Associations Between Conduct Disorder,Neurodevelopmental Problems and Psychopathic Personality Traits in a Swedish Twin Youth Population

Previous research has found a complex relationship between psychopathic traits, neurodevelopmental problems (NDPs), and conduct disorder (CD) in children. This study explores associations between psychopathic traits, assessed with the Child Problematic Traits Inventory—Short Version (CPTI-SV), and CD in children with and without coexisting NDPs (i.e., attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] and autism spectrum disorder [ASD]) in a community-based sample of Swedish twins (n?=?8762). Findings indicate weak to moderately strong correlations between psychopathic traits and CD, ADHD, and ASD, respectively. Furthermore, in univariable analyses, both psychopathic traits and NDPs displayed significant positive associations with being screened positive for CD, though only the grandiose-deceitful dimension of CPTI-SV and the ADHD domain concentration and attention deficits remained significantly associated with CD in a multivariable regression model. The results are relevant to screening and assessment in child and youth psychiatry, as a grandiose and deceitful interpersonal style may also be a valid sign of children at risk of developing CD.     

Friendly fire: Longitudinal effects of exposure to violent video games on aggressive behavior in adolescent friendship dyads

Research on gaming effects has focused on adolescence, a developmental period in which peer relationships become increasingly salient. However, the impact of peers on the effects of violent gaming on adolescents has been understudied. This study examined whether adolescents’ exposure to violent video games predicted their own and their friend's aggression one year later. Among 705 gaming adolescents, 141 dyads were identified based on reciprocated best friend nominations (73.8% male, M_age = 13.98). Actor‐Partner Interdependence Models indicated that adolescent males’ (but not females’) exposure to violent games positively predicted the aggression of their best friend 1 year later. This effect appeared regardless of whether the friends played video games together or not. The study illustrates the importance of peers in the association between violent gaming and aggression.     

Trauma exposure and life satisfaction among at-risk black South African adolescents

This study aimed to construct a model to explain trauma exposure and life satisfaction among black South African school learners. A random sample of 366 black adolescents selected from ten South African schools participated (females = 63.2%; rural = 24.2%; mean age = 13.9 years). The school learners were surveyed on trauma exposure, resources, coping and resilience, and life satisfaction. A structural equation modelling analysis indicated that interpersonal, intrapersonal and affective strengths, coping skills, family involvement, and school functioning were associated with increased resilience, which in turn predicted life satisfaction. Interventions aimed at increasing resilience in contexts characterised by high levels of trauma exposure should prioritise helping adolescents access both internal and external resources, such as coping skills and family involvement respectively.     

A Republican Housewife: Marie‐Jeanne Phlipon Roland on Women's Political Role

In this paper I look at the philosophical (and sometimes personal) struggles of one eighteenth‐century woman writer to reconcile a desire and obvious capacity to participate in the creation of republican ideals and their applications on the one hand, and on the other a deeply held belief that women's role in a republic is confined to the domestic realm. I argue that Marie‐Jeanne Phlipon Roland's philosophical writings—three unpublished essays, published and unpublished letters, as well as parts of her memoirs—suggest that even though she adopted a Rousseau‐style rural republicanism that relies on complementarity of men and women's virtues, she somehow succeeds in proposing a less sexist picture of the republican family, one that makes it possible for men and women to take an equal part in family business and politics.     

Positive and negative characteristics of marital interaction and their association with marital satisfaction in middle-aged and older couples

The study examined age differences in positive (e.g., warm) and negative (e.g., hostile) characteristics of marital interactions between middle-aged and older couples and whether these characteristics were differentially associated with marital satisfaction by age. Spouses' perception of partners' positive and negative behavior during marital interaction was assessed in general and following disagreement and collaborative tasks. Trained observers coded spouses' positive and negative behavior during interactions. Older individuals reported higher marital satisfaction and perceived their spouse's behavior as less negative in general and more positive across all contexts than middle-aged individuals. Spouses' perceptions of their partners' positive and negative behavior independently predicted marital satisfaction for both age groups across contexts. Perceptions of partners' negative behavior in general and of both positive and negative behavior in the disagreement task were more closely associated with marital satisfaction for older spouses than for middle-aged spouses. Results point to the importance of positive and negative characteristics in marital functioning across age cohorts and indicate that such characteristics may be context dependent. Findings suggest that, in some contexts, both positive and negative characteristics are more salient for older adults.     

