Abstract
PurposeTo extend current knowledge on the role of emotion regulation in psychopathy, the present study sought to examine relationships between maladaptive (Attack Self, Attack Others, Avoidance, Withdrawal) and adaptive shame coping styles and psychopathic traits (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, antisocial) in incarcerated violent offenders. MethodsA sample of 266 men incarcerated for violent offenses in Italian prisons (Mage = 37.42, SD = 11.85) completed self-reported measures of shame coping styles, psychopathic traits, and emotion dysregulation. A path analysis was conducted to examine multivariate relationships between shame coping styles and psychopathic traits while controlling for levels of emotion dysregulation. ResultsExternalizing shame coping styles (Avoidance, Attack Others) were positively related to psychopathic traits across domains. In addition, internalizing shame coping styles were negatively related to the interpersonal and affective traits (Attack Self) and the antisocial traits of psychopathy (Withdrawal). Finally, affective traits of psychopathy had a negative association with adaptive shame coping style. ConclusionsFindings highlight that, beyond general problems with regulating negative emotional states, psychopathic individuals may use maladaptive strategies to cope with shame-eliciting situations, which could at the same time protect the self from the painful experience of shame while contributing to externalizing behavior.
Highlights
IntroductionPsychopathy is a form of personality pathology characterized by a distinctive pattern of interpersonal (e.g., manipulation, grandiosity), affective (e.g., callousness, lack of empathy), lifestyle (e.g., irresponsi bility, lack of planfulness), and antisocial (e.g., aggression, delinquency) features (Hare and Neumann, 2008)
Psychopathy is a form of personality pathology characterized by a distinctive pattern of interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial features (Hare and Neumann, 2008)
It is important to go beyond the study of the experience of shame to include an emphasis on how psychopathic individuals cope with shame-eliciting situations, which may explain why psychopathy is associated with lower awareness of shame feelings
Summary
Psychopathy is a form of personality pathology characterized by a distinctive pattern of interpersonal (e.g., manipulation, grandiosity), affective (e.g., callousness, lack of empathy), lifestyle (e.g., irresponsi bility, lack of planfulness), and antisocial (e.g., aggression, delinquency) features (Hare and Neumann, 2008). Contrasting early assumptions that portrayed psychopathic individuals as devoid of emotional experience, accumulating findings suggest that psychopathy is (a) differentially linked to the experience of specific emotions, and (b) associated with problems in emotion regulation (Garofalo and Neumann, 2018; Kosson et al, 2016) Building on these premises, the present investigation sought to examine links between psychopathy and coping styles to regulate the experience of shame, an emotion that is consequential for aggression or otherwise destructive behavior (Elison et al, 2014; Gilli gan, 1996; Tangney et al, 2007; Velotti et al, 2014)
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