Elucidating the role of negative parenting in the genetic v. environmental influences on adult psychopathic traits.

BACKGROUND: Psychopathic traits involve interpersonal manipulation, callous affect, erratic lifestyle, and antisocial behavior. Though adult psychopathic traits emerge from both genetic and environmental risk, no studies have examined etiologic associations between adult psychopathic traits and experiences of parenting in childhood, or the extent to which parenting practices may impact the heritability of adult psychopathic traits using a genetically-informed design. METHODS: In total, 1842 adult twins from the community reported their current psychopathic traits and experiences of negative parenting during childhood. We fit bivariate genetic models to the data, decomposing the variance within, and the covariance between, psychopathic traits and perceived negative parenting into their genetic and environmental components. We then fit a genotype × environment interaction model to evaluate whether negative parenting moderated the etiology of psychopathic traits. RESULTS: Psychopathic traits were moderately heritable with substantial non-shared environmental influences. There were significant associations between perceived negative parenting and three of four psychopathy facets (interpersonal manipulation, erratic lifestyle, antisocial tendencies, but not callous affect). These associations were attributable to a common non-shared environmental pathway and not to overlapping genetic effects. Additionally, we found that primarily shared environmental influences were stronger on psychopathic traits for individuals with a history of greater negative parenting. CONCLUSIONS: Utilizing a genetically-informed design, we found that both genetic and non-shared environmental factors contribute to the emergence of psychopathic traits. Moreover, perceptions of negative parenting emerged as a clear environmental influence on the development of interpersonal, lifestyle, and antisocial features of psychopathy.

Automated patterns of head dynamics are associated with psychopathic traits in incarcerated women.

Men with elevated psychopathic traits have been characterized by unique patterns of nonverbal communication, including more fixed and focused head positions during clinical interviews, compared to men scoring low on measures of psychopathy. However, it is unclear whether similar patterns of head dynamics help characterize women scoring high on psychopathic traits. Here, we utilized an automated detection algorithm to assess head position and dynamics during a videotaped clinical interview (i.e., the Psychopathy Checklist - Revised [PCL-R]) in a sample of n = 213 incarcerated women. PCL-R Total, Factor 1 (i.e., interpersonal and affective psychopathic traits), and Factor 2 (i.e., lifestyle/behavioral and antisocial/developmental psychopathic traits) scores were associated with a pattern of head dynamics indicative of a rigid head position. The current study extends analyses of nonverbal behavior studies in men to women and highlights how individuals with elevated psychopathic traits demonstrate unique nonverbal behaviors relative to individuals who score low on psychopathic traits. The implications and clinical value of these findings are discussed.

Are you laughing with me or at me? Psychopathic traits and the ability to distinguish between affiliation and dominance laughter cues.

OBJECTIVE: Laughter conveys important information that supports social communication and bonding. Research suggests that unique acoustic properties distinguish laughter that promotes affiliation from laughter that conveys dominance, but little is known about potential individual differences in laughter interpretation or contagion based on these specified social functions of laughter. Psychopathy is associated with both affiliative deficits (e.g., lack of empathy and impaired social bonding) and behaviors that assert social dominance (e.g., manipulativeness). Thus, relationships between psychopathic traits and impaired laughter interpretation or contagion could give insight into etiological pathways to psychopathy. METHOD: In two studies conducted with four independent samples (total N = 770), participants categorized laughter clips that varied in the degree of affiliation or dominance conveyed. RESULTS: Participants overall drew rich and accurate social inferences from dominant and affiliative laughter and modulated their interest in joining in with laughter based on the type and degree of affiliation and dominance conveyed. However, individuals higher in psychopathic traits failed to distinguish between laughter types and did not modulate their level of engagement based on laughter features. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a potential mechanism that underlies the broader social difficulties associated with psychopathic traits.

Rational, emotional, or both? Subcomponents of psychopathy predict opposing moral decisions.

Recent research has documented a small but significant correlation between psychopathic capacities and utilitarian moral judgment, although the findings are generally inconsistent and unclear. We propose that one way to make sense of mixed findings is to consider variation in perspective-taking capacities of psychopathic individuals. With this in mind, we had criminal offenders (n = 60), who varied in their psychopathy levels according to the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), respond to common sacrificial moral dilemmas (e.g., trolley dilemmas) under different conditions. In a baseline condition, participants simply responded to the sacrificial moral dilemmas as is typically done in previous research. In an "emotion-salient" condition, participants had to reason about the emotions of another person after solving moral dilemmas (deliberative processing). In the "emotion-ambiguous" condition, participants saw images of people in distress, after solving moral dilemmas, but did not have to explicitly reason about such emotions (spontaneous processing). The four PCL-R facets predicted distinct interference effects depending on spontaneous versus deliberative processing of hypothetical victim's emotions. The findings suggest that the use of a multi-faceted approach to account for cognitive and moral correlates of psychopathy may help address previously mixed results. Implications and future directions for theory and research are discussed.

