Relations between self-serving cognitive distortions, psychopathic traits, and antisocial behavior in a non-clinical sample of adolescents

The aim of the present study was to assess the relative contributions self-serving cognitive distortions and psychopathic traits to adolescent antisocial behavior. Participants were 972 high-school students who completed self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that self-serving cognitive distortions, psychopathic traits, as well as their interaction term were significant predictors of antisocial behavior in both genders after adjustment for the main other cognitive, psychopathological and sociofamilial variables. High levels of self-serving cognitive distortions were associated with more extensive antisocial behavior among participants with higher scores on psychopathic traits. This result may have implications for prevention and treatment.     

Examining the association between MAOA genotype and incarceration, anger and hostility: The moderating influences of risk and protective factors

Findings from molecular genetic research have indicated that a polymorphism in the promoter region of the MAOA gene interacts with environmental liabilities to predict antisocial phenotypes. We use these findings as a springboard to examine whether a global protective-risk factor index moderates the effect of MAOA genotype on the probability of being incarcerated and on a measure of anger and hostility. Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) indicates that exposure to risk and protective factors in adolescence are able to moderate the effect of MAOA genotype on anger and hostility in adulthood for males. The results in relation to the probability of being incarcerated were consistently null.     

Contributions of psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic personality traits to juvenile delinquency

The aim of this study was to assess the relative contributions of psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic traits to delinquent behaviors in adolescents. Participants were 615 high-school students who completed self-report questionnaires. Psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic traits were moderately correlated suggesting they may be overlapping but distinct constructs. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to control for other socio-familial or psychopathological risk factors. Psychopathic and sadistic traits were independent predictors of delinquent behaviors in boys only. These findings suggest the importance of studying the role of sadistic traits in juvenile delinquency.     

Examining the relationship between self-reported compliance and psychopathic personality traits

The relationship between antisocial traits and forensically-relevant compliance is equivocal, perhaps due to the heterogeneity of antisocial traits. In an effort to better understand this relationship, the current study used the construct of psychopathy as a means of parsing this heterogeneity. Specifically, the relationship between psychopathy as captured by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005) and compliance measured by the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS; [Gudjonsson, 1989] and [Gudjonsson, 1997]) among a sample of university students (n = 131) was explored. Results revealed that total scores on the PPI-R were unrelated to compliance. However, specific facets of the PPI-R were related to the GCS, but in opposite directions. This might explain inconsistent findings in the extant literature. The findings stemming from the study provide insights into the relationship between antisocial traits and forensically-relevant compliance and offer direction to future efforts aimed at understanding this relationship. Implications for these distinct relationships in the context of false confessions are discussed.     

Trauma as an objective or subjective experience: The association between types of traumatic events,personality traits,subjective experience of the event,and posttraumatic symptoms

The study aimed to examine the discrete effect of objective (type of trauma and demographic characteristics) and subjective (proximity to the trauma, subjective experience of the trauma as a threat, the Big Five personality traits, and dissociative symptoms) factors on the risk for PTSD among 1,210 undergraduate students. The findings indicate that survivors of physical/sexual assault scored the highest on proximity to the trauma, subjective experience of the trauma as a threat, neuroticism, dissociation, and PTSD symptoms. In addition, subjective experience of the trauma, proximity to it, type of trauma, dissociation, and neuroticism were associated with the risk for PTSD symptoms. The findings point to the significance of both subjective and objective variables in the risk for PTSD symptoms.     

Relation between resilience and personality traits: The role of hopelessness and age

Resilience refers to the process by which individuals use the ability to cope with challenges to successfully adapt to adverse situations, inclining towards the future and hope. The main aim of this study was to analyze the relation between resilience, personality traits, and hopelessness. Furthermore, we conducted comparisons between two age groups: young and older adults. The sample comprised 439 Spanish participants (66.7% women; M = 43.73, SD = 26.41; age range = 18–98 years). The Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, NEO-Five Factor Inventory, and Beck Hopelessness Scale were used to measure the main study variables. The results revealed a negative relation between resilience and neuroticism, and a positive association with the other personality traits. Additionally, levels of resilience were found to be negatively related to hopelessness. The group of older adults showed significantly lower resilience levels than the young adults, although age was not a significant predictor of resilience. Neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and hopelessness were the only predictors of resilience for the current study. This work contributes to the study of resilience and related factors, by attempting to understand the role of resilience and resistance to risk and how individuals tackle challenges over time, with important implications for mental health.     

