Alcohol and drug abuse-dependence disorders in psychopathic and nonpsychopathic criminal offenders.

Co-occurrence of psychopathy (assessed with the Revised Psychopathy Checklist [R. D. Hare, 1985]) and lifetime Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) alcohol and drug disorders (assessed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule; National Institute of Mental Health) was examined in a sample of 360 male inmates. Consistent with previous research that used diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder, psychopaths were more likely than nonpsychopaths to have lifetime diagnoses of alcoholism, any drug disorder, and multiple drug disorder. The relation between substance abuse and the 2 factors of the Revised Psychopathy Checklist was also examined. Substance abuse was significantly related to general social deviance (Factor 2) but was unrelated to core personality features of psychopathy (Factor 1). Two possible models of psychopathy (unitary syndrome vs dual-diathesis model) are presented that may account for the association between psychopathy and substance abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new method for assessing the interpersonal behavior of psychopathic individuals: Preliminary validation studies.

Two studies examined whether increased attention to interpersonal behaviors would improve assessments of the personality core underlying psychopathy. After item analysis, 21 items measuring interpersonal interactions and nonverbal behaviors associated with psychopathy were retained as the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy (IM-P). Federal prison inmates (Study 1, N?=?98) and undergraduates (Study 2, N?=?92) were rated on occurrence of these behaviors during an interview conducted to complete either Hare's Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL-R) or Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV). In both studies, IM-P scores correlated more highly with PCL Factor 1 than with PCL Factor 2 scores. Regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for demographic variables and PCL factor scores, IM-P scores predicted interviewer emotional responses and participants' adult fighting (Study 1) and ratings of participants' interpersonal dominance (Study 2). Thus, measurement of interpersonal behavior appears to permit improved prediction of several criteria linked to the personality core of psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood abuse and current psychological functioning in a university counseling center population.

84 university counseling center clients (61 women and 23 men) self-reporting childhood physical, sexual, or emotional abuse (n?=?30) or no childhood abuse (n?=?54) completed 3 measures of psychological functioning. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that clients reporting abuse were more depressed (with the mean Beck Depression Inventory score in the borderline clinical depression range), had more symptomatology (with the mean Global Severity Index of the Brief Symptom Inventory at about the average level of a psychiatric outpatient population), and scored higher on the Borderline Personality scale of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (with the mean base-rate score near the cutoff score for presence of borderline personality features). 19 clients reporting emotional abuse only did not differ on any measure from 11 clients reporting sexual or multiple forms of abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of psychopathy as a function of age.

The assessment of psychopathy was examined as a function of age in 889 male prison inmates between the ages of 16 and 69. Ratings of psychopathy were made with the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL), which measures 2 correlated factors. Factor 1 describes a cluster of affective-interpersonal traits central to psychopathy. Factor 2 describes traits and behaviors associated with an unstable, unsocialized lifestyle, or social deviance. Cross-sectional analyses revealed that mean scores on Factor 1 were stable across the age-span; mean scores on Factor 2 declined with age. The prevalence of antisocial personality disorder, and, to a lesser extent of PCL-defined psychopathy, also declined with age. The results are consistent with a conceptualization of psychopathy as encompassing 2 correlated but distinct constructs. They also suggest that age-related differences in traits related to impulsivity, social deviance, and antisocial behavior are not necessarily paralleled by differences in the egocentric, manipulative, and callous traits fundamental to psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between methods of coping during adulthood with a history of childhood sexual abuse and current psychological adjustment.

With a community sample of 192 women who had been sexually abused during childhood, the investigators determined if methods of coping in adulthood with the aftermath of child sexual abuse were associated with current symptoms of psychological distress. Multiple regression analyses indicated that disengagement methods of coping with the sexual abuse accounted for unique variance in general psychological distress even after controlling for characteristics of the abuse and methods of coping with other stressors. Disengagement methods of coping were also used more often to deal with the stressful aspects of having been sexually abused than to deal with other stressful events. In contrast, engagement methods of coping were used more often to deal with the other stressors than with sexual abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of the structure of self-report psychopathy measures and their relations with general traits and externalizing behaviors.

