Psychopathy Research Articles

The Predictive Value of Criminogenic Needs on Institutional Misconduct in a Dutch Forensic Hospital.

According to the Risk-Need-Responsivity model, criminogenic needs are important in predicting violent behavior. Eight criminogenic needs are considered strong predictors: history of antisocial behavior, antisocial personality traits, criminal attitudes, criminal associates, substance abuse, family problems, poor work performance, and lack of involvement in prosocial leisure/recreation activities. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether seven criminogenic needs predict institutional misconduct in the first year of admission of Dutch patients who were admitted to a forensic hospital. Hospital records of 234 male patients were used to retrieve criminogenic needs assessed with the HCR-20V3, with exception of criminal associates which was coded based on file review. The frequency of institutional misconduct was rated for verbal aggression, physical aggression, and sexual aggression. Exploratory analyses examined whether there was a (predictive) relation between psychopathy facets (PCL-R factors) and HCR-20V3 clinical and risk management scales, and institutional misconduct. This study finds that criminogenic needs did not predict physical and sexual institutional misconduct, but a history of antisocial behavior and criminal attitudes were negative predictors for verbal aggression. Psychopathy facets and HCR-20V3 scales did not predict institutional misconduct.

How Psychotherapists Who Practice With Clients With Dissociative Identity Disorder Experience Their Work: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis

ABSTRACTBackgroundPsychotherapists who treat clients with dissociative identity disorder (DID), a trauma‐related condition, have unique experiences and challenges. There is a dearth of literature investigating the experiences and perspectives of therapists who treat clients with DID.MethodologyWe conducted in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 15 DID‐treating therapists. We used reflexive thematic analysis, drawing upon constructivist and critical paradigms, to generate an understanding of how these therapists experience, relate to, and make sense of their work with clients with DID.AnalysisWe created four primary themes: (1) ‘Here and Now’: Working in the Present to Facilitate Healing for Clients with DID; (2) ‘I Was Made To Do This’: Finding Meaning in the Calling to Work with Clients with DID; (3) ‘Churning my Stomach Up’: From Holding Trauma and Dissociation to Vicarious Traumatisation; and (4) ‘Pulling Back the Veil’: Working with DID as Social Justice Practice.ConclusionsWe recommend therapists work to leverage their experiences and perspectives in positive ways, such as embracing a here and now stance and what is meaningful about the work, while caring for themselves to manage potential vicarious traumatisation. Supervisors and/or consultants of these therapists must support them in this work.

“Who am I?” The HiddenAspects of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a persistent posttraumatic condition marked by impaired memory and selfidentity functions resulting from childhood trauma. It is a severe chronic psychiatric illness characterized by neurobiological, cognitive, and interpersonal disintegration in reaction to intolerable stress. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) remains inadequately researched; nevertheless, more investigation may elucidate neurobiological and cognitive characteristics, as well as the interplay between individuals and environmental stressors

Shame as Affect Regulation in Dissociative Identity Disorder

ABSTRACT The abusive and/or neglectful relational mis-attunement disrupts ongoing developmental growth and binds attachments to abusive caregivers. This shame-based relational frame then becomes a template for subsequent relationships and self-definitions. Shame and dissociation combine to provide a paradoxical and powerful self-protective form of self-regulation via a dis-enlivened existence that enables people with DID to live with otherwise potentially dysregulating affects and relationships. Shame-activated defenses and extreme inhibition of feeling couple with dissociative compartmentalization to limit affective awareness and enable the wounded individual to hide from the life around them and within them.

Performing Plurality: Meet the Alters Vlogs on YouTube as Breeding Grounds for Epistemic Justice

Social media platforms have provided people with a psychiatric label the opportunity to build communities and share their stories without relying on the mediation of therapists, publishers, or broadcasters. Among them are people who identify not as one whole self, but as a system of plural personalities, often labeled as dissociative identity disorder (DID). People with plural identities started sharing videos on YouTube as a means to convey their experiences and fight stigma. In 2009, this gave rise to a distinct sub-genre of vlogs created by people with plural identities and DID: the ‘Meet the Alters’ video, where various personalities introduce themselves to the audience. This paper traces the fifteen-year evolution of these videos in order to show how the makers of the Meet the Alters videos use YouTube’s affordances and the conventions of the vlog genre to navigate a lack of hermeneutic resources outside of psychiatric discourse and understanding, allowing them to communicate their experiences in a relatable way to a general audience. Through a close reading of the staging and performance of plurality in thirteen Meet the Alters videos, posted between 2009 and April 2024, the paper reveals key developments and particularities of this genre. The analysis highlights how plural YouTubers create their own hermeneutic resources to present their potentially unfamiliar or unruly experiences in an understandable manner to their viewers. In conversation with emerging and growing plural communities, these hermeneutic resources have been continually supplemented and refined. After fifteen years, this has resulted in a rich identity-centered discourse that enables the performance and communication of plural experiences. We argue that YouTube’s specific affordances and the generic conventions of the vlog have been crucial in the emergence and development of non-stigmatising, non-psychiatric hermeneutic resources for expressing plural experiences.