Relations between self-serving cognitive distortions,psychopathic traits,and antisocial behavior in a non-clinical sample of adolescents

The aim of the present study was to assess the relative contributions self-serving cognitive distortions and psychopathic traits to adolescent antisocial behavior. Participants were 972 high-school students who completed self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that self-serving cognitive distortions, psychopathic traits, as well as their interaction term were significant predictors of antisocial behavior in both genders after adjustment for the main other cognitive, psychopathological and sociofamilial variables. High levels of self-serving cognitive distortions were associated with more extensive antisocial behavior among participants with higher scores on psychopathic traits. This result may have implications for prevention and treatment.     

The relationship between emotional intelligence and the dark triad personality traits: A meta-analytic review

This is a meta-analysis of emotional intelligence (EI) and Dark Triad traits. EI is significantly and negatively related to Machiavellianism (overall EI:

= −0.29; ability EI:

= −0.31; trait EI:

= −0.27) and to psychopathy (overall EI:

= −0.17; ability EI:

= −0.21; trait EI:

= −0.16). EI is not related to narcissism (overall EI:

= 0.02; ability EI:

= −0.10; trait EI:

= 0.05). The types of EI did not moderate the relationships between EI and Dark Triad traits. EI measures and measures of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy exhibited significant moderator effects. Using EI scales may be a practical way to screen out candidates high in Machiavellianism and psychopathy.     

Genetic polymorphisms of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes and their association with alcoholism risk,personality and anthropometric traits among Malaysian university students

Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in alcohol-metabolizing genes – ADH1B (Arg47His), ADH1C (Ile350Val) and ALDH2 (Glu504Lys) have been extensively associated with flush reaction and alcoholism. Therefore, we investigated the association of these three SNPs with alcohol-induced reactions (AIRs), alcoholism risk, personality and anthropometric traits among Malaysian university students. AIRs, Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) and Ten-Item Personality were surveyed, anthropometric measurements and DNA samples were taken. Among 264 valid drinkers (111 males, 153 females; 229 ethnic Chinese, 35 ethnic Indians), the minor allele frequencies for ADH1B, ADH1C, ALDH2 among Chinese/Indians were .45/.07, .33/.40, .32/.41, respectively; distribution of ADH1B alleles significantly different between ethnicities. Current/former experiences of flushing, hives, heart palpitations after alcohol consumption; and sleepiness, headache reactions, early and overall SRE were significantly different between ethnicities and genders, respectively. Overall SRE score was associated with ADH1C and ALDH2 alleles. ‘Openness to Experiences’ was associated with ALDH2 genotypes and alleles; Glu/Glu or Glu carriers showed significantly higher means. ADH1B Arg/Arg and Arg carriers showed significantly higher total body and subcutaneous fats but association was abolished after controlling for ethnicity. In conclusion, gender and ethnicity, but not alcohol-metabolizing gene variants, play a role in influencing the manifestation of AIRs.     

Longitudinal associations of cognitive ability,personality traits and school grades with antisocial behaviour

This study investigated the role of adolescents' cognitive ability, personality traits and school success in predicting later criminal behaviour. Cognitive ability, the five‐factor model personality traits and the school grades of a large sample of Estonian schoolboys (N = 1919) were measured between 2001 and 2005. In 2009, judicial databases were searched to identify participants who had been convicted of misdemeanours or criminal offences. Consistent with previous findings, having a judicial record was associated with lower cognitive ability, grade point average, agreeableness, and conscientiousness and higher neuroticism. In multivariate path models, however, the contributions of cognitive ability and conscientiousness were accounted for by school grades and the effect of neuroticism was also accounted for by other variables, leaving grade point average and agreeableness the only independent predictors of judicial record status. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating associations between empathy, morality and psychopathic personality traits in the general population

Although atypical moral and empathy processing are considered core features of psychopathic personality, little is known about how these constructs are associated with psychopathic traits in the general population. One-hundred and twenty-four adult males from the community were administered the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale 4 Short Form, as well as a wide battery of affect, empathy and morality tasks and questionnaires. Our findings indicate that both core affective-interpersonal, as well as lifestyle-antisocial features of psychopathy are associated with weaker empathic responses to fearful faces. However, only the unique variance of the affective-interpersonal features is associated with weaker empathic response to happy stories, lower propensity to feel empathic concern and less difficulty in making decisions on moral dilemmas. In contrast, the unique variance of the lifestyle-antisocial features is associated with greater propensity to feel empathic concern. These preliminary findings extend previous research and suggest that, while the joint variance between affective-interpersonal and lifestyle-antisocial features might drive some ‘deficits’ associated with psychopathy, there also appears also to be unique ‘deficits’ associated with the core affective-interpersonal features, particularly in relation to affective aspects of moral processing.     