Psychometric Properties and Construct Validity of the Short Version of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in a Southern European Sample.

The Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-Short Form (SRP-SF) is a brief measure of psychopathy, developed via model-based test theory. The SRP-SF has a 4-factor structure with items reflecting affective, interpersonal, lifestyle, and antisocial domains, in line with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), which can be aggregated to form the traditional F1 and F2 dimensions of psychopathy. Previous research indicates the SRP is a viable tool for examining the prevalence of psychopathic propensities and their correlates in nonoffender populations. Currently, a substantial amount of nonoffender research on psychopathy is conducted in North America. Here, we inspect the psychometric properties of the SRP-SF and probe its association with general personality and empathy in a large southern European (Portuguese) community sample. Consistent with previous studies, results indicated good fit for the 4-factor model, including for separate female and male subsamples, good internal consistency across its scales and subscales, and the predicted pattern of associations with the correlates of psychopathy. The results of this cross-cultural study provide further evidence of the validity of the SRP-SF in the assessment of psychopathy in community samples, and help to extend the nomological net on the larger construct to a southern European sample.

Structural analysis of the PCL-R and relationship to BIG FIVE personality traits and parenting characteristics in an Hispanic female offender sample.

Valid measurement of psychopathic traits in females using the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) continues to be an under researched topic. Previous latent variable and other psychometric studies have raised questions concerning the structure and predictive effects of psychopathic traits in females. New cross-cultural research finds good support for a four-factor model of psychopathy in females and the predictive effects of the psychopathy factors (Declercq, Carter, & Neumann, 2015; Neumann, Hare, & Pardini, 2015). Nevertheless, additional research is needed on females, especially individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. We investigated the factor structure and construct validity of the PCL-R in a female Hispanic sample (n = 155). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the four-factor model provided an adequate fit. Furthermore, structural equation modelling revealed significant negative and positive predictive effects, respectively, between general personality (Agreeableness and Conscientiousness), and indifferent/abusive parenting with the broad syndrome of psychopathy.

Treatment responsiveness of replicated psychopathy profiles.

Theory and accumulating data suggest systematic heterogeneity among offenders with psychopathic traits. Several empirical investigations converge on the nature of subtypes, but little is known about differences in treatment responsivity. We have used the 4-facet model of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) to provide a framework for detecting subtypes. The present study used the full range of PCL-R scores in a sample of male violent offenders (N = 190) to replicate subtypes found in a partly overlapping sample by Neumann, Vitacco, and Mokros (2016), using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), and subsequently to examine potential differences in treatment responsivity. Four subtypes emerged. Within the prototypical psychopathic group, the distinction between intent-to-treat and completers was crucial. Prototypical psychopathic offenders were significantly more likely to drop out, but completers appeared to proceed through the different phases of treatment in much the same way as the other groups. Clearly, more research is needed to elucidate treatment interfering mechanisms and their associated patient characteristics, particularly for the prototypical psychopathic group. Developing therapeutic strategies to improve treatment compliance is a necessary step in the development of specialized treatment programs for these difficult patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Models of reforestation productivity and carbon sequestration for land use and climate change adaptation planning in South Australia.

Environmental management and regional land use planning has become more complex in recent years as growing world population, climate change, carbon markets and government policies for sustainability have emerged. Reforestation and agroforestry options for environmental benefits, carbon sequestration, economic development and biodiversity conservation are now important considerations of land use planners. New information has been collected and regionally-calibrated models have been developed to facilitate better regional land use planning decisions and counter the limitations of currently available models of reforestation productivity and carbon sequestration. Surveys of above-ground biomass of 264 reforestation sites (132 woodlots, 132 environmental plantings) within the agricultural regions of South Australia were conducted, and combined with spatial information on climate and soils, to develop new spatial and temporal models of plant density and above-ground biomass productivity from reforestation. The models can be used to estimate productivity and total carbon sequestration (i.e. above-ground + below-ground biomass) under a continuous range of planting designs (e.g. variable proportions of trees and shrubs or plant densities), timeframes and future climate scenarios. Representative spatial models (1 ha resolution) for 3 reforestation designs (i.e. woodlots, typical environmental planting, biodiverse environmental plantings) × 3 timeframes (i.e. 25, 45, 65 years) × 4 possible climates (i.e. no change, mild, moderate, severe warming and drying) were generated (i.e. 36 scenarios) for use within land use planning tools.

