Journal of personality disorders
-
Case Reports
Sadistic personality disorder in perpetrators of human rights abuses: a South African case study.
Although state-sponsored human rights abuses have long been commonplace, the psychological profiles of perpetrators are not well delineated. This article examines the utility of the diagnosis of sadistic personality disorder (SPD) in explaining the commission of atrocities. The history of, and controversies surrounding, SPD are briefly reviewed. ⋯ The authors provide arguments for and against the use of the SPD diagnosis in this case and in similar contexts of perpetration. It is proposed that neither psychological reductionism nor social reductionism can adequately account for the motivations of political perpetrators, and an integrative approach to the understanding of perpetrators is advocated. Implications for diagnostic criteria are discussed.