Psychopathy and the Five-factor model of personality: a replication and extension

It has recently been argued that psychopathy can be understood and represented using common dimensions of personality taken from the Five-factor model (FFM). In this research, we examined this possibility by using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992) to assess psychopathy in an undergraduate sample. Specifically, we matched individuals' NEO-PI-R profiles with an expert-generated psychopathy prototype to yield a psychopathy score. These scores were correlated with self-reports of drug use, delinquency, risky sex, aggression, and several laboratory tasks. FFM psychopathy was significantly related to all forms of deviance, although the effects tended to be small in size. Moreover, individuals who more closely resembled the prototypic FFM psychopath were more aggressive in a laboratory aggression task, less willing to delay gratification in a time discounting task, and demonstrated a preference for aggressive responses in a social information-processing paradigm.     

Psychopathy and violence: the importance of factor level interactions

The power of scales based on the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL; R. D. Hare, 1980) for prediction of violent behavior is well established. Although evidence suggests that this relationship is chiefly due to the impulsive and antisocial lifestyle component (Factor 2), the predictive power of psychopathy for violence may also reflect the multiplicative effects of this component with interpersonal and unemotional traits (Factor 1). The determination of the extent to which psychopathy subcomponents interact to predict violence has theoretical and practical implications for PCL-assessed psychopathy. However, the relationship between violence and the interactive effects of psychopathy subcomponents remains largely undetermined. The authors used prospective and cross-sectional designs to examine the independent and interactive effects of the factors of PCL-assessed psychopathy in 2 samples: (a) 199 county jail inmates and (b) 863 civil psychiatric patients. The Factor 1 x Factor 2 interaction predicted violence in both samples, such that the predictive power of Factor 2 was attenuated at lower levels of Factor 1.     

The Role of Exposure to Violence and Psychopathy on Violent Crime Perpetration

Exposure to violence strongly predicts violent behavior. However, not all individuals who are exposed to violence engage in violent behavior. Personality is one factor that influences the translation from exposure to violence to engagement in violent behavior. Previous research in adolescents showed that psychopathy (a personality disorder) mediated the relationship between exposure to violence and violent behavior. However, this research has not: been conducted in adults, despite evidence of instability in exposure to violence and psychopathy across the lifespan; examined the specificity of this relationship to different expressions of psychopathy, such as subcomponent Factors and primary/secondary subtypes; and, considered other environmental experiences that may impact this relationship. In two samples of adults (community [N?=?232] and prison [N?=?313]), psychopathy affected the relationship between exposure to violence and violence (community indirect effect?=?0.03, SE?=?0.02, 95% CI?=?0.004, 0.07; prison indirect effect?=?0.14, SE?=?0.05, 95% CI?=?0.05, 0.25). These effects appeared to be related more strongly to the impulsive-antisocial traits of psychopathy and the secondary (high-anxious) subtype of psychopathy. Results were robust against demographic and other environmental experiences. Ultimately, our findings indicate that psychopathy is an important factor affecting the link between exposure to violence and violent behavior.

     

A review of the relationship between sociocultural factors and juvenile psychopathy

Juvenile psychopathy is becoming an increasingly important construct for clinicians and those in the judicial system alike. The importance of understanding not only the concept of juvenile psychopathy, but also the sociocultural determinants and risk factors is important for treatment and predictive purposes. A literature review of several social, demographic, and cultural factors that may contribute to the development of juvenile psychopathy was conducted. These factors are race, culture and ethnicity, gender, trauma, family, community influence, and peer influence. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

The antisocial process screening device: an examination of its construct and criterion-related validity

The clinical assessment of psychopathy in adulthood is well established via programmatic research. More recently, psychopathy has been extended to children and adolescents with correlates to maladaptive personality traits, violent behavior, and noncompliance with institutional rules. To screen for adolescent psychopathy, the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) was developed as a 20-item self-report measure of psychopathy. The original validation of the APSD was limited to samples of clinic-referred and community-based children. In extending this research to delinquent populations, the current article uses two separate samples of adolescent offenders incarcerated in a maximum security facility (n = 78) and a local juvenile detention facility (n = 77). As evidence of criterion-related validity, the APSD was compared with two versions of the Psychopathy Checklist that yielded mixed results. Construct validity was examined via a confirmatory factor analysis that provided support for a three-factor model of the APSD.     

