-
Law and Human Behavior Jun 2024The presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits in adolescence predisposes youth to negative behavioral and social outcomes and may be particularly damaging to youth...
OBJECTIVE
The presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits in adolescence predisposes youth to negative behavioral and social outcomes and may be particularly damaging to youth involved in the justice system. Whereas research has shown that CU traits predict later arrest, it remains unknown whether rearrest predicts changes in CU traits and whether these associations may be modified by maternal relationship quality. The present study assessed whether being rearrested predicted changes in CU traits and whether these associations varied by maternal warmth and maternal hostility.
HYPOTHESES
We hypothesized that self-reported CU traits would increase at data collection time points following rearrest. Further, we hypothesized that maternal warmth would buffer the negative effects of rearrest, whereas maternal hostility would not have a significant moderating effect on the associations.
METHOD
Hypotheses were tested using a large, multisite longitudinal data set of 1,216 justice-involved male youth (Mage = 15.82 years at baseline; 47% Latino, 38% Black/African American, 15% White). Data from a series of nine interviews (across a 7-year period) were used to determine associations between rearrest at one-time point and CU traits at the subsequent time point.
RESULTS
Rearrest is associated with a significant increase in CU traits. However, these associations are not moderated by either maternal warmth or maternal hostility.
CONCLUSIONS
Rearrest predicts increases in a known risk factor for healthy socioemotional development among justice-involved youths (CU traits). Moreover, the way rearrest is associated with CU traits does not change depending on maternal warmth; rearrest is associated with increases in CU traits irrespective of the quality of a youth's relationship with their mother. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Humans; Male; Adolescent; Mother-Child Relations; Female; Juvenile Delinquency; Longitudinal Studies; Hostility; Emotions; Antisocial Personality Disorder
PubMed: 38949766
DOI: 10.1037/lhb0000567 -
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Humour and antisocial behaviour on the internet are under-researched. Online spaces have opened a gateway for new ways to express unrestrained humour (e.g., dark humour)...
Humour and antisocial behaviour on the internet are under-researched. Online spaces have opened a gateway for new ways to express unrestrained humour (e.g., dark humour) and ways to behave antisocially (e.g., online trolling). The tendencies and motivations of those engaging with such humour and behaviour are yet to be clearly established and understood. The present study aimed to fill this gap by exploring the interplay between dark humour, online trolling, and dark personality traits. Participants ( = 160) completed an online survey consisting of trait scales to assess the Dark Tetrad, dark humour, and online trolling, as well as two online trolling tasks (enjoyment and ability) and two dark humour meme tasks (enjoyment and ability). The results confirmed relationships between the Dark Tetrad and the dark humour trait, and several Dark Tetrad traits were related to the enjoyment of and ability to produce dark humour. Furthermore, dark humour and online trolling were closely related. The findings also revealed that online trolls did not enjoy being trolled but did enjoy trolling, and this ability to troll is underpinned by sadism. These findings illustrate the potential dark psychological motivations for using dark humour, demonstrate that online trolling is infused with darker forms of humour, and provide deeper insights into online trolls.
PubMed: 38920825
DOI: 10.3390/bs14060493 -
Child Abuse & Neglect Jun 2024Effective classification of individuals who commit sexual offences is important for their assessment, treatment, and risk management. Victim age has often been used as a...
BACKGROUND
Effective classification of individuals who commit sexual offences is important for their assessment, treatment, and risk management. Victim age has often been used as a distinguishing factor between perpetrators.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to analyse the distinctive psychopathological and criminological characteristics of contact sexual offenders with adult and minor victims.
PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING
The study involved 97 adult males who were serving a prison sentence in Spain for at least one contact sexual offence against an adult or a minor.
METHODS
Researchers gathered data on criminological variables concerning the offender, victim, and modus operandi from prison records and interviews. Participants completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III) in a second session, and between-group differences were analysed.
