Facets Of Psychopathy Research Articles

Dark traits and suicide: Associations between psychopathy, narcissism, and components of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide.

Studies have identified independent relationships between psychopathy, narcissism, and suicidality. The current study expands upon the extant literature by exploring psychopathic and narcissistic personality traits and components of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide, utilizing a 3-factor model of psychopathy and 2-factor model of pathological narcissism in community, undergraduate, and military individuals. We hypothesized that the impulsive-antisocial facets of psychopathy would be related to suicidal desire, whereas all facets of psychopathy would relate to the capability for suicide. We anticipated an association between pathological narcissism, thwarted belongingness, and capability for suicide, but not perceived burdensomeness. We further hypothesized a relationship between physical pain tolerance and persistence and the affective (i.e., callousness) facet of psychopathy. Results partially supported these hypotheses and underscore the need for further examination of these associations utilizing contemporary models of psychopathy and narcissism. (PsycINFO Database Record

On the Relation Between General Intelligence and Psychopathic Traits: An Examination of Inpatient Adolescents.

A substantial literature has investigated relations between intelligence and psychopathic traits. At the construct level, findings have been mixed, with a small negative relation found. At the facet level however, a positive relation between verbal intelligence and the interpersonal facet of psychopathy, and a negative relation between verbal intelligence and the lifestyle factor of psychopathy emerge. To date, this research has largely neglected adolescents and prior research has focused on clinical and incarcerated populations, while failing to control for psychopathology. The current study sought to address these limitations by examining the relation between intelligence and psychopathy at the construct, facet, and trait level in a sample of inpatient adolescents. At the bivariate level, verbal intelligence was related to dishonest charm, unemotionality, impulsiveness, and manipulation. In regression analyses, however, verbal intelligence lost significance as a predictor of all but impulsiveness. Gender and severity of psychopathology accounted for most significant relations.

White matter correlates of psychopathic traits in a female community sample.

Psychopathy comprises interpersonal, affective, lifestyle and antisocial facets that vary dimensionally in the population and are associated with criminal offending and adverse psychosocial outcomes. Evidence associating these facets with white matter microstructure of the uncinate fasciculus and the cingulum tracts is inconsistent and derives principally from studies of male offenders. In a sample of 99 young women presenting a range of scores on the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version, we used Diffusion Tensor Imaging, tractography and Tract-Based Spatial Statistics to investigate microstructure across the brain and of the uncinate fasciculus and cingulum. Right uncinate fasciculus microstructure was negatively associated with the interpersonal facet, while cingulum integrity was not associated with any facet of psychopathy. Whole-brain analyses revealed that both affective and lifestyle facets were negatively correlated with white matter microstructure adjacent to the fusiform gyrus, and the interpersonal facet correlated negatively with the integrity of the fornix. Findings survived adjustment for the other facet scores, and age, verbal and performance IQ. A similar negative association between the interpersonal facet and uncinate fasciculus integrity was previously observed in male offenders. Thus, previous evidence showing that psychopathic traits are associated with functional and structural abnormalities within limbic networks may also apply to females.

Psychopathic traits and their relation to facial affect recognition

The limited set of studies available on facial affect recognition in psychopathic individuals not only differ in their findings but also reveal that the stimuli used to portray emotions have little ecological validity. The present study looks at the relationship between the degree of psychopathic traits and emotion recognition in a sample of undergraduate men, using dynamic representations of emotions. Results suggest that high levels of antisocial behaviors are associated with poorer performance and a specific impairment in the recognition of sadness. In contrast, callous affect is positively correlated with identifying sadness expressions and predicts a heightened sensitivity to facial affect. The ability to recognize signs of vulnerability can be seen as an adaptive strategy developed by psychopathic individuals to manipulate others. Mechanisms underlying criminal behavior appear to be associated with deficits in emotional processing. The study highlights the influence of distinct facets of psychopathy in facial affect recognition.

