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PloS One 2024The present study examined early socioeconomic status (SES) and neighborhood disadvantage (ND) as independent predictors of antisocial behavior (ASB) and addressed the...
The present study examined early socioeconomic status (SES) and neighborhood disadvantage (ND) as independent predictors of antisocial behavior (ASB) and addressed the etiology of the associations (i.e., genes versus the environment) using a longitudinal adoption design. Prospective data from the Colorado Adoption Project (435 adoptees, 598 nonadopted children, 526 biological grandparents of adoptees, 481 adoptive parents, and 617 nonadoptive parents including biological parents of unrelated siblings of adoptees) were examined. SES and ND were assessed during infancy and ASB was evaluated from ages four through 16 using parent and teacher report. Associations between predictors and ASB were compared across adoptive and nonadoptive families and sex. Early SES was a nominally significant, independent predictor of antisocial ASB, such that lower SES predicted higher levels of ASB in nonadoptive families only. ND was not associated with ASB. Associations were consistent across aggression and delinquency, and neither SES nor ND was associated with change in ASB over time. Nominally significant associations did not remain significant after controlling for multiple testing. As such, despite nonsignificant differences in associations across sex or adoptive status, we were unable to make definitive conclusions regarding the genetic versus environmental etiology of or sex differences in the influence of SES and ND on ASB. Despite inconclusive findings, in nonadoptees, results were consistent-in effect size and direction-with previous studies in the literature indicating that lower SES is associated with increased risk for ASB.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Longitudinal Studies; Child; Social Class; Adolescent; Child, Preschool; Adoption; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Neighborhood Characteristics; Colorado; Prospective Studies; Child, Adopted; Residence Characteristics
PubMed: 38683790
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301765 -
Behavioral Sciences & the Law Apr 2024The nosology for criminals who murder multiple victims is at once well-established and controversial, perhaps because theorists have largely segregated such offenders...
The nosology for criminals who murder multiple victims is at once well-established and controversial, perhaps because theorists have largely segregated such offenders from the broader criminal population. The current study introduces the superhomicide offender, an individual convicted of at least five murders, to locate multiple homicide offenders within the criminological and epidemiological science pertaining to the most pathological offenders, and statistically place them with other conceptualizations of severe offenders at the 95th percentile of the offending distribution. Relative to other capital murderers, superhomicide offenders have lengthier criminal history, greater conviction history, and coextensive psychopathology characterized by psychopathy, sexual sadism, homicidal ideation, cluster A and B personality disorders, and major depressive disorder. Superhomicide offenders are profoundly psychopathic with 20 of the 39 offenders reaching the clinical threshold of 30 or more on the PCL-R, and 19 of the 39 are sexually sadistic. Regarding extant typologies of sexual and multiple homicide offenders, 15 are serial murderers, 17 are sexual homicide offenders, 17 are mass murderers, and 17 are spree murderers. Twenty-four of the 39 superhomicide offenders (61.5%) met criteria for multiple typologies, suggesting the new prototype can help unify the study of those who perpetrate multicide and embed them within criminological and epidemiological models that specify pathological antisocial outcomes.
PubMed: 38678593
DOI: 10.1002/bsl.2662 -
Acta Psychologica Jun 2024The efficacy of explicit measures in assessing fire interest is often compromised by social desirability biases, presenting a challenge for early intervention programs...
The efficacy of explicit measures in assessing fire interest is often compromised by social desirability biases, presenting a challenge for early intervention programs aimed at preventing firesetting behaviour. The current study aimed to validate a novel fire interest Implicit Association Task (IAT), as a more reliable measure of implicit fire interest in adolescents. An Australian community adolescent sample of 85 participants, aged 10-17 (M = 13.65, SD = 1.81), completed a series of questionnaires, and the novel fire interest IAT. Based on self-reports, participants were classified as firelighters (n = 52) or non-firelighters (n = 33). IAT outcomes revealed an inclination towards associating "fire" with "interesting." Notably, firelighters, compared to non-firelighters, performed significantly quicker during hypothesis-consistent trials of the IAT where fire-images were paired with interesting-words. Moreover, a weak correlation emerged between the speed of responses in these hypothesis-consistent IAT trials and self-reported fire interest. This investigation is one of the few that examined the efficacy of implicit measures of fire interest and is the first to do so using a modified IAT. With continued refinement, the fire interest IAT could be successfully used to assist with early intervention programs aimed at preventing child firesetting behaviour. PsychINFO Code: 3230.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Female; Male; Child; Firesetting Behavior; Surveys and Questionnaires; Reaction Time; Australia; Association
PubMed: 38670041
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104294 -
Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) Mar 2024ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that children and adults can develop. A complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors may underlie interindividual...