Etiology of Antisocial Personality Disorder: A Review of Brain Function and Childhood Experiences

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) is a psychological disorder in which an individual engages exclusively or significantly in the deliberate violating of, scamming, as well as violence against other people for their gain. This review aims to provide a comprehensive account of the recent developments regarding biological, neurocognitive, and neuropsychological factors and environmental risks related to ASPD. Neuroimaging studies have been conducted to assess brain function using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and imaging of functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) to determine structural and functional changes that occur. Previous studies have recognized marked grey matter volume (GMV) disruptions in the prefrontal cortex, temporal lobes, parietal regions, and aberrant functional connectivity profiles — particularly between attention and default mode networks. Of the environmental factor, childhood trauma is crucial for leading to necessary support of ASPD phenotype with emotional or physical abuse during infancy, significantly contributing to risk-prediction capacity—the systematic review methodology involved six critical evaluations of the study on neurobiology and childhood ASPD risk factors. Consistent neuroimaging data on brain structure (grey matter volume reductions) and functional connectivity and the critical role of early life experiences in susceptibility to this disorder are shown throughout. In conclusion, ASPD's etiology is multifactorial, involving a complex interaction of biological and environmental factors. Understanding the neurological underpinnings and developmental experiences leading to ASPD can inform more targeted interventions and treatment strategies for at-risk individuals, highlighting the need for early detection and therapeutic approaches to address brain function deficits and childhood adversities.

Personalidad y usos de internet: Rasgos Normales vs. Continuos de la Personalidad

The aim of this research was to study the relation between Dual Personality Model’s trait continuums (combinations of pathological and positive traits; de la Iglesia & Castro Solano, 2021) and internet use, and to compare them with Five Factor Model traits (FFM; Costa & McCrae, 1984). Sample was composed by 745 internet users with an average age of 38.7 years old (SD = 14.4; 57% female). Internet use with leisure motive was higher in those with less emotional management (EMI) and those with lack of interest in others (IOI), and it was lower in those with high adherence to rules (ARI), impulse control (ICI) and greater environmental control (ECI). Additionally, utilitarian and work use was higher in those with higher IOI and ECI. Regarding personality adjustment (PAI) in a global assessment, healthy personality profiles are characterized by a utilitarian and work use, and those with pathological personality profiles use internet with recreational or social motives. Trait continuums significantly increased the explained variance regarding the use of utilitarian platforms and all kinds of internet use, when compared to FFM traits. Findings give further evidence of the utility of incorporating continuums traits assessment when studying personality, given that the conjointly association of pathological and positive aspects increases the explanation of the phenomenon in a significant manner.

Transgender graphic memoirs: plurality and depathologizing dissociative identity disorder in Emma Grove’s The Third Person and LB Lee’s All in the Family

ABSTRACT Emma Grove’s The Third Person (2022) and LB Lee’s All in the Family (2020) are trans graphic memoirs that depict the process of recovering repressed memories of traumatic events through drawing. The memoirs focus on Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) but deviate from the conventions of older DID memoirs such as having a psychiatrist as a focalizer and pathologizing plurality. Grove’s and Lee’s work also differs from mainstream trans life writing in that the focus of the narratives is not transition. The Third Person documents Grove’s process of sketching at top speed to piece together the memories of her different alters and retrieve the few months she spent in therapy attempting to qualify for medical transition. Lee’s memoir, structured as a murder mystery, traces the process of dealing with ‘headspace ghosts’ and the murder of one of their ‘headmates’. Comics allow Grove and Lee to depict their alters and to show their collaboration. In terms of representing trauma, graphic narratives take on the role of testimony and while Grove opts for a documentary and uniform style of depicting the therapist’s office, Lee switches between different art styles and utilises surreal elements to represent the objectification and gaslighting of abuse.