The Latent Structure of Psychopathy in Youth: A Taxometric Investigation

Using taxometric procedures, the latent structure of psychopathy was investigated in two studies of children and adolescents. Prior studies have identified a taxon (i.e., a natural category) associated with antisocial behavior in adults as well as children and adolescents. However, features of this taxon suggest that it is not psychopathy but rather a broader class consistent with the construct of life course persistent antisocial behavior. Because the only prior study of youth used a non-clinical sample, the base rate of psychopathy may have been too low to reveal a psychopathy taxon, especially against the background of a broader and more prevalent antisocial behavior taxon. Therefore, this investigation sought to increase the likelihood of finding a psychopathy taxon (should one exist) by increasing its expected base rate through inclusion of clinical cases in the samples studied. Results produced evidence for both a broad antisocial behavior problem taxon consistent with past research and a much lower base rate taxon consistent with prevalence expectations for psychopathy. These findings support the existence of latent taxa for both psychopathy and a broader class of antisocial behavior problems. Further taxometric research appears to be warranted, which should use a broader array of indicators, with greater specificity to psychopathy.     

Psychopathy: A comprehensive review of its assessment and intervention

Psychopathy is one of the most studied personality disorders, in terms of the negative impact that the behaviors associated with this disorder — particularly, the criminal behavior — have in the community where the individual lives. The aim of this article is to present a comprehensive literature review on psychopathy, focusing some difficulties related to its concept, assessment, and intervention. Here, psychopathy is presented as a construct resulting from decades of clinical and empirical research, and whose dimensional nature justifies the possibility of assessing the general population. Studies indicate that psychopathy is manifested in a number of behaviors resulting from biological and personality factors related to a series of family history and environmental factors. We emphasize the need for more empirical research on psychopathy in the general population in Portugal, regarding the development and adaptation of measures of the construct.     

Psychopathic personality or personalities? Exploring potential variants of psychopathy and their implications for risk assessment

Although psychopathy typically has been construed as a relatively uniform construct, seminal theories and contemporary research suggest that it may be heterogeneous. In this article, the most promising literature is distilled to distinguish among potential variants of antisocial personality disorder (APD) that can be derived from, and informed by, modern conceptions of psychopathy. This analysis suggests that there are primary and secondary variants of psychopathy, which may be distinguished based on the extent to which they are heritable and are characterized by affective deficits, impulsivity, trait anxiety, and characteristics of borderline and narcissistic personality disorders (NPD). These variants also may differ in their patterns of violence and responsivity to treatment. If variants of psychopathy can be identified reliably and supported empirically, psychopathy may be transformed from a global label to a set of more specific constructs that improve our ability to understand, manage, and treat individuals who have largely been regarded as dangerous and untreatable.     

Psychopathy and Axis I psychiatric disorders among criminal offenders: relationships to impulsive and proactive aggression

Both psychopathology and aggression are heterogeneous constructs. Determining which forms of psychopathology relate to risk for different classes of aggressive behavior has implications for risk recognition and management. This study examined the relationships of impulsive aggression (IA) and proactive aggression (PA) to psychopathy and symptoms of several Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Axis I disorders in a sample of criminal offenders. Results replicated prior findings from community samples of a broad relationship between psychopathology and IA. PA was related only to psychopathy. An interaction was found whereby IA was associated with impulsive–antisocial traits of psychopathy only for individuals with moderate to high levels of generalized anxiety. Results indicate that assessing and treating several Axis I disorders in offenders may decrease risk for IA. Moreover, current findings raise the possibility that generalized anxiety is a key, modifiable component of the relationship between IA and impulsive–antisocial traits. Aggr. Behav. 36:45–53, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Relationship between psychopathy and indirect aggression use in a noncriminal population