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that children and adults can develop. A complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors may underlie interindividual variability in ADHD and potentially related aggressive behavior. Using high-resolution molecular biology techniques, we investigated the impact of some MAOA and SLC6A4 variations on ADHD and aggressive behavior in a group of 80 Italian children with ADHD and in 80 healthy controls. We found that homozygous genotypes of MAOA rs6323 and rs1137070 were associated with an increased risk of ADHD ( = 0.02 and = 0.03, respectively), whereas the heterozygous genotypes (GT of rs6323 and CT of rs1137030) ( = 0.0002 and = 0.0006) were strongly linked to a lower risk of developing this disorder. In patients with aggressive behavior, we highlighted only a weak negative association of both MAOA polymorphisms (heterozygous genotypes) with aggressiveness, suggesting that these genotypes may be protective towards specific changes in behavior ( = 0.05). Interestingly, an increase in the GG genotype of rs6323 ( = 0.01) and a decrease in GT genotype ( = 0.0005) was also found in patients without aggressive behavior compared to controls. Regarding 5HTT gene genotyping, no allele and genotype differences have been detected among patients and controls. Our work shows that defining a genetic profile of ADHD may help in the early detection of patients who are more vulnerable to ADHD and/or antisocial and aggressive behavior and to design precision-targeted therapies.
PubMed: 38667528
DOI: 10.3390/diseases12040070 -
Psychoradiology 2023Although sex differences in antisocial behavior are well-documented, the extent to which neuroanatomical differences are related to sex differences in antisocial...
BACKGROUND
Although sex differences in antisocial behavior are well-documented, the extent to which neuroanatomical differences are related to sex differences in antisocial behavior is unclear. The inconsistent results from different clinical populations exhibiting antisocial behaviors are mainly due to the heterogeneity in etiologies, comorbidity inequality, and small sample size, especially in females.
OBJECTIVE
The study aimed to find sexual dimorphic brain regions associated with individual differences in antisocial behavior while avoiding the issues of heterogeneity and sample size.
METHODS
We collected structural neuroimaging data from 281 college students (131 males, 150 females) and analyzed the data using voxel-based morphometry.
RESULTS
The gray matter volume in three brain regions correlates with self-reported antisocial behavior in males and females differently: the posterior superior temporal sulcus, middle temporal gyrus, and precuneus. The findings have controlled for the total cortical gray matter volume, age, IQ, and socioeconomic status. Additionally, we found a common neural substrate of antisocial behavior in both males and females, extending from the anterior temporal lobe to the insula.
CONCLUSION
This is the first neuroanatomical evidence from a large non-clinical sample of young adults. The study suggests that differences in males and females in reading social cues, understanding intentions and emotions, and responding to conflicts may contribute to the modulation of brain morphometry concerning antisocial behavior.
PubMed: 38666132
DOI: 10.1093/psyrad/kkad031 -
Psicothema May 2024The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) is a recently developed instrument for assessing the "dark" personality traits of psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism. We...
BACKGROUND
The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) is a recently developed instrument for assessing the "dark" personality traits of psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism. We aimed to examine the SD4's psychometric properties, adapting it into Spanish and exploring its structure, gender invariance, reliability, concurrent validity, and nomological network.
METHOD
A sample of 668 adults (Mage = 26.36, SD = 10.64, 69.2% females) completed the SD4 and other self-report questionnaires.
RESULTS
The results demonstrated sound indices of reliability and concurrent validity, an adequate four-factor structure, and support for gender invariance. Furthermore, most of the findings about the nomological network were in line with prior hypotheses: All four SD4 scales were associated with low levels of agreeableness and antagonism; psychopathy was also related to low conscientiousness, disinhibition and impulse-control problems; narcissism was positively associated with extraversion and negatively associated with internalizing symptoms; Machiavellianism was uncorrelated with impulsivity-related problems, which made it distinct from the psychopathy profile; finally, sadism showed a similar pattern of associations to psychopathy, albeit less strongly linked to impulsivity problems and externalizing behavior.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the SD4 presents sound psychometric properties, although the overlap between psychopathy and sadism warrants some caution.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Machiavellianism; Adult; Narcissism; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Young Adult; Psychometrics; Sadism; Middle Aged; Spain; Adolescent; Personality; Reproducibility of Results; Self Report
PubMed: 38661166
DOI: 10.7334/psicothema2023.172 -
International Journal of Offender... Apr 2024Since the publication of the fifth edition of the , identity impairment has become a diagnostic criterion for all personality disorders. The current study examined the...