Self-Diagnosed Cases of Dissociative Identity Disorder on Social Media: Conceptualization, Assessment, and Treatment.

Recent global popularity of social media content about dissociative identity disorder (DID) has coincided with increased self-diagnosis among children and young people who have formed large online communities and presented in clinical settings seeking to affirm their self-diagnoses. We situate this phenomenon within a broader trend toward self-diagnosis due to the widespread visibility and accessibility of mental health content on social media. Social media propelled self-diagnosis raises particular questions for the study and treatment of DID due to long-standing debates over whether the condition is traumagenic, sociogenic, or iatrogenic. This paper draws from the current state of knowledge about psychiatric self-diagnosis, the influence of social media on youth mental health, and the authors' clinical experience to present preliminary conceptualizations of DID self-diagnosis and its significance for clinical practice. Established etiological models for DID acknowledge the role of sociocultural and contextual factors in shaping and reinforcing the elaboration of DID self-states. We hypothesize that multiple forms of online sociality and interaction encourage such elaborations. Social media content regarding DID, however, is routinely unreliable and low quality, often mischaracterizing the condition's symptoms and minimizing associated suffering and disability. This paper considers the likelihood that the self-diagnosing DID cohort includes genuine, genuine but exaggerated, imitative, and malingering cases, and underscores the importance of careful and personalized assessment and diagnosis.

Supplemental Material for Confusing My Viewpoint With His: Altered Self–Other Distinction Performance in Antisocial Personality Disorder

Supplemental Material for Confusing My Viewpoint With His: Altered Self–Other Distinction Performance in Antisocial Personality Disorder

Understanding Memory and Attention in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Understanding Memory and Attention in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

Personality disorders, violence and antisocial behaviour: updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

Links between personality disorders and antisocial outcomes has not examined individual personality disorders, and the contribution of comorbidities remain uncertain. Previous systematic reviews are dated. To synthesise evidence from observational studies on the risk of antisocial outcomes and recidivism associated with personality disorders. We searched six bibliographic databases (up to March 2024) for observational studies examining the risk of antisocial behaviour, interpersonal violence and recidivism in individuals diagnosed with personality disorders, compared to controls. We explored sources of heterogeneity using subgroup analyses and meta-regression. We identified 21 studies involving 83 418 individuals with personality disorders from 10 countries examining antisocial and violent outcomes (Aim 1), and 39 studies of 14 131 individuals from 13 countries with recidivism (or repeat offending) as the outcome (Aim 2). We found increased risks of violence among individuals with any personality disorder (odds ratio 4.5, 95% CI 3.0-6.7), particularly antisocial personality disorder (odds ratio 7.6, 95% CI 5.1-11.5) and borderline personality disorder (odds ratio 2.6, 95% CI 1.8-3.9). Individuals with any personality disorder (odds ratio 2.3, 95% CI 2.0-2.6) and antisocial personality disorder (odds ratio 2.8, 95% CI 1.6-4.9) also demonstrated an elevated risk of recidivism. Personality disorder types and comorbid substance use disorder were associated with between-study heterogeneity. The assessment and management of personality disorders should be considered as part of violence prevention strategies. Improving identification and treatment of comorbid substance misuse may reduce adverse outcomes in individuals with personality disorders.

Aetiology and Treatments of Antisocial Personality Disorder

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) by emphasising its characteristics, pathological causes and treatments. ASPD is identified as a type B personality disorder which is characterised by consistently disobeying social norms and lacking remorse. The following sections discuss the contributors to ASPD from both nature (biological) and nurture (environmental) perspectives, highlighting the essential influences of inheritance and adverse childhood experiences. Specifically, this study explores the abnormalities in brain structures involving the frontal lobe and amygdala, as well as the effects of abuse and ignorance in its development. In addition, this paper recalls the treatment methods, with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) exhibiting a higher possibility of reducing violent behaviours, while the psychodynamic approach and pharmacological intervention function to mitigate comorbidities of ASPD. Furthermore, ASPD behaviours in real life have been addressed through analysing the case study of Ted Bundy, illustrating the importance of diagnosis and intervention in the early stages. The findings supply useful suggestions for relevant experts and professors and also help society to better understand the complexity of ASPD.

