Academic literature on the topic 'Psychopathic severity'

Studies have documented associations between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and mental disorders. The relationship between psychopathic personality and TBI remains poorly understood, though both are associated with similar characteristics (e.g., low empathy, aggression, disturbances in social/moral behavior). Yet, it is not clear whether assessment of psychopathic features is influenced by presence versus absence of TBI, and which aspects of TBI may be associated with psychopathic traits. This study examined the psychopathy-TBI association in justice-involved women (N = 341) with structural equation modeling. We tested if measurement invariance of psychopathic traits was evident among those with versus without TBI and which TBI variables (number, severity, age at first TBI) predicted psychopathic features in conjunction with symptoms of psychopathology, IQ, and age. Results provided evidence of measurement invariance, and more women with TBI, compared to those without, met criteria for psychopathy. Younger age of TBI and TBI severity predicted interpersonal-affective psychopathic features.

Abstract. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of an intimate partner and is a widespread, international public health crisis. An important proximate risk factor for IPV perpetration is the presence of psychopathic traits but there has not been a systematic review of the research linking psychopathic traits to IPV perpetration. We identified 43 studies using 13,476 participants (9,024 men and 4,452 women) across 10 countries that met our search criteria that led to the following conclusions. First, psychopathy was associated with IPV perpetration with medium effect sizes, even after accounting for various distal and proximate risk factors. Second, the different dimensions of psychopathy did not consistently differ in their prediction of IPV perpetration. Third, within individuals with a history of IPV perpetration, psychopathy did not relate to the frequency or severity of partner violence. Fourth, a few studies have tested the associations among child abuse, psychopathy, and IPV, with one study reporting that the combination of child abuse and psychopathic traits led to especially high risk for IPV perpetration. Lastly, we conclude by making recommendations for how future research and interventions should consider psychopathy to reduce the societal burden of IPV.

Background and Objectives. Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with a significant burden due to affective symptoms and behavioral manifestations, but also cognitive and functional impairment. Comorbidity with other psychiatric conditions, including personality disorders, is frequent. The comorbidity with psychopathy deserves special consideration given that both disorders share some clinical characteristics, such as grandiosity, risky behavior or poor insight, among others, that can worsen the outcome of BD. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of psychopathy in a sample of clinically stabilized patients with BD and its impact on the severity of BD. Materials and Methods. A sample of 111 patients with BD (38 type I and 73 type II) was studied. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) served to assess the severity of BD. Psychopathy was measured by means of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R). Patients were divided into three groups according to the severity of psychopathy (Group 1: no psychopathy; Group 2: “psychopathic” trait; Group 3: clinical psychopathy). Other measures regarded impulsiveness (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11, BIS-11) and empathy (Empathy Quotient, EQ). Comparisons of mania, depression, impulsivity and empathy scores were run with MANOVA considering psychopathy and diagnosis as independent variables. Results. The prevalence of psychopathy was 5.4%. A significant association between the level of psychopathy and YMRS, attentional/cognitive impulsivity and motor impulsivity scores emerged. No interaction between psychopathy and BD diagnosis was found. Post hoc analysis demonstrated significantly higher YMRS scores in Group 3 than in Group 1; that is, patients with psychopathy have more manic symptoms. Conclusion. Psychopathy seems quite frequent among patients with BD. The association of psychopathy with BD results in higher impulsivity and manic symptoms. In light of this, psychopathy should be investigated when assessing patients with BD, regardless of the comorbidity of BD with other personality disorders.

AbstractBackgroundPsychopathy is a personality disorder associated with severe emotional and interpersonal consequences and persistent antisocial behavior. Neurobiological models of psychopathy emphasize impairments in emotional processing, attention, and integration of information across large-scale neural networks in the brain. One of the largest integrative hubs in the brain is the corpus callosum (CC) – a large white matter structure that connects the two cerebral hemispheres.MethodThe current study examines CC volume, measured via Freesurfer parcellation, in a large sample (n= 495) of incarcerated men who were assessed for psychopathic traits using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R).ResultsPsychopathy was associated with reduced volume across all five sub-regions of the CC. These relationships were primarily driven by the affective/interpersonal elements of psychopathy (PCL-R Factor 1), as no significant associations were found between the CC and the lifestyle/antisocial traits of psychopathy. The observed effects were not attributable to differences in substance use severity, age, IQ, or total brain volume.ConclusionsThese findings align with suggestions that core psychopathic traits may be fostered by reduced integrative capacity across large-scale networks in the brain.