Psychopathy has long been associated with increased use of direct aggression and violence, especially among male inmates. Little research has, of yet, considered the relation between psychopathy and indirect forms of aggression. The current research sought to investigate the relationship between psychopathy and indirect aggression in a noncriminal sample. The results indicated that there was a strong relationship between psychopathic traits and indirect aggression, with strong correlations between indirect aggression and both factor 1 (coldheartedness) and factor 3 (impulsive antisociality). This association remained significant even after the effects of direct aggression had been controlled for. Path analysis indicated that both direct and indirect aggression was underpinned by the same psychopathy factors. This suggests that high psychopathy scorers will utilize direct and indirect aggression equally and, as such, the choice of one type of aggression over the other may be dependant on either situational factors or external moderators. Aggr. Behav. 35:408–421, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Can We Use Hare’s Psychopathy Model within Forensic and Non-Forensic Populations? An Empirical Investigation

Although psychopathy construct (Self-Report Psychopathy Scale–Short Form [SRP–SF]) was assessed among various samples, prior research did not investigate whether the model proposed by Hare and colleagues can be used to capture psychopathy scores derived from forensic and nonforensic populations. The main objective of the current study was to test dimensionality, construct validity, and factorial invariance of the SRP–SF within prison (n = 730) and student (n = 2,506) samples. Our results indicate that the SRP–SF measure cannot be used in the same way within forensic and nonforensic samples, which may be due to the inclusion of criminal/antisocial traits as an integral part of psychopathy.     

Psychopathic Personality Traits and Somatization: Sex Differences and the Mediating Role of Negative Emotionality

Although a number of investigations have provided evidence for an association between antisocial personality disorder and somatization disorder, the variables underlying this association remain unknown. We examined the relations among measures of primary and secondary psychopathy, somatization, and negative emotionality (NE) in 150 undergraduates. Somatization was positively and significantly correlated with measures of secondary, but not primary, psychopathy, and the relations between secondary psychopathy indices and somatization tended to be significantly stronger in females than in males. Some support was found for the hypothesis that the association between secondary psychopathy and somatization is mediated by NE, but not for the hypothesis that low levels of behavioral inhibition lead to somatization. Although the present findings are consistent with the possibility that somatization is a sex-differentiated manifestation of secondary psychopathic traits, replication of these findings in clinical samples will be necessary.     

Assessment of "juvenile psychopathy" and its association with violence: a critical review

Interest in the construct of psychopathy as it applies to children and adolescents has become an area of considerable research interest in the past 5-10 years, in part due to the clinical utility of psychopathy as a predictor of violence among adult offenders. Despite interest in "juvenile psychopathy" in general and its relationship to violence in particular, relatively few studies specifically have examined whether operationalizations of this construct among children and adolescents predict various forms of aggression. This article critically reviews this literature, as well as controversies regarding the assessment of adult psychopathic "traits" among juveniles. Existing evidence indicates a moderate association between measures of psychopathy and various forms of aggression, suggesting that this construct may be relevant for purposes of short-term risk appraisal and management among juveniles. However, due to the enormous developmental changes that occur during adolescence and the absence of longitudinal research on the stability of this construct (and its association with violence), we conclude that reliance on psychopathy measures to make decisions regarding long-term placements for juveniles is contraindicated at this time.     

Psychopathy,unconscious shame and attachment: Considering the psychodynamics of psychopathy

Recent psychopathy research has involved a critical re-examination of the construct. Absent from this research has been an analysis of the role unconscious shame might play in etiology, traits and behaviour. Outside of the domain of psychopathy research, the significant role shame plays in intra- and interpersonal dynamics has been comprehensively investigated for the past few decades. More recently, exploration into the role that attachment plays in the development of shame has been suggested. The extant shame literature has explored the connection between unconscious shame and a range of behaviours, many of which are characteristic of psychopathy. While there have been some investigations on the association between psychopathy and conscious shame, this paper suggests that the exploration of unconscious shame, and its development resulting from certain attachment dynamics, can potentially further enhance our conceptualisation of psychopathy with regard to etiology, traits, behaviour, assessment and treatment. After reviewing the literature on unconscious shame, attachment and psychopathy, recommendations for future research are suggested.     

