That's a good question. And an important one. George Will points out that the psychiatrist's "Bible" (the "DSM" - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is undergoing revision after 16 years. It diagnoses new mental maladies that look suspiciously like character flaws or simply undeveloped moral behavior.
The nub of Will's article occurs 2/3rds of the way through the piece:
. . . Intellectual chaos can result from medicalizing the assessment of character. Today's therapeutic ethos, which celebrates curing and disparages judging, expresses the liberal disposition to assume that crime and other problematic behaviors reflect social or biological causation. While this absolves the individual of responsibility, it also strips the individual of personhood, and moral dignity.
Reading Will's article reminds me of C.S. Lewis' important essay, "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment" found in his collection of essays, God in the Dock. I shall leave development of CSL's position for another time.
Meanwhile, back to George Will. He says:
Today's DSM defines "oppositional defiant disorder" as a pattern of "negativistic, defiant, disobedient and hostile behavior toward authority figures." Symptoms include "often loses temper," "often deliberately annoys people" or "is often touchy." DSM omits this symptom: "is a teenager."
He says further:
Read the whole thing.This DSM defines as "personality disorders" attributes that once were considered character flaws. "Antisocial personality disorder" is "a pervasive pattern of disregard for ... the rights of others ... callous, cynical ... an inflated and arrogant self-appraisal." "Histrionic personality disorder" is "excessive emotionality and attention-seeking." "Narcissistic personality disorder" involves "grandiosity, need for admiration ... boastful and pretentious." And so on.