Self-report assessment of psychopathy is plagued by inconsistencies among the relations of the various psychopathy factors. We examined the factor structure of 3 prominent self-report measures of psychopathy—the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale–III (SRP–III; Williams, Paulhus, & Hare, 2007), the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP; Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995), and the Psychopathic Personality Inventory–R (PPI–R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005). A coherent 4-factor structure resulted from conducting an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the psychopathy subscales along with the domains from the five-factor model. Two of these factors were consistent with traditional conceptualizations of a 2-factor structure of psychopathy (i.e., Factor 1, which loaded negatively with Agreeableness; Factor 2, which loaded negatively with Conscientiousness), while 2 additional factors emerged, 1 of which emphasized low Neuroticism and 1 of which emphasized traits related to novelty/reward-seeking and dominance-related personality traits (high Extraversion). We also investigated the relations of these factors with a variety of externalizing behaviors (EB). The psychopathy scales indicative of interpersonal antagonism (i.e., Factor 1) were most consistently and strongly related to EB. Our findings are discussed in terms of the importance of a trait-based perspective in the assessment of psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clarifying the role of defensive reactivity deficits in psychopathy and antisocial personality using startle reflex methodology.

Prior research has demonstrated deficits in defensive reactivity (indexed by potentiation of the startle blink reflex) in psychopathic individuals. However, the basis of this association remains unclear, as diagnostic criteria for psychopathy encompass two distinct phenotypic components that may reflect differing neurobiological mechanisms—an affective–interpersonal component and an antisocial deviance component. Likewise, the role of defensive response deficits in antisocial personality disorder (APD), a related but distinct syndrome, remains to be clarified. In the current study, the authors examined affective priming deficits in relation to factors of psychopathy and symptoms of APD using startle reflex methods in 108 adult male prisoners. Deficits in blink reflex potentiation during aversive picture viewing were found in relation to the affective–interpersonal (Factor 1) component of psychopathy, and to a lesser extent in relation to the antisocial deviance (Factor 2) component of psychopathy and symptoms of APD—but only as a function of their overlap with affective–interpersonal features of psychopathy. These findings provide clear evidence that deficits in defensive reactivity are linked specifically to the affective–interpersonal features of psychopathy and not to the antisocial deviance features represented most strongly in APD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Posttraumatic stress disorder in adult female survivors of child sexual abuse: A comparison study.

This study compared symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a group of 45 adult women in outpatient treatment for childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and a group of 31 women who reported no CSA. The comparison group consisted of women in outpatient treatment for problems in their committed relationships with male living partners. This research also investigated the traumatic impact of dual abuse (both childhood sexual and physical abuse). Standardized assessment instruments were used to measure PTSD, CSA, and childhood physical abuse (CPA). Results indicated that 86.7% of the CSA group met criteria for current PTSD in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., revised; American Psychiatric Association, 1987), compared with 19.4% of the relationship distress group, providing support for CSA as an etiological agent for PTSD. In addition, 89% of the CSA survivors reported CPA. Multivariate analysis revealed that both CSA and CPA exposure variables accounted for a significant portion of the variance in PTSD symptoms in the CSA group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathy and violence: The importance of factor level interactions.

The power of scales based on the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL; R. D. Hare, 1980) for prediction of violent behavior is well established. Although evidence suggests that this relationship is chiefly due to the impulsive and antisocial lifestyle component (Factor 2), the predictive power of psychopathy for violence may also reflect the multiplicative effects of this component with interpersonal and unemotional traits (Factor 1). The determination of the extent to which psychopathy subcomponents interact to predict violence has theoretical and practical implications for PCL-assessed psychopathy. However, the relationship between violence and the interactive effects of psychopathy subcomponents remains largely undetermined. The authors used prospective and cross-sectional designs to examine the independent and interactive effects of the factors of PCL-assessed psychopathy in 2 samples: (a) 199 county jail inmates and (b) 863 civil psychiatric patients. The Factor 1 × Factor 2 interaction predicted violence in both samples, such that the predictive power of Factor 2 was attenuated at lower levels of Factor 1. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Primate diversity, habitat preferences, and population density estimates in Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that different types of gender-related personality attributes are associated with a past history of different types of childhood maltreatment. METHOD: A survey was administered to 1,060 male soldiers and 305 female soldiers in the U.S. Army. The survey instrument included the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ) which is a self-assessment instrument of personality characteristics associated with gender, and includes measures of positive masculinity (self-assertive/instrumental traits), positive femininity (expressive/interpersonal traits), negative masculinity (hyper masculine/macho traits), and negative femininity (subordination of self to others). The survey instrument also included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which contains scales measuring sexual abuse, physical-emotional abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect, and four questions on childhood sexual abuse developed for a national survey of U.S. adults. RESULTS: Negative masculinity was predicted by male gender, younger age, and childhood physical-emotional abuse. Negative femininity was predicted by physical-emotional abuse and sexual abuse. The relationship to sexual abuse was mainly evident for males. Positive femininity was positively correlated with sexual abuse for females and negatively correlated with sexual abuse for males. Positive masculinity was negatively correlated with emotional neglect for males but not for females. Positive femininity was negatively correlated with emotional neglect for both genders. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood abuse was associated with the presence of negative gender-related attributes; childhood neglect was associated with absence of positive gender-related attributes. Childhood physical abuse was associated with negative masculine attributes in both genders. Childhood sexual abuse was associated with positive feminine attributes in females, and negative feminine attributes in males. The finding for females is counterintuitive, and is discussed in the light of the clinical literature on certain types of adaptation to incest.     

