Posted on 07/17/2008 10:25:41 AM PDT by Abathar
What can tattoos tell psychiatrists about the mental state of prisoners locked up after being judged unfit to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of insanity? Plenty, according to a Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry study published in the journal Personality and Mental Health.
Body art may be a tip-off that inmates are suffering from antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), a mental condition characterized by, among other traits, a lack of empathy for others, remorselessness about crimes committed, pathological lying, cheating and stealing as well as physical and emotional aggressiveness.
Researchers studied a sample of 36 inmates at a maximum security state psychiatric facility and diagnosed 11 of 15 tattooed inmates as having ASPD. The inked inmates were also more likely than their bare-skinned peers to have been sexually abused, addicted to drugs or had attempted suicide. No word on whether the type of art correlated with a prisoner's mental state.
One look at the type of tats and where they are on a someone tells me all I need to know whether to be wary of them or not when I meet them.
grellis, MI ping (kinda)
the rest of you, what’s the over/ under on the TS/ AA comments?
ASPD?! Holly cow! They’ve discovered what’s wrong with democrats!
What a study, I would bet, each and every person on death row, drank milk.
I have nothing against tattoos per se- my wife has one and I'm toying with the idea of getting inked myself.
But you're right- you look at how some people get inked (neck tattoos, face tattoos) and you can tell quite a bit about them
yep. that’s right this relates to EVERYONE with tattoos. never mind the study was conducted in a PRISON, where the “mental state of prisoners locked up after being judged unfit to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of insanity”
I wonder if they looked at the tatoo’s of MS-13 gangbangers. The shrinks probably think they should get amnesty and a new trial, after all, our own Attorney General Gonzales said they were just ‘misunderstood youths’.
i’ve got a lot of them. difference between me and other with as many as i have.. i’m in a short sleeved, button down shirt and khakis. you can’t see any of the dozen i have.
stand me next to one of my friends who has the same amount and i look normal, where he’s “scary”
I stay away from tattoo threads here...I am sick of being called nasty derogatory names because i have them.
ASPD - that’s lib-speak for “he’s not a bad person, he just has a disorder and needs to be helped.”
Maybe I’ll use this in my defense the next time I act like an a$$ at work. I’ll claim rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
You can tell a lot about a woman if you realize the second that you meet her that she has a large tattoo on the small of her back.
Not too successfully, it appears ;)
Just a hunch here, but I'm guessing that Monet's water lilies aren't a feature of anyone's full sleeve at San Quentin.
Ah yes, the aptly-named “tramp stamp.”
Just like now.
:o)
So what were the Clinton tats?
Which, if you want a job in any white-collar or professional capacity, is a smart move.
But someone who gets tattoos that are visible in the outfit you described has either decided they want no part of those types of jobs, or never really thought through the long-term consequences of getting "Satan Rules!" tattooed on his forehead.
Either way, it tells you certain things about that person.
How old are you, by the way? I'm 32 and I've noticed a definite generational split on tattoos. Older people still seem to automatically conclude that tattoos are only for lowlifes, but that isn't the case with younger people.
Prisoners...after they shave their heads, they should put them all in burqas.
Guy came to my door yesterday with complete lawn service equipment and fair price. He had a necklace tat and a teardrop tat on his upper right cheekbone. Haven’t hired him, but does anyone know if these have any special significance?
(creo speak)
Too soon old..too late smart.
A teardrop tattoo is said to indicate that the wearer has killed someone or a friend of his/hers was killed in prison. It is worn by the eye.
Just damn.
You and me both.
But you gotta understand..... these people that call you this are perfect in every way and they have absolutely no skeletons in their closets and they, nor any member of their family, have never ever done anything wrong. EVER.
So they have the right to call you whatever they like.
Very true, in general.
The tat removal biz must be lucrative these days. ...or will be. I watched the MLB All-Star game a couple days ago and they did a profile on ex-heroin addict (and now comeback kid of the year) Josh Hamilton, who claims he's keeping his pre-recovery tats only because their removal is just too physically painful.
Gotcha...
Nothing says “slut” like a tat on the butt.
I think it’s pretty cool you get right to the small of a woman’s back the second you meet her...
Wow! No wonder Psychiatrists get the big bucks. It takes a medical professional to suspect violent behavior from a guy with tattoos that say, “Kill ‘em all!” and “I love the smell of fresh blood in the morning!” “Look at me and die!”
i’m 30. and i agree with you about most of the people i know with visible ones. cooks, bartenders, mechanics, factory workers, union workers etc. but not always.
i know a couple higher up white collar professionals that have any number of them.
as far as generational split.. there’s really not one. i know just as many boomers - not all of them bikers or military- that either have, or just like tattoos, as those opposed to them. just as i know plenty of people my age that look down on those of us with them.
This is the ultimate tat (she says with modesty)
http://3-116thsniper.blogspot.com/2007/12/my-new-favorite-tattoo.html
I used to know a public defender who told me about the client he had once who had “TRUST NO BITCH” tattooed across his forehead.
Good luck, that is one of the few disorders not protected by the ADA. Also on that list is compulsive gambling, pyromania and cross dressing.
I'm sure I've met a number of women who have such tattoos but which were not visible.
Oh, so do I. My wife is a lawyer and she has a tat, as do several other lawyers, doctors and other professionals in our social circle.
Based on personal experience (ahem) a good number of professional women are sporting ink under their business wear.
Ever since I read about the death camps and the role that tattoos played there, numbering and lampshades and such, I’ve looked at tattooes with disgust.
You sure can and I for one have no problem with what is says about me
“antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)”
WTF? They need a disorder for “meaner than a snake?”
People have been tattooing themselves for thousands of years. The Nazis used tattoos for a vile purpose, but that doesn't indict all tattoos.
They probably think that the MS-13 gangsters need to be allowed to remain in the US where they can receive treatment at taxpayer expense and Social Security Disability checks for the rest of their lives.
I don’t mind artfull tattoos at all, I could care less.
Someone walks up to me with a nazi insignia on his forhead I am not going to want to share a beer with the guy I don’t care how “nice” he seems.
Not sure on the necklace tat, but the teardrop, in certain circles, could mean that he has killed someone (or is saying he killed someone).
Way overdone.
mine are all artful. all are easily concealed. but i’m with you on some of the stuff out there. inverted croses, flaming skulls, gang signs, drug references.. not so much. but having as many as i do, i’m more likely to at least talk to them.
for example, there’s a pastor i’ve met who has nearly a full body suit, some of the most tasteless work i’ve seen. and he wear them with pride. he refuses to remove them, even tho its been offered, as it gives him a testimony to share. a real, “this is who i USED to be” confession.
but if i saw him on the street not knowing him.. i’d be very cautious around him.
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