The aim of this study was to show the differences between groups of medical, law and psychology students in terms of empathy and psychopathy, as well as to show whether there are relationships between these variables in the studied groups. The study involved 70 female and 50 male students, constituting three equal groups of 40 people each, studying Medicine, Law and Psychology respectively. Two standardized tools were used in the study: the Index of Interpersonal Reactivity (IRI) by M.H Davis and the Polish adaptation of I. Pilch and her team's Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), the original version of which was developed by Patrick, Fowles and Krueger, as well as a specially designed sociodemographic questionnaire. The study showed an inverse relationship between empathy and psychopathy and that there were differences in both empathy and psychopathy levels between different groups of students. Law students had lower levels of empathy in two di mensions according to the IRI than medical and psychology students. When analyzing the severity of some psychopathic traits and the overall psychopathy score according to TriPM, it was found that law students had the highest levels in the overall psychopathy score and meanness, but no statistically significant differences were observed in other TriPM variables between the groups studied. Law students had the lowest empathy scores of the groups studied, and medical students had slightly lower empathy scores than psychology students. It was also shown that law students had the highest overall psychopathy score of the three groups studied. Negative correlational relationships between empathy and psychopathy were observed in medical and law students – indicating that higher levels of empathy are associated with lower levels of psychopathy.

Background. We measured psychopathic traits in boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) selected for difficult and aggressive behaviour. We asked (i) whether psychopathic tendencies can be measured in ASD independent of the severity of autistic behaviour; (ii) whether individuals with ASD with callous–unemotional (CU) traits differ in their cognitive profile from those without such traits; and (iii) how the cognitive data from this study compare with previous data of youngsters with psychopathic tendencies.Method. Twenty-eight ASD boys were rated on psychopathic tendencies, autistic traits and a range of cognitive measures assessing mentalizing ability, executive functions, emotion recognition and ability to make moral–conventional distinction.Results. Our results indicate that psychopathic tendencies are not related to severity of ASD. In addition, such tendencies do not seem to be related to core autistic cognitive deficits, specifically in ‘mind-reading’ or executive function. Boys with co-occurring ASD and CU tendencies share some behaviours and aspects of cognitive profile with boys who have psychopathic tendencies alone.Conclusions. Callous/psychopathic acts in a small number of individuals with ASD probably reflect a ‘double hit’ involving an additional impairment of empathic response to distress cues, which is not part and parcel of ASD itself.

This study examines the respective contributions of two risk markers for intimate partner violence perpetrated by men seeking psychological help: psychopathic personality traits (primary and secondary), and attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance). In an effort to offer more specific and nuanced results, the severity of the violence perpetrated by participants (i.e., minor and severe) was examined with regards to three forms of intimate partner violence: physical, psychological, and sexual. A sample of 226 men seeking help in a community organization specialized in the treatment of relational difficulties and intimate partner violence answered a series of self-report questionnaires. Results of multiple and logistic regression analyses reveal that attachment anxiety is related to the perpetration of minor psychological violence, severe physical violence, and minor sexual violence. Attachment avoidance is not significantly associated with perpetration of intimate partner violence when attachment anxiety and psychopathy traits are considered. Primary psychopathy is also linked to the perpetration of severe psychological and sexual violence, whereas secondary psychopathy is solely associated with the perpetration of minor psychological violence. From a clinical standpoint, these results highlight the importance of considering the forms and severity of intimate partner violence, and put forward the relevance of assessing and considering issues surrounding attachment insecurities and psychopathy in men seeking treatment for relationship difficulties.

Introduction: The severity of symptoms in individual cases depends on factors such as age of onset, extent and side of brain damage, and rate of progression of the underlying etiology. Integrative Review: Each generation of mental health professionals has to discover for itself the importance of personality disorder. Unfortunately, and unduly, the place of personality and personality disorder in contemporary mental health has either been ignored entirely or employed as another reason to exclude patients from services. Method: The present article is an integrative review based on bibliographic research formulated through published articles on the knowledge and performance of professionals in the concentration area "health" on the subject "Sociopathy". Results: The historical roots of the concepts of abnormal personality, social deviance, delinquency and criminal responsibility are described, demonstrating that previous concepts of psychopathic personality often included negative social evaluations. Discussion: Psychopathy predicts violence and other antisocial conduct in both offenders and psychiatric patients. Furthermore, released psychopathic offenders have an increased risk of recidivism when compared to their nonpsychopathic counterparts. Final Considerations: Specific profiling becomes more refined when collecting evidentiary facts at the crime scene, with the primary goal of a typology of the behavioral characteristics and psychological makeup of the offender.

Quantitative and objective evaluation of disease severity and/or drug effect is necessary in clinical practice. Wearable accelerometers such as an actigraph enable long-term recording of a patient’s movement during activities and they can be used for quantitative assessment of symptoms due to various diseases. We reviewed some applications of actigraphy with analytical methods that are sufficiently sensitive and reliable to determine the severity of diseases and disorders such as motor and nonmotor disorders like Parkinson’s disease, sleep disorders, depression, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) for vascular dementia (VD), seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and stroke, as well as the effects of drugs used to treat them. We believe it is possible to develop analytical methods to assess more neurological or psychopathic disorders using actigraphy records.