A comparison of attitude, personality, and knowledge predictors of service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors.

Attitude, personality, and customer knowledge antecedents were compared in their predictive ability of 3 service-oriented forms of employee organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs): loyalty, service delivery, and participation. For the 1st study, 236 customer-contact employees provided data concerning their OCBs and the attitude, personality, and knowledge antecedents. The 2nd investigation relied on data provided by 144 contact employees from a network of university libraries. Using hierarchical regression in both studies, the authors found that each of the 3 types of service-oriented OCBs was best predicted by different subsets of the antecedents. Job attitudes accounted for the most unique variance in loyalty OCBs, personality accounted for the most unique variance in service delivery OCBs, and customer knowledge and personality jointly were the best predictors of participation OCBs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suicidal thoughts and behaviours in former sexual abuse victims.

Examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and subsequent suicidality in 195 women (mean age 27.4 yrs) presenting to the crisis intervention program of a community health center. As predicted, former sexual abuse victims were considerably more likely to have made at least 1 suicide attempt in the past (55% of the 133 Ss) than were nonabused clients (23% of the 62 Ss) and were more likely to report suicidal ideation upon intake. Sexual abuse was associated with suicide attempts that occurred in childhood or adolescence. Among former sexual abuse victims, greater suicidality was correlated with multiple perpetrators, concurrent physical abuse, and sexual intercourse. Childhood sexual abuse is hypothesized to result in lowered self-esteem, guilt and self-blame, perceived powerlessness, and interpersonal dysfunction—all of which may lead to increased self-destructiveness. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structural relations between borderline personality disorder features and putative etiological correlates.

This study assessed the structural relations between borderline personality disorder (BPD) features and purported etiological correlates. Approximately 5,000 18-year-old nonclinical young adults were screened for BPD features, and 2 cohorts of participants (total N?=?421; approximately one half of whom endorsed significant borderline features) completed the laboratory phase of the study. Measures included self-report and interview-based assessments of BPD psychopathology, personality, psychopathology in biological parents, and childhood physical and sexual abuse. Significant relations between BPD features and purported etiological correlates of BPD were found. A multivariate model that included parental psychopathology, childhood abuse, and personality factors provided an adequate fit to the data and supported the contention that the personality traits disinhibition and negative affectivity underlie BPD features. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors that mediate and moderate the link between partner abuse and suicidal behavior in African American women.

Findings from a study comparing partner abuse in African American women suicide attempters (n?=?148) and nonattempters (n?=?137) revealed higher rates of physical and nonphysical partner abuse among attempters than their demographically similar nonsuicidal counterparts. The partner abuse–suicidal behavior link was mediated by psychological distress, hopelessness, and drug use and moderated by social support. Results also revealed that nonphysical partner abuse accounted for unique variance in the prediction of suicide attempt status beyond that attributable to childhood maltreatment. Implications of the findings for assessing both suicidal and abused women are discussed, and recommendations for preventive interventions for women at risk for suicidal behavior are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of childhood sexual, physical, and combined sexual and physical abuse to adult victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder

OBJECTIVE: Prior research has suggested that women who experience childhood sexual abuse are at increased risk for sexual victimization and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adulthood. However, previous studies have paid insufficient attention to the overlap of childhood sexual and physical abuse. In the present study we disentangled the separate and combined effects of childhood sexual and physical abuse by comparing groups of participants who reported contact childhood sexual abuse only (SA), sequelae of childhood physical abuse only (PA), combined childhood sexual and physical abuse (CA), or no child abuse (NA). METHOD: A sample of 475 female college students completed measures of sexual and physical abuse in childhood (before age 15) and adulthood (after age 15), PTSD and trauma symptoms, and demographic variables. Of these participants, 27 were assigned to the SA group, 53 to the PA group, 31 to the CA group, and 211 to the NA group. RESULTS: The highest rate of adult sexual and/or physical victimization was reported by the CA group, followed by the PA group, with lower rates reported by the SA and NA groups. Using adult victimization as a covariate, the analyses revealed that the CA group reported significantly higher rates of PTSD and trauma symptoms compared to the NA group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that prior reports of differences in rates of adult victimization and PTSD between women who experienced childhood sexual abuse and women who did not may be attributable to the inclusion of participants with a history of combined childhood sexual and physical abuse in childhood sexual abuse groups. The importance of separating physical and combined forms of victimization from sexual abuse is discussed.     

Presenting problems of sexually abused girls receiving psychiatric services.

Twenty-three behaviors among those suggested in the literature to be associated with sexual abuse were studied in 195 girls, ages 2–18 years, who were consecutive admissions to three Midwestern mental health agencies. Results indicated that sexually inappropriate behaviors, sleep disturbance, depressed mood, and delinquent behavior occurred more frequently in young abuse victims than in clinic comparisons. Sexually inappropriate behaviors and running away appeared more often in older sexually abused girls, than they appeared in older clinic comparisons. These comparisons of the presenting problems of sexually abused and nonabused girls suggest there are few behavioral "markers' of sexual abuse in clinical samples and that sexual abuse may not be a unique contributing factor in the ontogeny of childhood psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training and use of baccalaureate nurses

One thousand three hundred sixty-five soldiers from the U.S. Army completed a 30-item version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) together with four questions on sexual abuse developed for a national survey of U.S. adults. A four-factor solution to the CTQ produced four subscales that were similar to those found in the original study, namely (1) emotional neglect, (2) physical and emotional abuse, (3) sexual abuse, and (4) physical neglect. We found that half of female soldiers reported a childhood history of sexual abuse, compared with one-sixth of male soldiers. Half of both male and female soldiers reported a childhood history of physical abuse. Combined abuse histories were noted in 34% of female and 11% of male soldiers. Abused soldiers reported more psychological symptoms on the Brief Symptom Inventory than nonabused soldiers. The CTQ and screening questions are discussed as possible tools for eliciting histories of abuse from soldiers.     

Childhood maltreatment, object relations, and suicidal behavior in women.

Findings from a study examining object relations (OR) as a mediator of the link between childhood maltreatment and suicidal behavior in a sample of predominantly low-income, African American women (suicide attempters: n?=?53; nonattempters: n?=?106) revealed that each OR dimension fully, yet differentially, mediated specific links between 5 types of childhood maltreatment (sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, and emotional and physical neglect) and suicide attempt status. The alienation subscale of 1 of the 2 OR measures used was the most robust mediator, fully mediating the links between all types of childhood maltreatment and suicide attempt status. For both childhood sexual abuse and physical neglect, the links with suicide attempt status were fully mediated by 5 of 6 OR dimensions measured, whereas the other childhood maltreatment types (physical abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect) were fully mediated by just 1 or 2 OR dimensions. Research directions and clinical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathy, antisocial personality, and suicide risk.

H. Cleckley (1976) maintained that psychopaths are relatively immune to suicide, but substantial evidence exists for a relationship between antisocial deviance and suicidal acts. This study was the first to explicitly examine suicidal history among psychopathic individuals as defined by R. D. Hare's (1991) Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL—R). Male prison inmates (N?=?313) were assessed using the PCL—R and DSM-III R and DSM-IV criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 1987, 1994) for antisocial personality disorder (APD), and they completed A. Tellegen's (1982) Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). Presence or absence of prior suicide attempts was coded from structured interview and prison file records. Suicide history was significantly related to PCL—R Factor 2 (which reflects chronic antisocial deviance) and to APD diagnosis but was unrelated to PCL-R Factor 1, which encompasses affective and interpersonal features of psychopathy. Higher order MPQ dimensions of Negative Emotionality and low Constraint were found to account for the relationship between history of suicidal attempts and antisocial deviance, indicating that temperament traits may represent a common vulnerability for both. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)