RESULTS
Sex offenders with minor victims (SOMV) had significantly lower scores than sex offenders with adult victims (SOAV) on the Antisocial (r = -0.283, p = .005) and Sadistic (r = -0.209, p = .04) personality subscales, and on the Alcohol (r = -0.426, p < .001) and Drug dependence (r = -0.332, p = .001) syndrome subscales. SOAV were also more likely to use violence and/or intimidation, use a weapon, offend against female victims, offend against an intimate partner, commit their offences in public places, serve other ongoing prison sentences, and report a history of alcohol and substance abuse. SOMV were older and more likely to offend against family members.
CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that there are key differences between SOAV and SOMV that should be considered in tailored prevention programmes for each subgroup of offenders.
PubMed: 38906041
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106896 -
Psychological Assessment Jun 2024The triarchic model posits that distinct trait constructs of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition underlie psychopathy. The triarchic model traits are conceptualized as...
The triarchic model posits that distinct trait constructs of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition underlie psychopathy. The triarchic model traits are conceptualized as biobehavioral dimensions that can be assessed using different sets of indicators from alternative measurement modalities; as such, the triarchic model would hypothesize that these traits are not confined to any one item set. The present study tested whether the triarchic model dimensions would emerge from a hierarchical-structural analysis of the facet scales of the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA), an inventory designed to comprehensively index psychopathy according to the five-factor personality model. Study participants (s = 811, 170) completed the EPA and three different scale sets assessing the triarchic traits along with criterion measures of antisocial/externalizing behaviors. Bass-ackwards modeling of the EPA facet scales revealed a four-level structure, with factors at the third level appearing similar to the triarchic trait dimensions. An analysis in which scores for the Level-3 EPA factors were regressed onto corresponding latent-trait dimensions defined using the different triarchic scale sets revealed extremely high convergence (βs = .84-.91). The Level-3 EPA factors also evidenced validity in relation to relevant criteria, approximating and sometimes exceeding that evident for the Level-4 EPA factors. Together, these results indicate that the triarchic trait constructs are embedded in a psychopathy inventory designed to align with a general personality model and effectively predict pertinent external criteria. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
PubMed: 38900521
DOI: 10.1037/pas0001321 -
Scientific Data Jun 2024The computational analysis of human personality has mainly focused on the Big Five personality theory, and the psychodynamic approach is almost nonexistent despite its...
The computational analysis of human personality has mainly focused on the Big Five personality theory, and the psychodynamic approach is almost nonexistent despite its rich theoretical grounding and relevance to various tasks. Here, we provide a data set of 4972 synthetic utterances corresponding with five personality dimensions described by the psychodynamic approach: depressive, obsessive, paranoid, narcissistic, and anti-social psychopathic. The utterances have been generated through AI with a deep theoretical orientation that motivated the design of prompts for GPT-4. The dataset has been validated through 14 tests, and it may be relevant for the computational study of human personality and the design of authentic persona in digital domains, from gaming to the artistic generation of movie characters.
Topics: Humans; Personality; Artificial Intelligence
PubMed: 38871736
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03488-6 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024With the introduction of the new psychiatric diagnostic manuals, personality functioning has gained new prominence. Several studies have reported consistent findings...
INTRODUCTION
With the introduction of the new psychiatric diagnostic manuals, personality functioning has gained new prominence. Several studies have reported consistent findings that individual showing high levels of antisocial features are associated with alterations in interpersonal functioning domains such as empathy and mentalisation. The focus of the current study ( = 198) is to examine antisocial cognitions, as measured by the Scrambled Sentences Task (SST), and to what extent this approach can help to better understand the relationship between antisocial traits and personality functioning/empathy.
METHOD
We implemented a hypothesis-driven approach using logistic regression and a data-driven approach using machine learning to examine distinct but related measures of personality functioning as predictors of antisocial cognitions.
RESULTS
Antisocial cognitions were associated with low interpersonal functioning as expected, but only when not adjusting for antisocial traits, which accounted for almost all the association. The data-driven analysis revealed that individual items assessing empathic concern in personality functioning scales (as opposed to the whole scores) explained low antisocial cognitions even when adjusting for antisocial traits.