Antisociality and the Construct of Psychopathy: Data From Across the Globe.

Previous theory and research on the structural, longitudinal, and genetic nature of psychopathy have provided strong conceptual and empirical evidence that overt antisociality is a component of the psychopathy construct (Hare & Neumann, 2008, 2010; Lynam & Miller, 2012). However, determination of the strength of the association between antisociality and other psychopathic features has not been explored systematically. The current article draws on previously published large North American studies, as well as data from across the globe, to estimate the strength and pattern of the associations between overt antisociality and other psychopathic domains in a diverse set of samples. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate model parameters from samples that had data on either the Psychopathy Checklist-Instruments (PCL-R, PCL: YV, PCL: SV) or self-report assessments that have known latent structures (SRP, B-Scan 360). In addition, two relatively large samples (male offenders and young adult males), assessed with both the PCL-R and the SRP, provided an opportunity to examine the link between antisociality and the other psychopathy domains across different assessment methods. The overall findings indicate that the associations were moderate to strong, depending on the nature of the sample, and clearly indicate that antisociality is a core component of the psychopathy construct.

Assessment of psychopathy among justice-involved adult males with low versus average intelligence: Differential links to violent offending.

Psychopathic personality is a multidimensional construct (De Brito et al., 2021) and the dimensions have differential associations with general and violent offending. Impairment in cognitive functioning, particularly intelligence (IQ), is another construct linked to both general and violent offending. However, the evidence is mixed on whether the combination of elevated psychopathy and low IQ increases the risk for violent offending (Hampton et al., 2014; Heilbrun, 1982; Walsh et al., 2004). Also, before this interaction can be firmly established, assessment of whether psychopathic traits are equivalent among individuals with different levels of IQ, especially those in the justice system, is needed. Using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA), this study of justice-involved adult males tested whether Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) item parameters were invariant among those with low (< 85) versus average IQ (≥ 85). In addition, moderated nonlinear factor analysis was conducted using continuous IQ scores to test for its effect on a range of model parameters. Both approaches provided evidence of measurement invariance. Adding criminal offenses to the MG-CFA revealed differential associations of the psychopathy dimensions with violent offending. Finally, analysis of variance results suggested an interaction between psychopathy status and IQ level-that is, those meeting diagnostic criterion for psychopathy with low IQ had the highest number of violent offenses. This study provides evidence of measurement invariance for the PCL-R among justice-involved persons with varying levels IQ and helps to extend research on the dynamic associations between psychopathy, IQ, and violent behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) scale: A Latent Profile Analysis with At-Risk Adolescents.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD; Salekin in Pers Disord: Theory Res Treat 7:180-191, 2016) scale was designed to assess interrelated psychopathic trait domains in conjunction with symptoms of Conduct Disorder (CD) in children and adolescents (i.e., grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive). Variable-centered studies have provided support for a four-factor PSCD structure (Salekin et al. in Psychol Assess 34(10):985-992, 2022) in line with other adolescent and adult studies. The current person-centered study used latent profile analysis of the PSCD domains to examine whether theoretically meaningful and empirically robust PSCD subtypes emerged from a diverse sample (70.9% White, 20.1% Black, 3.6% Hispanic, and 5.4% other) of adolescents (modal age = 17) in a military style residential facility (N = 409; Males = 80.6%). As hypothesized, a four-class solution was best, consistent with adult psychopathy subtyping research (Hare et al. in Handbook of Psychopathy 39-79, 2018; Roy et al. in Pers Disord: Theory Res Treat, in press). The PSCD subtype profiles were uniform across sex and race/ethnicity. Adolescents evincing a psychopathic trait propensity profile (elevated on all four PSCD domains) displayed the greatest number of arrests and higher overall externalizing psychopathology, compared to the other three latent classes, as well as higher internalizing psychopathology compared to adolescents with general delinquency. The PSCD provides a sound measure of psychopathic trait propensities in youth and our results offer investigators and clinicians a means for understanding person-centered psychopathic traits versus antisocial profiles among at-risk adolescents. Taken together, the current results may offer a viable approach for examining specific treatment targets based on PSCD subtype profiles.