Psychopathy and impulsivity: The relationship of the triarchic model of psychopathy to different forms of impulsivity in offenders and community participants

Psychopathic individuals are considered to be impulsive, but impulsivity is a multifaceted construct (including positive and negative urgency, lack of planning, lack of perseverance, sensation seeking). We investigated the relationships between the Triarchic Psychopathy Model (TriPM), conceptualising psychopathy in terms of: Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition, and UPPS-P Impulsivity. Prison and community participants were examined to assess for consistency in relationships between psychopathic traits and impulsivity across these samples. Boldness related to high sensation seeking, but to low negative urgency and strong perseverance. Disinhibition related to high levels of negative/positive urgency, and poor planning. Meanness was linked to most forms of impulsivity. While the samples showed small differences (higher Sensation Seeking for the community sample, and greater TriPM Disinhibition for the offenders), there were no differences in the relationships between TriPM and UPPS-P. The findings support the dimensional model of psychopathy and demonstrate that some aspects of psychopathy are related to reduced impulsivity. This might explain why some psychopathic offenders are able to commit instrumental violence or criminal behaviour that requires a high level of planning and persistence.

Triarchic dimensions of psychopathy in young adulthood: Associations with clinical and physiological measures after accounting for adolescent psychopathic traits.

This study examined associations of psychopathy facets of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition with clinically relevant variables and physiological reactivity to affective stimuli. These associations were examined after accounting for developmental associations with adolescent psychopathic traits, namely callous-unemotional traits, narcissism, and impulsivity. Psychopathic traits were assessed during adolescence using the Antisocial Process Screening Device and the Inventory of Callous Unemotional traits and during young adulthood via the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. Clinical variables (N = 99, Mage = 15.91, 53% female), as well as affective and physiological responses (heart rate, skin conductance, startle modulation) to violent and erotic videos (N = 88, Mage = 19.92, 50% female) were also assessed during adulthood. After accounting for adolescent psychopathic traits, boldness was associated with high cognitive reappraisal and low anxiety, fear, and hostility, and meanness was related to callous-unemotional traits, hostility, less sympathy to victims, and less use of cognitive reappraisal. Disinhibition, by contrast, was associated with impulsivity, increased anxiety, and hostile and aggressive tendencies, as well as conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder symptoms, and cognitive suppression. In addition, evidence was found for different physiological measures operating as biological indicators of these distinctive dimensions, with reduced resting heart rate and cardiac reactivity to violent stimuli indicative of boldness, above and beyond adolescent psychopathic traits, and low startle potentiation for violent stimuli indicative of callous-unemotional traits and meanness. These findings provide evidence for the value of a multidomain approach for clarifying neurobiological mechanisms of psychopathic tendencies that can inform prevention and treatment efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record

Forensic Psychiatric Patients with Comorbid Psychopathy: Double Trouble?

ABSTRACTPatients with psychopathy need intensive care and supervision. There is however reluctance to treat them because of (supposedly) limted chances of success and risk of therapy-interfering behavior. This study focused on inpatient disruptive behavior in mentally disordered offenders during medium security treatment. Patients (N = 224) were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised total, factor and facet scores and divided into three groups depending on the presence of low, medium, and high psychopathy traits. Associations between psychopathy and criminogenic risk and need factors were analyzed. Additionally, the association between psychopathy and therapy-interfering behavior (non-compliance, drop-out, institutional misconduct) was investigated with correlational and logistic regression analyses. The results showed that psychopathy was associated with greater risk, needs, and therapy-interfering behavior. PCL-R Factor 2 predicted institutional misconduct, whereas PCL-R Factor 1 predicted drop-out from treatment. The study highlights the importance of responsive treatment climates in retaining this difficult-to-treat group in treatment.

Psychopathic Personality Traits as Protective Factors against the Development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in a Sample of National Guard Combat Veterans

Military personnel often experience post-traumatic stress symptoms following exposure to combat. Personality traits have been identified as possible protective and risk factors in the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and examination of the association between PTSD and personality characteristics provides further insight into this heterogeneous disorder. Psychopathy, frequently conceptualized as collection of pathological personality disturbances relating to deficits in emotionality, empathy, and inhibitory control, includes within its defining features components that may be adaptive in certain situations. In the current study, we sought to expand upon the literature related to personality and PTSD by exploring psychopathic traits as resiliency factors in a military sample. Specifically, facets of psychopathy were analyzed as moderators of the association between combat experience and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder within a sample of 292 combat-exposed National Guard and Reserve (NGR) service members. Results indicated that the relationship of combat exposure with PTSD decreased as rates of interpersonal-affective psychopathic traits increased. Impulsive-antisocial traits were also found to moderate the association between combat experience and PTSD, though interestingly there was a similar decrease in magnitude with higher levels of these traits. These findings suggest that particular components of psychopathy may serve as protective factors against the development of PTSD symptomatology within this population.