DISCUSSION
Antisocial cognitions appear to be associated to two distinct traits, the antisocial and a specific type of personality functioning. This finding is discussed in terms of the possible distinction between two motivational forces: to harm others/prioritize one's advantage, and to help suffering others.
PubMed: 38863611
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1377177 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024Writing involves the activation of different processing modes than reading comprehension, and therefore the level of activation varies depending on the moment and the...
ABSTRACT
Writing involves the activation of different processing modes than reading comprehension, and therefore the level of activation varies depending on the moment and the task.
OBJECTIVES
to analyze the profiles in terms of the proposed coding from the PROESC in terms of personality disorders [Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) with drugs possession and consumption crimes (DPCC) and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)] with gender violence crimes (GVC) in the prisoners.
DESIGN
The sample was composed of 194 men. The participants were divided into two groups. Group 1 (ASPD; DPCC) consisted of 81 men, and Group 2 (OCPD; GVC) consisted of 113 men.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
They completed the Demographic, Offense, and Behavioral Interview in Institutions, the International Personality Disorders Examination (IPDE), and Writing Processes Evaluation Battery (PROESC).
RESULTS
Group 2 made more mistake than Group 1 in narratives tasks.
CONCLUSION
Participants know phoneme-grapheme correspondence rules, language disturbances of a reiterative and persistent nature may appear in those who show compulsive behavior.
PubMed: 38855649
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1391463 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... May 2024The long-term outcome of acquired sociopathy with preservation of cognition is still unknown. Here, we present the long-term outcome of a severe antisocial change in...
The long-term outcome of acquired sociopathy with preservation of cognition is still unknown. Here, we present the long-term outcome of a severe antisocial change in personality that followed a traumatic left frontopolar injury in a previously gentle, loving, and introverted adolescent. Nine years after the accident, antisocial behaviors gradually became sporadic, while, at the same time, the patient's sense of responsibility and care for his family increased. He became more extroverted and assertive, yet flexible enough to deal with the hardships of his poor socioeconomic background. His "new personality" was, in fact, more adjusted than ever. We argue that his late recovery reflected a conjunction of factors, especially (i) his early age, (ii) the static nature of the injury, (iii) the preservation of the ventromedial frontal cortices and related basal forebrain regions, and (iv) an unusual asymmetric representation of social cognition in the cerebral hemispheres. Our case and the case of Franz Binz indicate that social recovery is possible after gross prefrontal injuries, even when they are no longer expected to occur. It also emphasizes the importance of reporting on the long-term follow-up of brain-injured patients.
PubMed: 38843567
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.01.015 -
Clinical Psychology Review Jul 2024Theories of psychopathy development traditionally emphasize that individuals high in psychopathy experience diminished internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety and... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Theories of psychopathy development traditionally emphasize that individuals high in psychopathy experience diminished internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression). However, many studies find null or even positive relationships between psychopathy and internalizing. The current meta-analysis therefore aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of heterogeneity in psychopathy-anxiety/depression relationships by examining measurement and sample-related variables that may moderate these associations (e.g., psychopathy subdimensions assessed, different measures/operationalizations of psychopathy and anxiety/depression, and demographic characteristics). Results suggest that psychopathy demonstrates a small, positive overall association with anxiety/depression (r = 0.09), which may indicate that psychopathy is unrelated to subjective experiences of anxiety and sadness, but results could also reflect that varying psychopathy and anxiety/depression assessment practices contribute to heterogeneity in psychopathy-anxiety/depression associations. Most notably, results indicate that associations vary substantially across different measures/operationalizations of psychopathy, even when controlling for sample type and informant. Some psychopathy scales could therefore inadvertently capture anxiety/depression symptoms or broader psychopathology in addition to psychopathic traits. Findings from the current meta-analysis can inform future efforts to understand how measurement-related considerations influence relationships between psychopathy and anxiety/depression.
Topics: Humans; Anxiety; Depression; Antisocial Personality Disorder
PubMed: 38838516
DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102448