Association Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychopathic Traits Among Justice-Involved Adolescents.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global public health problem and is highly prevalent among justice-involved populations. Pediatric TBI is linked with long-term negative outcomes and is correlated with substance use, criminal behavior, psychiatric disorders, and disruptions in neurocognition. These same TBI correlates are evident among youth with psychopathic traits. Given ongoing neurobiological and social development in adolescence, understanding the link between psychopathic traits and TBI in justice-involved youth is critical. A sample of 263 male adolescents were recruited from a maximum-security juvenile justice facility. Using a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework, measurement invariance of psychopathic traits (TBI ±) was tested, and psychopathy scores were accounted for in terms of TBI variables (severity, age of first TBI, total number), participant's age, IQ, substance use, and internalizing psychopathology. There was evidence of strong invariance across TBI status and those with TBI had higher affective and impulsive lifestyle psychopathic traits than adolescents without TBI. The SEM indicated that TBI severity was associated with lower IQ scores, which in turn were associated with increased lifestyle/antisocial (Factor 2) psychopathic traits. Total number of TBIs was associated with higher substance use, which was associated with both increased interpersonal/affective (Factor 1) and Factor 2 psychopathic traits. These TBI variables also had indirect associations with psychopathic traits through IQ and substance use. The findings indicate that TBI is associated with psychopathic traits and suggest that disturbances in cognition and substance use may be treatment targets for youth with TBI and psychopathic traits.

Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD): Further validation of the parent-report version in a nationally representative U.S. sample of 10- to 17-year-olds.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD; Salekin & Hare, 2016) is a new self-report and informant measure designed to assess psychopathic characteristic domains along with symptoms of conduct disorder in youth. Previous factor analytic studies on the PSCD have found that the items are accounted for by a four-factor model reflecting grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms. The present study examined the factor structure, psychometric properties, and criterion-related validity of the parent-report version of the PSCD (PSCD-P) in a nationally representative U.S. sample of children and adolescents (N = 1,091, Mage = 13.39, SD = 2.20, range age = 10-17; 50.0% boys, 76% White). Confirmatory factor analyses for the full (24-item) and a shortened (13-item) PSCD-P revealed good internal reliability estimates and support for the four-factor model (grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, CD). Results also provided evidence for (a) measurement invariance of the PSCD-P items across sex, race/ethnicity, and age of the child; (b) convergent validity with CD/oppositional defiant disorder symptoms and discriminant validity with a measure of neuroticism; and (c) criterion-related validity with respect to prosociality, peer and family functioning, reactive and proactive aggression, delinquency, academic performance, and substance use. The prevalence for psychopathic personality propensity was found to be 2%. We discuss clinical and research implications regarding the use of the parent-report version of the PSCD for school-aged children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Validating latent profiles of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised with a large sample of incarcerated men.

There is a long tradition of theory and research on putative variants of psychopathic and other antisocial clinical presentations. However, using different samples, psychopathy measures, terminologies, and analytic methods makes interpretation of the findings difficult. Emerging research suggests that the validated four-factor model of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) provides a consistent and empirically robust framework for identifying psychopathic variants and antisocial subtypes (Hare et al., 2018; Neumann et al., 2016). The current study employed latent profile analysis (LPA) of the full range of PCL-R scores in a large sample of incarcerated men (N = 2,570) to replicate and extend recent LPA research on PCL-R-based latent classes. Consistent with previous research, a four-class solution emerged as optimal, with the following antisocial subtypes: Prototypic Psychopathic (C1), Callous-Conning (C2), Externalizing (C3), and General Offender (C4). We validated the subtypes by examining their differential associations with theoretically meaningful external correlates: Child conduct disorder symptoms; adult nonviolent and violent offenses; Self-Report Psychopathy; Psychopathic Personality Inventory; Symptom Checklist-90 Revised; and behavioral activation system and behavioral inhibition system scores. The discussion focused on conceptions of the PCL-R-based subgroups and their potential application to risk assessment and treatment/management programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessing the validity of self-report of psychopathy short-form (SRP-SF) in incarcerated offenders from Chile and Uruguay.

Psychopathy remains a relatively unexplored concept in Latin America. The abbreviated Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP-SF) seems promising in this under-resourced context. However, the SRP-SF should be tested for measurement invariance to achieve meaningful comparison across countries in Latin America. Therefore the aims of this study were to examine the underlying factor structure of the SRP-SF in incarcerated adult male offenders from Uruguay (n = 331) and Chile (n = 208), to examine the measurement invariance of the SRP-SF across countries, and to assess the utility of SRP-SF to classify first time offenders from offenders with criminal history. Findings showed a good fit for the four-factor model in Uruguay, and both Chile and Uruguay showed invariance. Conversely, the Interpersonal and Affective factors were not associated with criminal history in the Uruguayan sample. Therefore, more studies are needed before using the SRP-SF as screening tool to classify first-time offenders and reoffenders in different countries in Latin America.

