Auswahl der wissenschaftlichen Literatur zum Thema „Psychopathic-like-traits“

Few studies have examined whether psychopathic-like traits predict recidivism in detained youth. The current study investigated the predictive validity of self-report of psychopathic-like traits for official recidivism. Participants were 223 detained male adolescents from all three Flemish youth detention centers, who were assessed with the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI). Two to four years later, official information on recidivism was collected. Recidivism was defined in four ways. Neither the affective dimension nor the broader construct of psychopathy (i.e., total YPI score) was predictive of recidivism above and beyond criminal history. The behavioral and interpersonal dimensions, however, significantly added to the prediction of substance-related recidivism. Overall, psychopathic-like traits in detained adolescents assessed by means of the YPI did not convincingly predict recidivism. Implications of the findings are discussed.

When meeting someone at zero acquaintance, we make assumptions about each other that encompass emotional states, personality traits, and even cognitive abilities. Evidence suggests individuals can accurately detect psychopathic personality traits in strangers based on short video clips or photographs of faces. We present an in-depth examination of this ability. In two studies, we investigated whether high psychopathy traits are perceivable and whether other traits affect ratings of psychopathic traits in the sense of a halo effect. On the perceiver’s end, we additionally examined how cognitive abilities and personality traits of the responders affect these ratings. In two studies (n1 = 170 community adults from the USA, n2 = 126 students from Australia), participants rated several targets on several characteristics of psychopathy, as well as on attractiveness, masculinity, sympathy, trustworthiness, neuroticism, intelligence, and extraversion. Results show that responders were generally able to detect psychopathy. Responders generally came to a consensus in their ratings, and using profile similarity metrics, we found a weak relation between ratings of psychopathy and the targets’ psychopathy level as determined by the Psychopathy Checklist: Short Version. Trait ratings, though, were influenced by the ratings of other traits like attractiveness. Finally, we found accuracy in the perception of psychopathy was positively related to fluid intelligence but unrelated to emotion perception ability.

Although callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been associated with amygdala hypoactivity, it is unclear whether such traits are associated with amygdala structure. This study examines the relationship between amygdala structure and CU traits and considers sex differences in hemisphere-related asymmetries in this relationship. In this brain imaging study of children ( n = 272), a significant sex × hemisphere × CU traits interaction was observed. Females with high CU traits and males with low CU exhibited a rightward exaggerated amygdala volume asymmetry, whereas females with low CU traits and males with high CU traits did not. Findings may reflect sex-related influences related to CU traits and amygdala volume and are broadly consistent with a neurodevelopment perspective on psychopathic-like traits in children.

BackgroundResearch evidence suggests that cognitive and neural mechanisms involved in social information processing may underlie the key aspects associated with the emergence of aggression and psychopathy. Despite extensive research in this field, it is unclear whether this deficit relates to general attentional problems or affects early stages of information processing. Therefore, the aim was to explore the link between aggression, psychopathic traits, and the early processing deficits in young antisocial violent offenders (YAVOs) and healthy controls (CTLs).MethodParticipants were presented with rapidly changing Mondrian-like images in one eye, while a neutral or emotional (happy, angry, fearful, disgusted, surprised, sad) face was slowly introduced to the other eye. Participants indicated the location in which the face had appeared on the screen, reflecting the time when they became aware of the stimulus. The relative processing advantage was obtained by subtracting mean reaction times for emotional from neutral faces.ResultsThe results indicated that individuals with higher levels of unemotional traits tended to exhibit an extensive early processing disadvantage for fearful facial expressions; this relationship was only evident in the YAVO as opposed to the CTL sample.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that an emotion processing deficit in antisocial individuals is present even at the most basic levels of processing and closely related to certain psychopathic traits. Furthermore, this early processing deficit appears to be highly specific to fearful expressions, which is consistent with predictions made by influential models of psychopathy. The clinical significance and potential implications of the results are discussed.

Abstract. Earlier research suggested that militant extremists could have certain aspects of psychopathic and psychotic characteristics. Relying on these studies, we investigated whether the Militant Extremist Mind-Set (MEM) could be explained by psychopathy, sadism, and Disintegration (psychosis proneness), as subclinical manifestations of amoral, antisocial, and psychotic-like traits. In Study 1 (306 undergraduate students), it was shown that sadistic and psychopathic tendencies were related to Proviolence (advocating violence as a means for achieving a goal); psychopathic and disintegrative tendencies were associated to the Vile World (belief in a world as a corrupted and vile place), while Disintegration was the best predictor of Divine Power (relying on supernatural forces as a rationale for extremist acts). In Study 2 (147 male convicts), these relations were largely replicated and broadened by including implicit emotional associations to violence in the study design. Thus, while Proviolence was found to be related to a weakened negative emotional reaction to violent pictures, Vile World was found to be associated with stronger negative emotions as a response to violence. Furthermore, Proviolence was the only MEM factor clearly differentiating the sample of convicts from male students who participated in Study 1. Results help extend current understanding about personal characteristics related to militant extremism.