Emotion and aggression in the psychopathic personality

This paper presents an integrative conceptual framework for understanding relationships between psychopathy and aggression, and reviews the extant relevant literature in relation to this framework. Issues pertaining to conceptualization and subtyping of aggression are reviewed with reference to contemporary emotion theory, and recent research on the emotional and temperamental underpinnings of criminal psychopathy is described. It is argued that different forms of aggression may be related to disparate facets of psychopathy, and that these relationships may be mediated by common dispositional factors. Methodological limitations of existing studies are identified, and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Emotion and aggression in the psychopathic personality

This paper presents an integrative conceptual framework for understanding relationships between psychopathy and aggression, and reviews the extant relevant literature in relation to this framework. Issues pertaining to conceptualization and subtyping of aggression are reviewed with reference to contemporary emotion theory, and recent research on the emotional and temperamental underpinnings of criminal psychopathy is described. It is argued that different forms of aggression may be related to disparate facets of psychopathy, and that these relationships may be mediated by common dispositional factors. Methodological limitations of existing studies are identified, and suggestions for future research are offered.     

A meta‐analysis of psychopathy‐, antisocial PD‐ and FFM associations

This research meta‐analytically summarizes the relationships of the Five‐Factor Model (FFM) with psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD). Effect sizes of the associations between psychopathy, APD and the FFM were compiled from 26 independent samples (N = 6913) for psychopathy and 57 independent samples (N = 16 424) for APD. The results revealed predominantly points of similarity and some differences in the FFM associations of both disorders. Symptoms of psychopathy and APD were negatively associated with Conscientiousness and Agreeableness facets and positively with scores on Angry–Hostility (N2), Impulsiveness (N5), Excitement Seeking (E5) and negatively with Warmth (E1). Only psychopathy had a small negative association with Anxiety (N1) and was characterized by stronger negative associations with Agreeableness and Straightforwardness (A2), Compliance (A4) and Modesty (A5) compared to APD. The moderator analyses showed that sample type, use of the NEO‐PI‐R and APD instrument moderated the APD FFM associations, while psychopathy instrument and age group were moderators in the psychopathy MA. Implications of this research for the assessment of APD and psychopathy relying on dimensional models of personality pathology are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Amount of altruistic punishment accounts for subsequent emotional gratification in participants with primary psychopathy

We are often willing to incur personal costs in order to punish people that violate group norms. Previous studies have suggested that high-psychopathy participants may engage in more such “altruistic punishment behaviors” than those with lower levels of psychopathy. Although this finding could suggest that psychopathy is in fact associated with prosocial behavior, high-psychopathy participants show clear evidence of various decision-making and emotional deficits. It is therefore possible that the increased altruistic punishment behavior observed in psychopathy participants is in some fashion related to such deficits. To address this possibility, we administered the altruistic punishment paradigm to a group of university students with low and high levels of psychopathy (N = 50). We found that high-psychopathy participants (n = 24) gave defectors significantly more punishment than did low psychopathy participants (n = 26), under personally costly conditions. Furthermore, a mediational analysis revealed that the amount of altruistic punishment administered completely mediated the relationship between primary psychopathy and a person’s emotional gratification subsequent to performing the altruistic punishment behavior. These findings suggest that while high psychopathy participants do appear to engage in greater levels of altruistic punishment behavior, they may do this largely for their own emotional gratification.     

Greed is good? Assessing the relationship between entrepreneurship and subclinical psychopathy

Despite the stereotype of entrepreneurs as corporate psychopaths, there has been little research on the overlap between individual differences in entrepreneurship and subclinical psychopathy. In line with this issue, the current study investigated whether primary and secondary psychopathy are linked to a measure of entrepreneurial tendencies and abilities, as well as entrepreneurial activities and achievements. Participants were 435 working adults. Structural equation models revealed that individual differences in entrepreneurial tendencies and abilities were positively related to primary psychopathy, but unrelated to secondary psychopathy. Secondary psychopathy did not predict entrepreneurial activity; primary psychopathy predicted some entrepreneurial outcomes, albeit modestly, providing partial support for the ‘corporate psychopath’ stereotype. Implications for entrepreneurship research and practice are discussed.