Psychometric properties of the Trauma Checklist 2.0 and its predictive utility of felony re-offending among high-risk juvenile offenders.

BACKGROUND: Incarcerated youth are characterized by particularly high rates of childhood trauma, a significant risk factor for outcomes including risky behaviors and recidivism. Trauma-based interventions can ameliorate the negative effects of childhood trauma; however, a critical part of success is careful trauma screening. Due to the limitations associated with commonly used self-report trauma assessments, our team developed the Trauma Checklist (TCL), a trained-rater assessment of childhood trauma specifically created for use with forensic populations. The TCL is designed to provide a more comprehensive assessment of trauma, incorporating categories that are of specific relevance for incarcerated individuals (e.g., traumatic loss). Here, we discuss the continued development made to our original trauma assessment and explore the psychometric properties of this expanded assessment (herein termed the TCL 2.0). METHOD: We examined relationships between TCL 2.0 scores, measures of psychopathology, and psychopathic traits in a sample of incarcerated male juvenile offenders (n = 237). In addition, we examined whether TCL 2.0 scores were associated with time to felony re-offense via Cox proportional-hazard regression analyses. RESULTS: We examined dimensionality of the TCL 2.0 using a principal component analysis (PCA), the results of which were confirmed via exploratory structural equation modeling; the PCA yielded a two-component solution (i.e., PC1 and PC2). We observed that PC1 (Experienced Trauma) scores were positively correlated with mood disorder diagnoses. TCL 2.0 total scores were positively correlated with post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology and psychopathic traits. Finally, higher PC2 (Community Trauma) scores were associated with faster time to felony re-offending. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the TCL 2.0 may be a beneficial screening tool to provide high-risk youth with appropriate trauma-informed treatment.

Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychopathic Traits in Justice-Involved Adult Women.

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.

Psychopathic traits in females and males across the globe.

The current study examined the prevalence and structure of psychopathic traits in females and males using a very large world sample (N = 33,016, females = 19,183). Psychopathic traits were assessed with the Self-Report Psychopathy (SRP) scale, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the four-factor model of psychopathy (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, antisocial) both in the total sample and in the separate samples of females and males. Multi-sample confirmatory factor analysis was used to test for invariance of model parameters across sex as well as across females from different world regions. Inferential statistics were used to examine how the mean-level average of the four SRP facets varied as a function of culture and sex. Finally, the SRP data were linked to objective world health data (e.g., mortality, fertility, gross domestic product) from relevant world regions. The results indicated good support for the four-factor model, as well as invariance across sex and reasonably good evidence of invariance across females from different world regions. Variation in the elevation of SRP facet scores across major world regions suggested that cultural factors moderated the expression of the level of psychopathic propensities and that these traits were strongly correlated with the world health data.

Examining the Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) Across Models, Correlates, and Gender.

To date, no studies have examined a range of structural models of the interpersonally aversive traits tapped by the Short Dark Tetrad (SD4; narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, sadism), in conjunction with their measurement invariance (males vs. females) and how the models each predict external correlates. Using a large sample of young adults (N = 3,975), four latent variable models were compared in terms of fit, measurement invariance, and prediction of intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning. The models tested were as follows: (Model A) confirmatory factor analytic, (Model B) bifactor, (Model C) exploratory structural equation model, and (Model D) a reduced-item confirmatory factor analytic that maximized item information. All models accounted for item covariance with good precision, although differed in incremental fit. Strong invariance held for all models, and each accounted similarly for the external correlates, highlighting differential predictive effects of the SD4 factors. The results provide support for four theoretically distinct but overlapping dark personality domains.

Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD): Factor structure and psychometric properties in a residential school facility.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder scale (PSCD; Salekin & Hare, 2016) is a new scale for the assessment of psychopathic characteristic domains in children and adolescents. The four domains are Grandiose-manipulative (GM), Callous-unemotional (CU), Daring-impulsive (DI), and Conduct Disorder (CD). We examined the properties of the self-report version of the PSCD in a large sample of adolescents (n = 409; age = 16-19; 80.6% male) in a military-style residential facility. Factor analytic results supported a four-factor model consistent with other PSCD research (e.g., López-Romero et al., 2019; Luo et al., 2021). Structural equation model (SEM) indicated a superordinate PSCD factor accounted for significant variance in self-reported delinquency history. The PSCD had good internal consistency and strong convergent and discriminant validity with measures of externalizing and internalizing disorders. The present study provides encouraging data that the PSCD may provide a sound measure of psychopathic propensities in youth. However, additional data are needed to test the stability of the PSCD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).