Total Psychopathy Score Research Articles

Psychopathic Traits Partly Explained the Reduced Vagal Tone of Batterers Coping with Acute Stress

ABSTRACT The importance of psychopathy for perpetration and maintenance of intimate partner violence (IPV) has been speculated. However, less is known about whether psychopathy would explain a psychophysiological response (cardiorespiratory and electrodermal) of IPV perpetrators dealing with acute stressors. Therefore, we first aimed to assess whether IPV perpetrators (n = 58) showed differences in psychopathic traits and their psychophysiological response to acute stress compared to nonviolent men (n = 53). Second, we examined in both groups whether psychopathic traits would explain a psychophysiological response when dealing with acute laboratory stress. Our results revealed that IPV perpetrators differed from controls in all the psychopathic traits, scoring higher on all psychopathy scales. Moreover, IPV perpetrators showed lower total respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) levels than controls. Finally, regarding high total psychopathy scores, factor 1 and affective facet entailed low RSA levels in both groups and scoring high in lifestyle facet of factor 2 explained reduced heart rate (HR) changes in response to acute stress in both groups. All these results highlighted that a reduced vagal tone could be characteristic of psychopathic traits, especially for the affective facet of psychopathy. Therefore, it would be important to incorporate biological markers in combination with psychological measurements to clearly diagnose IPV perpetrators before starting intervention programs. This would increase our ability to improve IPV intervention therapeutic targets and reduce risk of recidivism.

Criminal Lifestyle Among Women Who Committed Crimes: The Role of Psychopathy

ABSTRACT Research on women who committed crimes has not followed the same developments of males who committed crimes. The study of psychopathy and criminal lifestyle in female populations is one of the main gaps. This study aimed to better understand the construct of psychopathy among women who committed crimes, analyzing its relationship with criminal lifestyle. Sixty-three incarcerated women convicted of different crimes participated in this study. Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and Lifestyle Criminality Screening Form-Revised (LSCF-R) were filled in. Females showed low scores on the total psychopathy score. The interpersonal and lifestyle facets were the highest scored, while the antisocial was the lowest scored. Positive correlations between criminal lifestyle and total psychopathy and lifestyle and antisocial facets were found. After controlling for age and criminal variables, total psychopathy and the lifestyle facet emerge as variables associated with a criminal lifestyle. These results are particularly relevant for the design of prevention and intervention policies in female offenses and for risk assessments.

Reduced sensitivity to affiliation and psychopathic traits.

Psychopathy is characterized by affective and interpersonal deficits, deviant lifestyle, and antisocial behaviors. Much research has been dedicated to understanding the impairments in reinforcement learning, fear conditioning, and sensitivity to threat, distress, or fear in others, which are thought to underpin psychopathic traits. Fewer studies have examined deficits in affiliative processes, which could provide insight into mechanisms giving rise to the impairments in social bonding, closeness with others, and cooperation that also characterize individuals high on psychopathy. The current study examined whether reduced sensitivity to affiliation was related to psychopathic traits among 407 adults from the community (female, 59%). Sensitivity to affiliation was modeled as a latent construct capturing item-level variance shared across 4 measures that assessed sensitivity to emotional and physical cues of affiliation, including stimuli presented as videos or images, and via self-report ratings about sensitivity to positive affiliative and affective cues. Results indicated that lower sensitivity to affiliation was related to higher total psychopathy scores. In particular, in models parsing the overlap of psychopathy factor and facet scores, lower sensitivity to affiliation was uniquely related to higher Factor 1 and affective facet scores, as well as higher scores on a measure of callous-unemotional traits. Our findings provide support for the existence of important socioaffiliative and motivational deficits that may underpin the affective features of psychopathy and speak to the potential to target such mechanisms in interventions and treatments to reduce psychopathic traits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Cortical and subcortical gray matter volume in psychopathy: A voxel-wise meta-analysis.