Since the publication of the fifth edition of the , identity impairment has become a diagnostic criterion for all personality disorders. The current study examined the occurrence of identity dimensions, clinically relevant identity impairments and personality pathology, and associations between these constructs in 92 forensic patients and 139 healthy controls. Patients showed higher levels of almost all identity dimensions, identity impairments, personality disorders, and almost all maladaptive personality traits than controls. Various identity dimensions were associated with consolidated identity as well as identity impairments in both groups. Both patients and controls with high ruminative exploration and identity malfunctioning showed more personality pathology. Different associations between identity functioning and particularly antisocial and borderline personality disorder showed to be stronger in patients than in controls. Our results highlight the importance of identity impairment as a crucial criterion to assess and treat personality pathology in forensic patients.
PubMed: 38651623
DOI: 10.1177/0306624X241248364 -
Developmental Psychology Apr 2024Machiavellianism is an antisocial interpersonal style involving the use of manipulative, deceptive, and coercive behaviors in the pursuit of self-interest. Although...
Machiavellianism is an antisocial interpersonal style involving the use of manipulative, deceptive, and coercive behaviors in the pursuit of self-interest. Although widely studied as a "dark" personality trait in adults, relatively little is known about the developmental correlates of Machiavellian tendencies earlier in life. The present study addressed this knowledge gap by examining associations between Machiavellian behavior and three theoretically relevant social-emotional domains-prosocial emotions, emotion recognition skills, and self-control-in a community sample of 7- and 11-year-old Canadian children ( = 300, 50% female). Of particular interest was the extent to which individual differences in social-emotional capacities were uniquely associated with Machiavellian behavior after controlling for aggression, a relatively well-studied antisocial behavior in childhood. Parents reported on children's Machiavellian behavior and aggression. Social-emotional correlates were assessed via parent and child reports, behavioral tasks, and physiological assessments. Machiavellian behavior and aggression were similarly associated with lower parent-reported prosocial emotions and self-control. Machiavellian (but not aggressive) behavior was associated with lower child-reported guilt (a prosocial emotion), higher resting skin conductance levels (reflecting a general tendency for higher arousal), and better anger recognition. Semipartial correlational analyses indicated that these patterns of association with Machiavellian behaviors held independent of aggression. These findings indicate that, by middle childhood, Machiavellian behavior constitutes a distinct form of antisocial conduct that is associated with a unique social-emotional risk profile. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
PubMed: 38647475
DOI: 10.1037/dev0001755 -
Psychological Medicine Apr 2024The DSM Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure (DSM-XC) allows for assessing multiple psychopathological domains. However, its capability to screen for mental disorders...
BACKGROUND
The DSM Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure (DSM-XC) allows for assessing multiple psychopathological domains. However, its capability to screen for mental disorders in a population-based sample and the impact of adverbial framings (intensity and frequency) on its performance are unknown.
METHODS
The study was based on cross-sectional data from the 1993 Pelotas birth cohort in Brazil. Participants with completed DSM-XC and structured diagnostic interviews ( = 3578, aged 22, 53.6% females) were included. Sensitivity, specificity, positive (LR+), and negative (LR-) likelihood ratios for each of the 13 DSM-XC domains were estimated for detecting five internalizing disorders (bipolar, generalized anxiety, major depressive, post-traumatic stress, and social anxiety disorders) and three externalizing disorders (antisocial personality, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, and alcohol use disorders). Sensitivities and specificities >0.75, LR+ > 2 and LR- < 0.5 were considered meaningful. Values were calculated for the DSM-XC's original scoring and for adverbial framings.
RESULTS
Several DSM-XC domains demonstrated meaningful screening properties. The anxiety domain exhibited acceptable sensitivity and LR- values for all internalizing disorders. The suicidal ideation, psychosis, memory, repetitive thoughts and behaviors, and dissociation domains displayed acceptable specificity for all disorders. Domains also yielded small but meaningful LR+ values for internalizing disorders. However, LR+ and LR- values were not generally meaningful for externalizing disorders. Frequency-framed questions improved screening properties.
CONCLUSIONS
The DSM-XC domains showed transdiagnostic screening properties, providing small but meaningful changes in the likelihood of internalizing disorders in the community, which can be improved by asking frequency of symptoms compared to intensity. The DSM-XC is currently lacking meaningful domains for externalizing disorders.
PubMed: 38639338
DOI: 10.1017/S0033291724000849