Response inhibition in the parametric Go/No-Go task in psychopathic offenders

Previous research on response inhibition in psychopaths has failed to find consistent evidence for aberrant inhibitory ability, despite strong expectations to the contrary. However, previous examinations have utilised inhibition paradigms that suffer from critical shortcomings, such as a lack of ecological validity and overly simplistic response criteria. To assess inhibition under conditions close to the demands of everyday settings, the current study employs a parametric Go/No-go task in male offenders (n77). Additionally, rather than treating psychopathy as a categorical descriptor, a dimensional approach is taken to assess the relationship between individual psychopathic traits and response inhibition performance. Results indicate significant relationships between response inhibition and individual facets of psychopathy as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version. A positive relationship was found between inhibitory ability and interpersonal aspects of psychopathy, reflecting an enhancement of inhibitory functioning for those scoring high on this facet. In addition, a negative association was found between psychopathic lifestyle characteristics and response inhibition. Whereas the negative association mirrors the conceptualisation of the lifestyle facet, the positive association between interpersonal psychopathic aspects and response inhibition might reflect a propensity for adaptive behaviour that enables psychopaths to adequately manipulate their victims and mask their true nature.

Facets of psychopathy in relation to trauma-exposure and posttraumatic stress symptomology in a sample of incarcerated male offenders.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of psychopathy facets on the relationship between traumatic exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology. Design/methodology/approach Participants were male prisoners incarcerated in the UK. Findings The analysis revealed differential associations between the two facets of psychopathy, with potentially traumatic events and symptoms of PTSD. Specifically, neither primary psychopathy nor trauma exposure were significantly related to PTSD, while secondary psychopathy was positively and significantly related with PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the effect of trauma exposure on PTSD was found to depend on the level of secondary psychopathy. More specifically, trauma exposure was strongly and positively associated with PTSD symptoms for low levels of secondary psychopathy and negatively associated with PTSD symptomology for individuals with high levels of secondary psychopathy. Originality/value The findings clarify linkages among psychopathy facets, trauma, and PTSD, and extend the understanding of the presentation of PTSD in male prisoners.

Are Youth Psychopathic Traits Related to Bullying? Meta-analyses on Callous-Unemotional Traits, Narcissism, and Impulsivity

In the current manuscript meta-analyses are performed to analyze the relations between three aspects of psychopathy in youth, Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits, Narcissism, and Impulsivity, and bullying behaviors. The databases PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ERIC, Web of Science and Proquest were searched for relevant articles on bullying and CU traits, Narcissism, or Impulsivity in youth under 20 years of age. Two authors each independently screened 842 studies that were found in the literature search. Two authors independently coded ten studies on bullying and CU (N = 4115) traits, six studies on bullying and Narcissism (N = 3376) and 14 studies on bullying and Impulsivity (N = 33,574) that met the inclusion criteria. Significant correlations were found between bullying and CU traits, Narcissism, and Impulsivity. These results were not affected by publication bias. Anti-bullying interventions could potentially benefit from including elements that have been found effective in the treatment of youth psychopathy.

Modeling Impulsivity in Forensic Patients: A Three-Dimensional Model of Impulsivity.

The current study investigated whether a multidimensional model could underlie impulsivity and its associations with various disorders in a forensic sample. Data were available from self-report and behavioral impulsivity instruments of 87 forensic patients. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to derive a dimensional impulsivity model, and the relationship between and possible predictive validity of impulsivity dimensions for psychopathology was investigated using product moment correlations and regression analysis. A 3-dimensional model of impulsivity was derived, with factors labeled impulsive decision making, sensation seeking, and response inhibition. Impulsive decision making was a predictor for a history of drug dependence, the impulsive lifestyle facet of psychopathy, and antisocial personality disorder. Sensation seeking was not related to any psychopathology. Inadequate response inhibition was a predictor for drug dependence, psychopathy, and antisocial personality disorder. Given the importance of the concept of impulsivity with regard to forensic risk assessment, the current results replicated earlier impulsivity models and imply that impulsivity is a crucial target for diagnosis and interventions and underlines the importance to consider impulsivity as a multidimensional construct.

Emotional dysregulation and trauma predicting psychopathy dimensions in female and male juvenile offenders.