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies of gray matter volume (GMV) in psychopathy have produced inconsistent results and few have been replicated. Therefore, to clarify GMV abnormalities associated with psychopathy as operationalized by Hare (2003), we conducted a meta-analysis of VBM studies using both categorical and dimensional analyses. We identified seven studies eligible for the categorical meta-analysis (136 men with psychopathy vs 150 male controls) and 11 studies (N = 519) eligible for dimensional metaregressions. First, we used seed-based d mapping with permutation of subject images for voxel-based meta-analyses. Statistical parametric maps of GMV were available for four (57%) of the studies included in the categorical meta-analysis and for five (45%) of the studies included in the dimensional metaregression analyses, with peak coordinates available for the remaining studies. Second, we used metadata of a large-scale neuroimaging database to provide an objective and quantitative account of psychological processes attributed to the brain regions we identified in our group meta-analysis and metaregressions. Men with psychopathy exhibited reliable GMV abnormalities circumscribed to the left hemisphere in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the medial orbitofrontal cortex. Total psychopathy scores and Factors 1 and 2 scores were all related to decreased GMV within those two prefrontal regions, as well as decreased GMV in a wider set of regions encompassing midline, temporal, parietal, occipital, and subcortical structures. We discuss how decreased GMV in those regions likely account for the impairments in the emotion, cognition, action, and perception domains seen in the disorder. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining the factor structure and validity of the Triarchic Model of Psychopathy across measures.

The triarchic model of psychopathy proposes 3 distinct trait domains underlying psychopathy: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. The original (and most widely used) measure developed from this model is the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), which yields a total psychopathy score as well as scores on each of the 3 domains. Recently, researchers have derived several alternative measures from other inventories to assess these 3 domains; however, the purported underlying 3-factor structure of the alternative scales has been relatively untested. In the present study, 431 participants completed the TriPM and its alternative measures via Amazon Mechanical Turk, and items within the scales were subjected to a series of factor analyses. For all measures, fit indices for a 3-factor solution showed poor fit and indicated that the optimal factor solutions ranged between 5 and 7 factors. In addition, although some of the factor scores from the 3-factor solutions appeared to map onto the a priori domains of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition, others were equally correlated with meanness and disinhibition. The current results demonstrate the factor structures of the TriPM and its alternative measures are more complex than the proffered 3-factor solution, which calls into question the extent to which these adequately represent the underlying triarchic model. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Les corrélats des traits de personnalité psychopathiques dans un échantillon d’étudiants universitaires en Tunisie

BackgroundAlthough psychopathy and its predictive factors are well documented in clinical samples, studies in non-clinical populations are relatively rare. We proposed to assess psychopathy traits in a population of Tunisian university students and to analyze their predictive factors. MethodThis was a cross-sectional study of 516 university students enrolled at three major Tunisian universities (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tunis, National Engineering School of Tunis, Faculty of Medicine of Tunis). Participants responded to a survey sheet containing sociodemographic data and the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale. ResultsThe students were female in 63.2 % of the cases, with a mean age of 22.7years. The socio-economic level was middle class in 62.4% of the cases. More than one-quarter of students (26.7%) consumed tobacco. The majority of students (81.4%) spent their free time on the Internet, while 11.8% participated in associative work. Psychopathy scores were relatively high (mean LSRPS scores=64.8) with no noticeable gender differences. Psychopathic traits were significantly associated with university (P=0.017), maternal occupational status (P=0.038), and tobacco use (P=0.029). In addition, the total psychopathy score was significantly lower among students sharing activities with their families (P=0.044) and among students participating in associational work (P=0.025). The multivariate multiple regression has retained as predictive factors of psychopathic traits the fact of being the eldest of his siblings and the associative work. ConclusionPrevention strategies should be put in place to prevent psychopathy and its individual and social impacts in young adults in general, and in university students in particular, especially promoting associative activity in the university environment which is currently lacking in our context.

Understanding interpersonal relationships and psychopathy

ABSTRACTAlthough psychopathy is widely recognised for its importance in forensic and criminal justice settings, the range of interpersonal relationships that are experienced and engaged in by individuals with psychopathy is understudied. A Rapid Evidence Assessment (Study 1) examined what is known empirically about the nature and quality of relationships for individuals with psychopathy. Affective, Cognitive and Lifestyle Assessment (ACL) interviews comprising genograms were then analysed in conjunction with Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) scores to explore the extent, nature, and quality of interpersonal relationships in student and forensic psychiatric samples (Study 2). Quantitative data indicated that total psychopathy score predicted a smaller number of positive interpersonal relationships. Findings regarding Factors 1 and 2 and numbers of positive and negative interpersonal relationships varied between samples. Qualitative analyses demonstrated that psychopathic participants used less positive descriptors than non-psychopathic participants when discussing their interpersonal relationships. Findings are examined with regards to implications for future research.

Is there a link between psychopathy and self-harm?

