, the UK Human Rights Act 1998, healthcare practice and the likelihood of divided professional loyalties. The paper argues that this newly proposed public health policy has a sociopolitical rather than psychiatric rationale for justifying psychiatric detention and, as such, is a psychiatric manifestation of the late modern culture of risk. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Critical Public Health Taylor & Francis

‘Dangerous and severe personality disorder’: A psychiatric manifestation of the risk society

Corbett, Kevin; Westwood, Tristen
Critical Public Health , Volume 15 (2): 13 – Jun 1, 2005
Download PDF
13 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/taylor-francis/dangerous-and-severe-personality-disorder-a-psychiatric-manifestation-Phwe8W5KQb

References (62)

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN
1469-3682
eISSN
0958-1596
DOI
10.1080/09581590500144918
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper analyses the newly proposed United Kingdom (UK) psychiatric diagnosis of ‘dangerous and severe personality disorder’ (‘DSPD’). The aim is to show how the category of ‘DSPD’ manifests aspects of Beck's analysis of the ‘risk society’ and poststructural ‘governmentality’ approaches to understanding the notion of risk. Concepts such as ‘dangerousness’, ‘violence’ and ‘risk’ are critically reviewed in relation to ‘DSPD’ and are found to be less than objective. The paper interrogates the political underpinnings of this newly proposed diagnosis and analyses pre-existing frameworks of potential utility for developing further understanding of dangerousness and violent behaviour. Key issues are critically discussed in relation to the concept of ‘dangerousness’ including the reliability of assessment tools, the socioeconomic status of those potentially diagnosed with DSPD and detention without committing any prior offence. The paper also discusses the potential for conflict between the proposed legislation, the UK Human Rights Act 1998, healthcare practice and the likelihood of divided professional loyalties. The paper argues that this newly proposed public health policy has a sociopolitical rather than psychiatric rationale for justifying psychiatric detention and, as such, is a psychiatric manifestation of the late modern culture of risk.

Journal

Critical Public Health – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jun 1, 2005

There are no references for this article.