Examining the Attitudes and Experiences of Nurses Working in a High Security Forensic Psychiatry Unit from a Psychiatric Perspective

Aim: This study aims to examine the approaches, attitudes, and experiences of nurses working in a High Security Forensic Psychiatry Unit (HSFPU) towards psychiatric disorders, conditions, and treatments and to reveal the associated factors. Material and Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted with nurses working at Elazığ Fethi Sekin City Hospital HSFPU who agreed to participate in the study. The participants filled out the Nurses’ Attitudes Towards Forensic Psychiatric Patients Scale (NAFPPS) along with a questionnaire including various variables. Results: Thirty-two nurses (22 females (68.80%), 10 males (31.20%)) were included in the study. Twenty-two nurses (31.20%) did not have sufficient knowledge of the Penal Code of Türkiye 32 (PCT 32). The psychiatric disorder that nurses found easiest to predict was bipolar spectrum disorder (43.80%), while the one that nurses found most difficult to predict was schizophrenia spectrum disorder (62.50%). The illicit substance that caused the most difficulty in nursing care was methamphetamine for 19 nurses (59.40%). Nurses' command of psychiatric terminology was not at the desired level. Twenty-three nurses (71.90%) thought that antidepressants caused addiction. Almost all of the nurses (96.90%) thought that antisocial and borderline personality traits make nursing care difficult. According to regression analysis, working duration in HFSPU predicts NAFPPS willingness to provide care subscale (constant p

A Multi-Dimensional, Multi-Informant Examination of Adolescent Psychopathy and its Links to Parental Monitoring: The Moderating Role of Resting Arousal.

Recent work indicates clinically meaningful differences in domains of psychopathic personality - such as grandiose-manipulative (GM), callous-unemotional (CU), and daring-impulsive (DI) traits - and parenting factors. Yet, different domains of parenting and reports from multiple informants may vary in their associations to psychopathic traits. This study examined psychopathic traits and their links with parental monitoring behaviors, parental knowledge, and adolescent disclosure. Further, we evaluated whether adolescents' self-reported resting arousal moderated these associations. A mixed clinic-referred/community sample of 134 adolescent-parent dyads (Mage = 14.49; SD = 0.50; 66.4% female) completed multi-dimensional measures of psychopathy, parental monitoring behaviors, parental knowledge, and adolescent disclosure; adolescents also self-reported on their resting arousal. Results indicated links between: (a) increased parent-reported GM traits and decreased parent-reported parental knowledge, and (b) increased parent-reported DI traits and lower parent-reported monitoring behaviors, which were attenuated at high levels of adolescent-reported resting arousal. Associations between elevated dimensions of psychopathic traits and lower levels of parental monitoring behaviors, parental knowledge, and adolescent disclosure were most consistent within-informants, with some cross-informant associations identified for links between elevated GM and DI and lower levels of parental monitoring behaviors and parental knowledge. These findings have important implications for our understanding of how to assess and prevent psychopathy and associated externalizing problems, and suggest that targeting modifiable environmental and psychophysiological factors may be particularly important.

BRAIN IMAGING OF PSYCHOPATHY: A NARRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

The general definition of psychopathic is an individual who focuses on self-perspective, is feelingless, without compassion, lacks empathy, lacks/disloyalty, and lacks the ability to form close relationships (less intimacy). Psychopathy is also known as psychopathic, antisocial, disocial, and sociopathic personality disorder. In Indonesia, clinical diagnosis guidelines for psychopathic individuals still refer to Dissocial Personality Disorder according to the Guidelines for Classification and Diagnosis of Mental Disorders Edition III (PPDGJ-III), coupled with other commonly used supporting examinations, namely the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory), LSRP (Levensone Self-Report Psychopathy Scales), PCL:SV (Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version). This Narrative Literature Review aims to summarize findings about brain imaging in Psychopath. As for psychopathic-related brain imaging, namely aberrant brain activity was found in the prefrontal area, temporal cortex, limbic (amygdala- hippocampus complex), striatum, corpus callosum, and insular. These findings hope to be able to explain the basic etiological of deviant behavior in psychopathic perpetrators. Thus, psychopathic neuroanatomy is a research area that has the potential to contribute as a preventive and curative measure of psychopathy on a scientific basis.

Comparing NIRA and Traditional Network Approaches: AStudy Case With Antisocial Personality Disorder Traits.