The aim of this review was to examine whether there is a link between psychopathy and self-harm. A systematic search identified 14 papers which examine this link. A quality appraisal checklist was used to evaluate the quality of each study. The application of the quality appraisal checklist showed that the majority of the studies had good internal validity; however, there were some biases that affected the external validity of some studies. The results indicated that there may be a positive association between total psychopathy score and self-harm; however some studies with smaller sample sizes and low rates of self-harm failed to show this association. The results of most of the studies showed a positive association between Factor 2 of the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) and self-harm. No link was found between Factor 1 and self-harm. The results did not show consistent evidence for a link between any of the four facets and self-harm. Although this review indicates a link between Factor 2 and self-harm, and a possible link between total psychopathy score and self-harm, the small number of studies in this area means that the research is not robust enough to provide strong evidence for these associations.

Reduced regional volumes associated with total psychopathy scores in an adult population with childhood lead exposure

Childhood lead exposure has been correlated to acts of delinquency and criminal behavior; however, little research has been conducted to examine its potential long term influence on behavioral factors such as personality, specifically psychopathic personality. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the effects of childhood lead exposure persist into adulthood, with structural abnormalities found in gray and white matter regions involved in behavioral decision making. The current study examined whether measurements of adult psychopathy were associated with neuroanatomical differences in structural brain volumes for a longitudinal cohort with measured childhood lead exposure. We hypothesized that increased total psychopathy scores and increased blood lead concentration at 78 months of age (PbB78) would be inversely associated with volumetric measures of gray and white matter brain structures responsible for executive and emotional processing. Analyses did not display a direct effect between total psychopathy score and gray matter volume; however, reduced white matter volume in the cerebellum and brain stem in relation to increased total psychopathy scores was observed. An interaction between sex and total psychopathy score was also detected. Females displayed increased gray matter volume in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes associated with increased total psychopathy score, but did not display any white matter volume differences. Males primarily displayed reductions in frontal gray and white matter brain volume in relation to increased total psychopathy scores. Additionally, reduced gray and white matter volume was associated with increased blood lead levels in the frontal lobes; reduced white matter volume was also observed in the parietal and temporal lobes. Females demonstrated gray and white matter volume loss associated with increased PbB78 values in the right temporal lobe, as well as reduced gray matter volume in the frontal lobe. Males displayed reduced white matter volumes associated with increased PbB78 values in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. Comparison of the two primary models revealed a volumetric decrease in the white matter of the left prefrontal cortex associated with increased total psychopathy scores and increased blood lead concentration in males. The results of this study suggested that increased psychopathy scores in this cohort may be attributable to the neuroanatomical abnormalities observed and that childhood lead exposure may be influential to these outcomes.

Identifying vulnerability to violence: the role of psychopathy and gender

PurposeRecent research has suggested that a heightened sensitivity to nonverbal cues may give individuals with psychopathic traits an advantage when selecting potential victims. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of gender on the association between psychopathy and perceptions of vulnerability to violent victimization.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 291 undergraduate students viewed a series of eight videos depicting individual female targets walking down a hallway from behind. Participants rated each target’s vulnerability to violent victimization and provided a justification for each rating. In addition to these ratings, participants completed the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale.FindingsA series of hierarchical linear regressions revealed gender differences in the association between psychopathy and accuracy. Among male observers, total psychopathy scores, Factor 2 psychopathy scores, and scores on the antisocial behavior facet were positively associated with accuracy in perceiving vulnerability to violent victimization. Conversely, no associations were identified between psychopathy (total, Factors, and facets) and accuracy among female observers. This suggests that the adept ability to accurately perceive nonverbal cues signalling vulnerability is specific to males exhibiting psychopathic traits.Originality/valueThe results of the current study highlight the importance of distinguishing male and female psychopathy in research and practice. Moreover, with an understanding of individual differences in the ability to accurately perceive nonverbal cues associated with vulnerability, we may begin to develop intervention strategies aimed at reducing future incidences of victimization.

Triarchic Psychopathy Dimensions in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Investigating Associations with Genetic Variation in the Vasopressin Receptor 1A Gene.

Vasopressin is a neuropeptide known to be associated with the development and evolution of complex socio-emotional behaviors including those relevant to psychopathic personality. In both humans and chimpanzees, recent research suggests a strong genetic contribution to individual variation in psychopathic traits. To date, however, little is known concerning specific genes that might explain the observed heritability of psychopathy. In a relatively large sample of captive chimpanzees (N = 164), the current study thus sought to investigate gene-environment associations between triarchic psychopathy dimensions (i.e., disinhibition, meanness, and boldness) and (1) early social rearing experiences and (2) polymorphisms in the promoter region of the V1A receptor gene (AVPR1A). Among chimpanzees raised by their biological conspecific mothers, AVPR1A was found to uniquely explain variability in disinhibition and in sex-specific ways for boldness and a total psychopathy score; however, in contrast, no significant associations were found between AVPR1A and any of the triarchic psychopathy dimensions in chimpanzees raised the first 3 years of life in a human nursery. Thus, when considered in its entirety, results suggest an important contributory influence of V1A receptor genotype variation in the explanation of the development of psychopathy under some but not all early rearing conditions. Results of the current study provide additional support for the assertion that psychopathic tendencies are rooted in basic, evolutionarily-meaningful dispositions, and provide support for a primate-translational operationalization of key neurobehavioral constructs relevant both to psychopathy and to broader forms of psychopathology.