BackgroundPsychopathy is a specific syndrome that predicts future violent and aggressive behavior in adults. Studies in youth and adults have demonstrated a strong association between early traumatic incidents and later dissocial behavior. Moreover, the impact of personality pathology and emotional dysregulation on aggressive and violent behavior is well established. However, few studies have addressed the relationship between early traumatization and psychopathic traits in adolescents.MethodThe present study examined associations between both general dimensions of personality pathology and early traumatic experiences and the dimensions of psychopathy in 170 male and 171 female adolescent detainees.ResultsAnalyses revealed associations between physical abuse, emotional dysregulation and psychopathic traits in delinquent boys but not in delinquent girls.ConclusionHypothesized relationships between trauma, personality pathology could only be confirmed in the lifestyle and antisocial, but not in the core affective and interpersonal facets of psychopathy.

Neurobiological correlates of empathy processing

Previous research on response inhibition in psychopaths has failed to find consistent evidence for aberrant inhibitory ability, despite strong expectations to the contrary. However, previous examinations have utilised inhibition paradigms that suffer from critical shortcomings, such as a lack of ecological validity and overly simplistic response criteria. To assess inhibition under conditions close to the demands of everyday settings, the current study employs a parametric Go/No-go task in male offenders (n77). Additionally, rather than treating psychopathy as a categorical descriptor, a dimensional approach is taken to assess the relationship between individual psychopathic traits and response inhibition performance. Results indicate significant relationships between response inhibition and individual facets of psychopathy as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version. A positive relationship was found between inhibitory ability and interpersonal aspects of psychopathy, reflecting an enhancement of inhibitory functioning for those scoring high on this facet. In addition, a negative association was found between psychopathic lifestyle characteristics and response inhibition. Whereas the negative association mirrors the conceptualisation of the lifestyle facet, the positive association between interpersonal psychopathic aspects and response inhibition might reflect a propensity for adaptive behaviour that enables psychopaths to adequately manipulate their victims and mask their true nature.

Psychopathy Traits and Violent Assault Among Men With and Without History of Arrest.

Although research suggests that the antisocial behavior (ASB) facet of psychopathy generally carries the greatest predictive power for future violence, these findings are drawn primarily from forensic samples and may reflect criterion contamination between historical violence and future violence perpetration. Likewise, these findings do not negate the association of other psychopathy facets to violence or their role in the development of violence, nor do they offer practical utility in the primary prevention of violence. There are a number of empirical and theoretical reasons to suspect that the callous affect (CA) facet of psychopathy may demonstrate stronger statistical association to violence in nonforensic populations. We tested the association of CA to severe acts of violence (e.g., assault with intent to harm, injure, rape, or kill) among men with and without history of arrest ( N = 600) using both the three- and four-facet models of psychopathy. CA was robustly associated with violence outcomes across the two groups in the three-facet model. When testing the four-facet model, CA was strongly associated with violence outcomes among men with no history of arrest, but only moderately associated with assaults causing injury among men with history of arrest. These results are consistent with data from youth populations that implicate early emotional deficits in later aggressive behavior and suggest CA may help to identify individuals at risk for violence before they become violent. Implications for the public health system and the primary prevention of violence are discussed.

"Do unto others"? Distinct psychopathy facets predict reduced perception and tolerance of pain.

Recent research has sought to understand how individuals high in psychopathic traits perceive pain in others (Decety, Skelly, & Kiehl, 2013; Marsh et al., 2013). Perception of pain in others is presumed to act as a prosocial signal, and underreactivity to others' pain may contribute to engagement in exploitative-aggressive behaviors among individuals high in psychopathic traits (Jackson, Meltzoff, & Decety, 2005). The current study tested for associations between facets of psychopathy as defined by the triarchic model (Patrick, Fowles, & Krueger, 2009) and decreased sensitivity to pain in 105 undergraduates tested in a laboratory pain assessment. A pressure algometer was used to index pain tolerance, and participants also rated their perceptions of and reactivity to the algometer-induced pain during the assessment and again 3 days later. A unique positive relationship was found between pain tolerance and the meanness facet of psychopathy, which also predicted reduced fear of painful algometer stimulation. Other psychopathy facets (boldness, disinhibition) showed negative relations with fear of pain stimulation during testing and at follow-up. Findings from this study extend the nomological network surrounding callousness (meanness) and suggest that increased pain tolerance may be a mechanism contributing to insensitivity to expressions of discomfort in others. (PsycINFO Database Record

Clarifying the link between childhood abuse history and psychopathic traits in adult criminal offenders.