Les personnes présentant un trouble de la personnalité antisociale avec ou sans sévérité psychopathique (TPA ± P) adoptent des comportements majoritairement agressifs et en dehors des normes et lois, intimident, trompent, mentent et sont particulièrement indifférent aux sentiments, besoins et à la souffrance d'autrui. Ces comportements sont en partie sous-tendus par des difficultés dans les processus émotionnels. Les capacités de reconnaissance, d'expression et de régulation des émotions sont, en effet, décrits comme assez faibles dans le TPA. Ces difficultés semblent émerger tôt dans le développement, notamment chez les adolescents présentant un trouble des conduites (TC). Toutefois, les descriptions de ces processus émotionnels sont peu généralisables au regard du manque de validité écologique des protocoles les mesurant. Depuis quelques années, des recherches basées sur du matériel à haute implication personnelle et émotionnelle se sont développées, comme l'utilisation de matériel autobiographique et plus précisément le rappel de souvenirs définissant le soi (SDM). Jusqu'alors, ce matériel a été peu utilisé auprès de personnes présentant un TPA ± P et d'autant moins dans un contexte institutionnel médico-légal. L'objectif de ce travail de thèse était de mieux comprendre le fonctionnement des processus émotionnels en jeu lors du rappel de SDM auprès de personnes présentant un TPA ± P et auprès d'adolescents présentant un TC. Ce travail a permis de mettre en évidence les particularités des caractéristiques autobiographiques de ces personnes. Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous avons mené quatre études expérimentales. Tout d'abord, nous avons identifié les caractéristiques des SDM à travers le rappel de souvenirs spécifiques multiples, non intégrés et relatifs à la thématique des évènements de vie menaçant. Nous avons mis en évidence que les variables expérientielles expliquent mieux la signature autobiographique des personnes adultes présentant un TPA ± P que les éléments de personnalité (étude 1). Par la suite, nous avons observé les capacités d'activation, d'expression et de régulation des émotions à partir de mesures comme les indicateurs neurovégétatifs et les expressions faciales. Les personnes présentant un TPA avec sévérité psychopathique détiennent de meilleures capacités de régulation émotionnelle que celles ne présentant pas de sévérité psychopathique, notamment en réponses à des stimuli moins activateurs (étude 2). De plus, nous avons observé que leur expression faciale de colère est prédite par la sévérité du style de vie impulsif (étude 3). Enfin, dans une approche exploratoire, nous avons identifié que la signature autobiographique des adolescents présentant un TC ressemble à celles des adultes présentant un TPA ± P mais leur production faciale émotionnelle semble moins cristallisée sur l'émotion de colère, étant donné l'importante présence de la tristesse (étude 4). Ces études ont permis de souligner l'importance d'adopter une compréhension des processus émotionnels en fonction des profils psychologiques et symptomatiques des personnes présentant un TPA ± P. De plus, ces résultats soutiennent la nécessité d'intervenir précocement dans la trajectoire développementale en proposant des prises en charge axées sur l'intégration des expériences traumatiques, les relations (pro)sociales et les compétences émotionnelles
People with antisocial personality disorder with or without psychopathic severity (ASPD ± P) adopt predominantly aggressive behaviors that are outside the norms and laws, intimidate, deceive, lie, and are particularly indifferent to the feelings, needs, and suffering of others. These behaviors are partly underpinned by difficulties in emotional processes. The abilities to recognize, express, and regulate emotions are, in fact, described as quite weak in ASPD. These difficulties seem to emerge early in development, particularly among adolescents with conduct disorder (CD). However, descriptions of these emotional processes are not very generalizable due to the lack of ecological validity of the protocols measuring them. In recent years, research based on material with high personal and emotional involvement has been developing, such as the use of autobiographical material and more specifically the recall of self-defining memories (SDM). Until now, this material has been little used with people with ASPD ± P and even less so in a forensic institutional context. The objective of this thesis was to better understand the functioning of emotional processes involved in the recall of SDMs among people with ASPD ± P and among adolescents with CD. This work highlighted the particularities of the autobiographical characteristics of these people. To achieve these insights, we conducted four experimental studies. First, we identified the characteristics of SDMs through the recall of multiple specific, non-integrated and related to life threatening events theme memories. We demonstrated that experiential variables better explain the autobiographical signature of adults with ASPD ± P than personality elements (study 1). Subsequently, we observed the capacities of activation, expression, and regulation of emotions using measures such as neurovegetative indicators and facial expressions. People with ASPD and with psychopathic severity have better emotional regulation abilities than those without psychopathic severity, particularly in response to less activating stimuli (study 2). Furthermore, we observed that their hyperexpression of anger is predicted by the severity of their impulsive lifestyle (study 3). In an exploratory approach, we identified that the autobiographical signature of adolescents with CD resembled that of adults with ASPD ± P, but their facial emotional production seemed less crystallized on the emotion of anger, given the significant presence of sadness (study 4). These studies highlighted the importance of adopting an understanding of emotional processes based on the psychological and symptomatic profiles of people with ASPD ± P. Moreover, these results underscore the importance of early intervention in the developmental trajectory by offering treatments focused on the integration of traumatic experiences, social relationships, and emotional skills