Risk taking and the triarchic model of psychopathy

ABSTRACTIntroduction: High risk behaviors, such as aggression, criminality, sexual promiscuity, drug use, and gambling, are often associated with psychopathic traits. Such behaviors might arise due to a lack of fear of the consequences (boldness) or due to impulsive actions (disinhibition). We examined risk taking behavior in the laboratory setting using the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), where an individual can inflate a balloon to earn a reward, but will lose this accumulated reward if the balloon bursts. The task reflects the willingness to take risks under conditions where the risk-taking behavior is understood and is made clear to the individual. Method: BART performance was measured in a mixed community and offender sample, and psychopathy was characterized via the triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy, which proposes that psychopathy is a combination of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Results: Total psychopathy score was correlated with greater risk taking on the BART, and this effect was mainly due to the Boldness scale rather than the Meanness or Disinhibition scales. These relationships were not moderated by the nature of the sample (offender vs. community) or by gender. Conclusions: Individuals with high psychopathy scores appear more willing to take risks on this simple laboratory task, and this behavior appears due to boldness rather than being related to an impulsive disposition.

Prevalence of psychopathic traits in a large sample of Polish adolescents from rural and urban areas.

The primary aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of psychopathic traits in a large sample of Polish adolescents representing both the rural and urban social milieu. An additional aim was to compare the results with similar studies conducted in other countries. The study was conducted on a sample of 9,415 secondary school students (4,808 boys, 4,607 girls) aged 13 - 16. Psychopathic traits were measured by teacher-report ratings with the Antisocial Process Screening Device scale (APSD). Only a marginal part of the Polish adolescents demonstrated clinically significant symptoms of psychopathic disorder (N=253; 2.68%). There was a statistically significant difference between subjects from the rural (2.12%) and urban (3.45%) social milieu. Respective comparison showed that Polish youngsters scored much lower on total psychopathy scores than Chinese (Hong Kong) and American adolescents. The authors encourage replication of this research in other East European countries.

Prosecution-retained versus court-appointed experts: Comparing and contrasting risk assessment reports in preventative detention hearings.

The goal of this study was to compare the risk assessment reports of prosecution-retained (n = 43) and court-appointed experts (n = 68) within the context of preventative detention hearings on variables ranging from the information within the assessment reports (e.g., length) to the conclusions drawn in terms of risk and treatment amenability (e.g., categorical statements of risk). A separate section also focused specifically on psychopathy. Court-appointed expert assessments were significantly longer (d = 0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.01, 0.78]) and contained more information pertaining to risk factors (odds ratio [OR] = 4.48, 95% CI [1.21, 16.61]) and risk management (OR = 3.15, 95% CI [1.20, 8.25]). Both types of experts communicated risk assessment results in categorical terms and were highly likely to utilize actuarial scales. Less than half of all assessments contained information on dynamic or protective factors. Other than providing a total psychopathy score, the assessments contained very little additional information about the implications of this score for risk management or treatment amenability. Although the results indicate that risk assessment reports between prosecution-retained and court-appointed experts were more similar than they were different, it is also evident that, overall, reports should contain more information on dynamic risk factors and risk management in order to be useful in the context of preventative detention hearings.

Can psychopathic offenders discern moral wrongs? A new look at the moral/conventional distinction.

A prominent view of psychopathic moral reasoning suggests that psychopathic individuals cannot properly distinguish between moral wrongs and other types of wrongs. The present study evaluated this view by examining the extent to which 109 incarcerated offenders with varying degrees of psychopathy could distinguish between moral and conventional transgressions relative to each other and to nonincarcerated healthy controls. Using a modified version of the classic Moral/Conventional Transgressions task that uses a forced-choice format to minimize strategic responding, the present study found that total psychopathy score did not predict performance on the task. Task performance was explained by some individual subfacets of psychopathy and by other variables unrelated to psychopathy, such as IQ. The authors conclude that, contrary to earlier claims, insufficient data exist to infer that psychopathic individuals cannot know what is morally wrong.