Mindfulness and spirituality as predictors of personal maturity beyond the influence of personality traits

Historically, the concept of human maturity has been discussed in the social science field. The process of attaining maturity has also been explored since last century. This study investigates the possible influences of mindfulness practice and spirituality in predicting maturity. The model of causes of maturity in this study assesses the contributions of personality, mindfulness, and spirituality in the prediction of maturity in a random sample of 537 Chinese adults. Results indicated that personality, mindfulness, and spirituality all correlated with maturity in many aspects. Multiple regression analyses found that mindfulness and spirituality each added an additional significant amount of variance in maturity after controlling for the influence of age and personality. As expected, when mindfulness and spirituality were practiced together, the amount of combined incremental influence on maturity was significantly greater than the amounts of incremental influence mindfulness and spirituality each alone had on maturity.     

Adaptive and maladaptive personality traits as predictors of violent and nonviolent offending behavior in men and women

The aim of this study was to assess both violent and nonviolent offending behavior in a single, mixed‐sex population. The rationale for this is that the two types of offending are usually researched separately, despite evidence that they overlap. A comprehensive measure of general violence, intimate partner violence (IPV), and nonviolent offending behavior was administered to 116 men and 181 women, together with measures of personality and personality disorder (PD) traits, to investigate whether predictors of violent and nonviolent offending were similar or different for men and women. Men were found to perpetrate higher levels of general violence and nonviolent offenses than women, but women perpetrated significantly more IPV than men. Cluster B PD traits predicted all three offense types for women and also men's general violence and nonviolent offending. Women's general violence and men's non‐violence also had one unique risk factor each, low agreeableness, and low conscientiousness, respectively. The main difference was for IPV, where men's IPV was predicted by cluster A PD traits, indicating that men's and women's risk factors for IPV may be different, although their risk factors for the other offense types were fairly consistent. Aggr. Behav. 36:177–186, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Exploring the association between emotional abuse and childhood borderline personality features: the moderating role of personality traits

Most of the extant literature on borderline personality disorder has focused on the course, consequences, and correlates of this disorder among adults. However, little is known about childhood borderline personality (BP) features, or the factors associated with the emergence of BP pathology in childhood. A greater understanding of childhood BP features and associated risk factors has important implications for the development of primary and secondary prevention programs. The goal of the present study was to examine the interrelationships among two BP-relevant traits (affective dysfunction and impulsivity), a BP-relevant environmental stressor (emotional abuse), and BP features in a sample of 225 children aged 11 to 14 years. Results provide support for the role of both trait vulnerabilities and environmental stressors in childhood BP features. Further, findings highlight the moderating role of affective dysfunction in the relationship between emotional abuse and childhood BP features.     

The association of Big Five personality traits and religiosity on Internet addiction among Israeli-Palestinian Muslim college students in Israel

ABSTRACT

Prior studies have demonstrated that personality traits and religiosity may be protective/risk factors for the development of Internet addiction; however, these associations have not been examined among the unique population of Israeli-Palestinian young adults. This study was the first to investigate the relationships between Internet addiction (Internet Addiction Test; IAT) with the Big Five personality traits (Big Five Personality Trait Short Questionnaire; BFPTSQ) and religiosity (Positions Regarding Religion Questionnaire) among a sample of Israeli-Palestinian Muslim college students (n?=?350). IAT scores were positively associated with BFPTSQ openness (r?=?.33, p?<?.01), BFPTSQ extraversion (r?=?.30, p?<?.01), and BFPTSQ agreeableness (r?=?.36, p?<?.01), whereas IAT scores were negatively related to religiosity (r?=??.46, p?<?.01), BFPTSQ conscientiousness (r?=??.33, p?<?.01), and BFPTSQ emotional stability (r?=??.36, p?<?.01). The present work may provide insight into risk factors for developing Internet addiction in a manner that may increase early identification and intervention efforts.     

The mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between big five personality traits and depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduate medical students

The objectives of this study were to examine the correlations between big five personality traits and depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduate medical students, and to explore the mediating role of self-esteem on the correlations. Self-reported questionnaires, including Big Five Inventory, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem scale, and socio-demographic section were distributed to 2000 undergraduate medical students at four medical colleges and universities in Liaoning province, China, in June 2014. 1738 students became the final subjects. After adjustment for age and gender, agreeableness (β = −0.329) and openness (β = −0.096) were negatively related to depressive symptoms, while neuroticism (β = 0.245) was positively related to the symptoms. Self-esteem functioned as a mediator in the relationship between agreeableness (a * b = −0.154, 95% CI: −0.182, −0.127)/openness (a * b = −0.097, 95% CI: −0.124, −0.069)/neuroticism (a * b = 0.031, 95% CI: 0.007, 0.058) and depressive symptoms. Therefore, identifying at-risk students and undertaking appropriate intervention strategies that focus on both personality traits and self-esteem may be effective in preventing and reducing depressive symptoms among Chinese medical students.