Childhood abuse is a risk factor for the development of externalizing characteristics and disorders, including antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy. However, the precise relationships between particular types of childhood maltreatment and subsequent antisocial and psychopathic traits remain unclear. Using a large sample of incarcerated adult male criminal offenders (n = 183), the current study confirmed that severity of overall childhood maltreatment was linked to severity of both psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder in adulthood. Moreover, this relationship was particularly strong for physical abuse and the antisocial facet of psychopathy. Sexual abuse history was uniquely related to juvenile conduct disorder severity, rather than adult psychopathy or antisocial behaviors. Additionally, there was a significantly stronger relationship between childhood maltreatment and juvenile conduct disorder than between childhood maltreatment and ASPD or psychopathy. These findings bolster and clarify the link between childhood maltreatment and antisocial behavior later in life. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Effects of Exogenous Testosterone on Men’s Moral Decision-Making

Correlational research has linked testosterone (T) to moral reasoning, such that individuals high in T respond to moral dilemmas in a more utilitarian manner (Carney and Mason 2010). In the present study, 30 male undergraduates completed baseline measures of T, psychopathic traits, and digit-ratio (2D:4D) and were subsequently administered 150 mg of testosterone or placebo in a double-blind within-subjects experiment meant to explore a potential causal influence of T on moral decision-making. Following drug administration, participants rated their agreement with a set of incidental and instrumental moral dilemmas, the total of which provided an index of the participant’s utilitarian decision-making on that testing day. Results revealed a significant drug × type of dilemma interaction. Post-hoc analyses revealed that T administration was associated with increased utilitarian behavior within incidental moral dilemmas, but with decreased utilitarian decision-making in instrumental dilemmas, although neither trend was statistically-significant. The interpersonal/affective facet (i.e., Factor 1) of psychopathy was positively correlated with utilitarian responses. No effects were found for baseline testosterone or digit ratio. Potential reasons underlying the effect of T decreasing utilitarianism in incidental dilemmas, as well as future directions for research in this area, are discussed.

Psychopathic traits affect the visual exploration of facial expressions

Deficits in emotional reactivity and recognition have been reported in psychopathy. Impaired attention to the eyes along with amygdala malfunctions may underlie these problems. Here, we investigated how different facets of psychopathy modulate the visual exploration of facial expressions by assessing personality traits in a sample of healthy young adults using an eye-tracking based face perception task. Fearless Dominance (the interpersonal-emotional facet of psychopathy) and Coldheartedness scores predicted reduced face exploration consistent with findings on lowered emotional reactivity in psychopathy. Moreover, participants high on the social deviance facet of psychopathy (‘Self-Centered Impulsivity’) showed a reduced bias to shift attention towards the eyes. Our data suggest that facets of psychopathy modulate face processing in healthy individuals and reveal possible attentional mechanisms which might be responsible for the severe impairments of social perception and behavior observed in psychopathy.

Continuities and discontinuities between psychopathy and narcissism among male offenders

IntroductionA heated and longstanding debate exists as to whether psychopathy and narcissism represent two distinct, albeit overlapping, constructs, or two different labels for the same concept. However, relatively scant attention has been dedicated to this issue in offender populations, which are likely to present elevated levels of both psychopathy and narcissism. Furthermore, the picture is complicated by the multidimensional nature of both constructs.ObjectiveWe sought to explore the associations among psychopathy facets and pathological narcissism dimensions, comparing an offender sample with community participants.AimsTo highlight similarities and differences in clinically relevant and sub-clinical levels of psychopathy and narcissism dimensions, as well as in pattern of associations between them.MethodsA sample of male offenders incarcerated in Italian jails, and a sample of community-dwelling men, were administered the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP-4; Paulhus et al., 2015) and the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI; Pincus et al., 2009).ResultsAs expected, levels of both narcissism and psychopathy were significantly higher in the offender sample. Narcissism and psychopathy were only partly related, with correlations ranging from low to moderate in size, and differential pattern of associations between selected dimensions emerged consistently with theoretical models and in line with prior studies.ConclusionsPsychopathy and narcissism are two separate syndromes, which share similar aspects but also present distinct features and this is likely to explain their partial overlap. Future studies should take a closer look at how facets of psychopathy and narcissism relate across different samples (e.g., also examining female offender samples).Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.