Emotional dysregulation and trauma predicting psychopathy dimensions in female and male juvenile offenders

Abstract

BackgroundPsychopathy is a specific syndrome that predicts future violent and aggressive behavior in adults. Studies in youth and adults have demonstrated a strong association between early traumatic incidents and later dissocial behavior. Moreover, the impact of personality pathology and emotional dysregulation on aggressive and violent behavior is well established. However, few studies have addressed the relationship between early traumatization and psychopathic traits in adolescents.MethodThe present study examined associations between both general dimensions of personality pathology and early traumatic experiences and the dimensions of psychopathy in 170 male and 171 female adolescent detainees.ResultsAnalyses revealed associations between physical abuse, emotional dysregulation and psychopathic traits in delinquent boys but not in delinquent girls.ConclusionHypothesized relationships between trauma, personality pathology could only be confirmed in the lifestyle and antisocial, but not in the core affective and interpersonal facets of psychopathy.

Psychopathy and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Revisited: Results From a Statewide Population of Institutionalized Youth

“…Similarly, pressing questions remain on how various psychological conditions, including psychopathy, anxiety, depression, substance use disorders, and others moderate or mediate violence exposure and its association with suicidality, and should be explored in future research. The current findings also bear on emerging research that explores the emotional life and emotional regulation capacity of psychopathic individuals (cf., Ellis et al, 2017;Maxwell, Lynn, & Lilienfeld, 2017;Sellbom, 2015;Sevecke, Franke, Kosson, & Krischer, 2016). There is important variation in the degree to which psychopathic delinquents experience positive and negative emotional states, the degree to which they acknowledge, understand, and are aware of those emotional states, and the degree to which they can modulate, control, and regulate their emotional states.…”

Differences and Similarities in Predictors of Externalizing Behavior Problems Between Boys and Girls: A 1-Year Follow-Up Study

“…The fundamental role of anger-irritability problems in the externalizing spectrum is shown by its contribution to many psychopathological diagnoses within this realm, such as ODD, conduct disorder, psychopathic personality traits, and antisocial personality disorder (DSM-V; APA, 2013; ICD-10; WHO, 2004). Previous studies suggested that anger-irritability problems were triggered by neurobiological dysregulations (e.g., Pardini & Frick, 2013), genetic components (Taylor & Kim-Cohen, 2007), inadequate rearing environment such as hostile and coercive parenting styles (Gershoff, 2002;Teicher & Samson, 2016), or exposure to a serie of traumatic experiences (Schmid, Petermann, & Fegert, 2013;Sevecke, Franke, Kosson, & Krischer, 2016), that could affect the individual's capacity to control anger-related mechanisms. While many of these factors explaining the development of anger-irritability problems are not sex-specific per se, girls were found to be at heightened risk for sexual assault and abuse, which is also a strong predictor of anger-irritability problems (e.g., Kerig & Becker, 2012).…”

Is Female Psychopathy Linked with Child Abuse? An Empirical Investigation using a Person-Centered Approach

“…For instance, Krischer and Sevecke (2008) found that sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse were more strongly correlated with psychopathy among delinquent boys than girls. Indeed, they reported negative associations between physical abuse and total psychopathy score and lifestyle features, but positive associations between emotional abuse and number of placements in foster homes and antisocial features of psychopathy (also see, Sevecke, Franke, Kosson, & Krischer, 2016). These findings, however, should be tempered by the fact that psychopathy was assessed using a measure which is heavily weighted towards behavioral indicators of the disorder, including antisocial features.…”