This study explores the NodeIdentifyR algorithm (NIRA) as a novel network analysis method for examining Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) traits. Using a sample of 2230 Brazilian adults (aged 18-73 years) who responded to ASPD-related factors of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5), we applied NIRA to an ASPD network and compared its results with traditional network analysis methods. Our findings revealed that deceitfulness emerged as the most central trait across both methodologies. NIRA provided additional insights, indicating that simulated decreases in the likelihood of irresponsibility reduced the presence of other traits, while a simulated increase in deceitfulness amplified the likelihood of other ASPD pathological traits. Our results suggest that traditional network centrality measures converge with NIRA's simulated increase results, but NIRA's simulated decrease provides additional information not captured by traditional centrality estimates. We recommend further research to validate these findings across different psychopathologies and refine NIRA use in clinical settings. The insights from this study could serve as a foundation for developing targeted interventions and enhancing our understanding of ASPD trait dynamics.

Suicide and sudden violent death among young people: Two sides of the same coin?

The aim of the present study was to compare risk factors for death by suicide and sudden violent death (SVD) among young people aged 10-25 years. Two target samples, 63 consecutive cases of youth suicide and 62 cases of SVD, were compared on potential risk factors differentiating the two groups from 104 controls. Data on psychiatric diagnoses, psychosocial factors, adverse childhood experiences, stressful life events, and coping strategies were collected in psychological autopsy interviews. Distinguishing for the suicide group was lower frequency of living in a steady relationship, adult psychiatric care, depression, autism spectrum disorder, being sexually assaulted, higher frequency of recent stressful life events, and lowest levels of adaptive coping. Distinguishing for the SVD group was a predominance of males, lower elementary school results, abuse of psychoactive drugs, being investigated or sentenced for criminal acts, conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder. Common risk factors for both kinds of premature unnatural death included lower educational level, absence of work or studies, different forms of addiction, child and adolescent psychiatric care, borderline personality disorder, adverse childhood experiences, and less adaptive coping. Accordingly, there is a common ground of vulnerabilities, early adversities, and recent strains in life for both forms of premature death, but also substantial differences between these contrasting lethal developments. Prevention of both suicide and SVD should focus on adverse childhood experiences, learning difficulties, meaningful occupation, more adaptive coping, addiction, and treatment of borderline personality disorder. Suicide prevention should comprise promotion of adaptive stress management skills, depression prevention and treatment, and paying attention to young people with autism. SVD prevention should involve early response to learning difficulties, abuse of psychoactive drugs and delinquent behavior, and treatment of conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder.

Pathways to Homelessness: Childhood Maltreatment and Psychiatric Symptoms Increase Risk of Homelessness.

Homelessness is a serious and increasing public health concern. Childhood maltreatment and psychiatric problems have been associated with homelessness as risk factors; however, reliance on cross-sectional studies introduces ambiguity into interpreting previous findings. This study seeks to understand whether psychiatric symptoms in part explain the relationship between childhood maltreatment and homelessness. The authors used data from a prospective cohort design study in which individuals with documented histories of childhood maltreatment (ages 0-11 years) and a demographically matched group of children without those histories (N=1,196) were followed up into middle adulthood and interviewed. Psychiatric symptoms (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], antisocial personality disorder [ASPD], and alcohol and drug use) were assessed at mean age 29. Homelessness was assessed at mean ages 29, 39, 41, and 47 years. Structural equation modeling was used to test mediation. Twice as many individuals with histories of childhood maltreatment reported ever being homeless (25.6% vs. 12.3%, AOR=2.54, 95% CI= 1.86-3.50) and past year homelessness (5.5% vs. 2.5%, AOR=2.09, 95% CI=1.31-3.43) at age 29, compared to controls. Controlling for past homelessness, psychiatric symptoms predicted future homelessness at mean ages 41 and 47. Three significant paths from childhood maltreatment to future homelessness were identified through depression, PTSD, and ASPD. This longitudinal study with documented cases of childhood maltreatment found that psychiatric symptoms earlier in life predict homelessness. Depression, PTSD, and ASPD represent pathways through which childhood maltreatment increases homelessness risk and warrant greater attention.

Biological, psychological, and socio-structural underpinnings of dissociative identity disorder

Abstract. Epidemiological studies revealed the prevalence and diverse symptoms of dissociative identity disorder (DID), emphasizing diagnostic complexities. Debates over its etiology, ranging from trauma to fantasy predisposition, highlight the need for ongoing research and varied therapeutic approaches. Neuroimaging has uncovered distinct structural and functional brain differences in DID patients, contributing to our understanding of its neurological basis. Despite therapeutic progress, including behavioral and pharmacological interventions, effectively DID treatments remain challenging. Integrating biological, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives is crucial for advancing DID diagnosis and treatment.