Psychopathy trait scores in adolescents with childhood ADHD: the contribution of genotypes affecting MAOA, 5HTT and COMT activity

Psychopathy-related traits, especially those tapping the 'emotional dysfunction' aspect of psychopathy that is characterized by lack of emotional responsiveness, are thought to be of genetic origin, but molecular genetic studies are yet to be undertaken. Gene variants that affect COMT, MAOA and 5HTT activity have previously been linked to antisocial behaviour. The aims of this study were to test whether these gene variants are linked to psychopathy traits in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Adolescents were followed up 5 years after an initial diagnosis of ADHD. Psychopathy trait scores were assessed [total scores and 'emotional dysfunction' (also referred to as 'affective') scores] and the MAOA 30-bp variable number of tandem repeats, SLC6A4 44-bp insertion/deletion and COMT Val158Met variants were genotyped. All three gene variants were associated with 'emotional dysfunction' scores. MAOA and 5HTT variants were associated with total psychopathy scores. The results were not explained by associated conduct disorder. The results suggest that specific gene variants influence psychopathy traits in ADHD.

Distinct characteristics of psychopathy relate to different subtypes of aggression

This article both selectively reviews the evidence supporting the view that reactive and proactive aggression actually reflect related but separate constructs, and also investigates the selective relationship between these forms of aggression and psychopathic personality in 121 male prison inmates. Results show that total psychopathy scores were related to residualized scores of proactive (but not reactive) aggression. However, different sub-characteristics of psychopathy were differentially related to reactive as well as proactive aggression. Results support the view that reactive and proactive aggression have differential correlates, and suggest that while psychopathic personality is predominantly characterized by proactive aggression, some psychopathy components are more related to reactive aggression.

Psychopathy traits in adolescents with childhood attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are thought to be at higher risk of psychopathy. Early biological and social adversity may contribute to this risk. To examine psychopathy traits in ADHD. In a sample of children with ADHD who had reached adolescence, total psychopathy and 'emotional-dysfunction' scores (e.g. callousness, lack of affect) were assessed using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version. A total of 156 (79%) eligible families participated. Total psychopathy and emotional-dysfunction scores were elevated in comparison to published UK norms but none scored in the clinical range for psychopathy. Adjusting for associated conduct problems, total psychopathy scores were associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy, emotional-dysfunction scores were associated with birth complications, and neither was associated with family adversity. Children with ADHD show psychopathy traits but are not 'psychopaths'. Early adversity, indexed by pre- or perinatal adversity but not family factors, appears to be associated.

The Stability of Psychopathy From Adolescence Into Adulthood

This study examines moderators of the relation between psychopathy assessed at age 13 using the mother-reported Childhood Psychopathy Scale and psychopathy assessed at age 24 using the interviewer-rated Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV). Data from more than 250 participants of the middle sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study were used. Thirteen potential moderators were examined, including demographics (i.e., race, family structure, family socioeconomic status [SES], and neighborhood SES), parenting factors (physical punishment, inconsistent discipline, lax supervision, and positive parenting), peer delinquency, own delinquency, and other individual differences (i.e., verbal IQ, behavioral impulsivity, and cognitive impulsivity). Moderators were examined for the total psychopathy score at age 24 as well as for each of the four PCL:SV facets. After relaxing the criterion for statistical significance, 8 out of a possible 65 interactions were statistically significant. Implications of the present findings and future directions are discussed.

Face affect recognition deficits in personality-disordered offenders: association with psychopathy

There is a limited literature examining face affect recognition in offenders. In line with the Integrated Emotion Systems (IES) model, existing studies suggest a psychopathy-related deficit in sad/fear recognition. However, many of these studies have small samples, and few include a healthy control group in order to examine the contribution of criminality. We compared the performance of male criminals with dissocial (antisocial) personality disorder (PD group) and healthy male IQ-matched controls, on a morphed face affect-processing task and examined the relationship between psychopathy (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version, PCL: SV), score and performance on this task in the PD sample. The PD group had a specific deficit in the recognition of sad facial affect that was present even at 100% expression intensity. This deficit could not be attributed to impulsive responding as the PD group generally had longer mean reaction times than healthy controls. Within the PD group, those with high scores on the PCL: SV were less accurate than low scorers at classifying sad facial affect. There was also a significant negative correlation between total psychopathy score and sad affect recognition accuracy. There were no specific relationships between affect recognition and the subcomponents of psychopathy. The findings suggest that criminality/antisocial personality may be associated with a deficit in the recognition of aversive cues in others, and that this deficit is more severe in psychopathic offenders. The findings lend further support to the IES model.