Social Factors of Work-Environment Creativity

The aim of this study was to investigate how work-environment creativity is related to the social factors of: organizational-culture perceptions, employee participation, knowledge sharing, and procedural justice. Questionnaires were administered to 154 employees of a government organization. Because the employees within a department worked in diverse teams and their work environments may have varied, our analysis was conducted at the level of the individual. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that work-environment creativity was related to adhocracy-culture perceptions, employee participation, and knowledge sharing; that knowledge sharing was related to cooperative-team perceptions and procedural justice; and that knowledge sharing mediated the relationships of cooperative-team perceptions and procedural justice with work-environment creativity. Practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Two subtypes of psychopathic violent offenders that parallel primary and secondary variants

Although psychopathy usually is treated as a unitary construct, a seminal theory posits that there are 2 variants: Primary psychopathy is underpinned by an inherited affective deficit, whereas secondary psychopathy reflects an acquired affective disturbance. The authors investigated whether psychopathy phenotypically may be disaggregated into such types in a sample of 367 prison inmates convicted of violent crimes. Model-based cluster analysis of the Revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 2003) and trait anxiety scores in the psychopathic subgroup (n = 123; PCL-R > or = 29) revealed 2 clusters. Relative to primary psychopaths, secondary psychopaths had greater trait anxiety, fewer psychopathic traits, and comparable levels of antisocial behavior. Across validation variables, secondary psychopaths manifested more borderline personality features, poorer interpersonal functioning (e.g., irritability, withdrawal, poor assertiveness), and more symptoms of major mental disorder than primary psychopaths. When compared with the nonpsychopathic subgroup (n = 243), the 2 psychopathic variants manifested a theoretically coherent pattern of differences. Implications for etiological research and violence prevention are discussed.     

Convergent validity of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI): association with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV)

This study investigates the relationship between the self-report Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) and the clinician-rated Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV). A representative sample of 92 girls and 70 boys, 12 to 20 years of age (mean age, 17 years), who received services at a clinic for adolescents with substance misuse problems, was studied. Moderate correlations (r =.30-.51) were found between conceptually corresponding YPI and PCL:YV factor scores among both boys and girls, whereas correlations between individual subscales of the YPI and items of the PCL:YV were not as consistent. A cross-tabulation of groupings based on the three-factor models of the two instruments largely supported the categorical convergent validity of the YPI, particularly for low and high scorers. Although more studies with larger samples are needed, results indicate that the YPI is a cost-effective measure of psychopathic traits in adolescents in research settings.     

Fatigue, cognitive functioning and psychological distress in Marfan syndrome, a pilot study

Marfan patients report fatigue as a major subjective complaint. We found no studies exploring the subject. The aim of this study was in a strictly defined Marfan population to assess self-reported fatigue, cognitive functions and psychological distress, correlations among them and correlations to visual acuity, joint hypermobility and use of beta-blockers. Sixteen subjects aged 18 - 30 years, fulfilling the Gent criteria, were assessed with the Fatigue Severity Scale, Fatigue Questionnaire, a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Self-reported fatigue was comparable with fatigue reported in other severe chronic diseases and disabilities, and was primarily in the mental/psychological domain. Psychological distress was higher than expected compared with the population at large. All neuropsychological test results were within the normal range, except for tests of visuo-motor coordination and speed of information processing. There was a significant inverse correlation between Fatigue Questionnaire ratings and some neuropsychological tests. Fatigue seems to be a serious problem for persons with Marfan syndrome and seems related to some areas of cognitive functioning. We found no overall impairment in cognitive functioning, but slightly reduced speed of information processing. Reduced visuo-motor coordination could be explained by impaired visual acuity.     

The effect of cellular telephone conversation and music listening on response time in braking

Driver distraction contributes to vehicle accidents, with estimates as high as one-half of crashes being distraction-related. The purpose of this experiment was to explore potential distractions by testing the effects of cellular telephone conversation and music listening on response time and its subcomponents of reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT) in a simulated braking task. Participants (N = 27) sat at a simulated driving station and released the accelerator and depressed the brake pedal as quickly as possible following activation of a simulated brake lamp. The braking task was performed under each of six conditions including: (a) the control (braking task only); (b) music playing at 66 dBA; (c) music playing at 78 dBA; (d) cellular telephone conversation; (e) cellular telephone conversation and music at 66 dBA; and (f) cellular telephone conversation and music at 78 dBA. Cellular telephone conversation slowed response time, yet music had no effect on response time. While the RT results generally mirrored those of response time (i.e., RT was also slowed by the telephone conversation), interestingly, MT was actually faster when the cellular telephone conversation was present compared to when it was not. Participants appear to have anticipated slower RT in the presence of the cellular telephone conversation, and attempted to compensate by executing a more rapid movement to the brake pedal.