The present study addresses the question of whether it is possible to use a self‐report measure of psychopathic traits on non‐referred youth samples to identify a subgroup of problematic youths who are particularly problematic and different from other problem youths. A large sample of eighth‐grade, non‐referred adolescents, and their parents were assessed. Results showed that the adolescents exhibiting a low‐socialized psychopathy‐like personality constellation had a more frequent, violent, and versatile conduct‐problem profile than other low‐socialized and well socialized adolescents. The psychopathy‐like adolescents also differed from other poorly socialized adolescents in ways that suggested that their etiological background was different from adolescents with non‐psychopathy‐like conduct problems. We conclude that self‐report measures can indeed be useful for research purposes in subtyping youths with conduct problems. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Research on the dark triad traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy) is increasingly focusing on the functional or dysfunctional influences of personality traits on cognitive, behavioural and emotional responses. Thus, studies in sport contexts have shown that athletes who participate in competitive sports have higher scores in the dark triad than those who do not. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to evaluate the linear and predictive relationships between dark traits and competitiveness (p < 0.01), as well as to identify any differences based on sports orientation (professionals vs. amateurs). Scales SD3 (dark personality) and C−10 (competitiveness) were applied to a sample of Spanish athletes (n = 806). The results show that competitiveness is strongly related to the traits of the dark personality triad. Narcissism is related to both the desire to win and the fear of losing, while Machiavellian tendencies are high when athletes feel like losers. Finally, psychopathic tendencies are related to feelings of inferiority and fear of failure. In conclusion, the results suggest that dark personality traits are related not only to the individuality of the athletes, but also to the self-perception of both their psychological response and the competitiveness of their sporting environment.

[Truncated abstract] The overall aim of the research reported in this thesis was to explore the viability and utility of the construct of psychopathy and aggression in children and adolescents. Specifically, by taking a developmentally informed approach it sought to develop new instrumentation which measured psychopathic-like-traits, and verbal proactive and reactive aggression in non-referred mainstream school children and adolescents. To achieve this, four separate yet interrelated studies were conducted. Study One comprised three phases relating to the development and validation of two new instruments. In Phase One the instruments currently used to measure psychopathy were reviewed and items relevant to young persons were selected for inclusion in a draft version of the new psychopathy screening instrument. Phase Two, which sought to further explore the construct of psychopathy in children and adolescents, comprised a series of interviews with school principals, deputy principals, psychologists, and education officers at the main juvenile detention centre in Perth, Western Australia. These interviews provided information relating to the behaviour and characteristics of children and adolescents who present with psychopathic-like-traits. As a consequence of the feedback from the Phase Two data, Phase Three reviewed the instrumentation currently used to measure aggression in children and adolescents. From this items were selected for possible inclusion in an aggression questionnaire. The data gathered over these three phases resulted in 117 psychopathy related items being generated for the new instrument, which were subsequently reduced to 56 when duplicated items were identified and the extant knowledge of the construct applied. The 56 items were retained in a draft version of the newly developed instrument, which was named the Child and Adolescent Psychopathy Screening Instrument (CAPSI). The Study One data revealed the instrumentation used to date provided few measures of physical and verbal aggression - a characteristic of psychopathic-like behaviour. Thus, a review of instrumentation together with the information from the interviews resulted in 63 aggression items being generated. ... Study Four utilised information from the CAPSI and the CASA in conjunction with in-depth interviews to generate case studies to further elucidate the characteristics of children and adolescents with psychopathic-like-traits and extreme aggression. Case studies were undertaken with seven male students ranging in age from 8 to 15 years who had been suspended from mainstream schools. All boys scored very highly on the new instruments. All presented with extreme aggression, with some exhibiting proactive or premeditated aggression combined with a superficially engaging personality, insincere charm, lack of remorse, and lack of empathy. The findings from all four research studies are discussed in the light of the literature reviewed and the aims of the research. Implications are then drawn for researchers and clinicians, and directions for further research are suggested.

What are individuals with psychopathy like and what are their defining features? ‘How can we know if someone is a psychopath or is at risk of becoming one?’ considers two case studies to give an idea of the developmental course of criminal psychopathy and what psychopathic personality traits look like. It discusses the Psychopathy Checklist, developed by Robert Hare in the 1980s, and explains the difference between antisocial personality disorder, sociopathy, and psychopathy. Research has shown that whether we look at criminal psychopaths, individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits in the general population, or children who are at risk of developing psychopathy, similar patterns of brain function and information processing are seen.