Antisocial behavior, both criminal and noncriminal, is a prominent yet poorly understood public health concern. Research on antisocial behavior typically focuses on either individual or environmental risk factors, rarely integrating risks across levels of analysis. Although low objective SES is clearly associated with antisocial behavior, the reasons why are unclear. Sociological theories suggest this relationship is due to neighborhood and environmental characteristics that create social disorganization and reduce informal social controls in the community. On the other hand, psychological theories suggest that elevated levels of psychological distress and psychopathic traits may influence individual risk for antisocial behavior. The purpose of this study was to integrate sociological and psychological models to examine how certain individual and environmental risk factors intersect in predicting antisocial behavior. In a demographically diverse adult male sample (N = 462), environmental (neighborhood distress) and individual (psychological distress) risk factors each mediated the SES – antisocial behavior relationship (as predicted), although findings depended on which definition of SES was used (objective versus subjective). In addition, psychopathic dimensions (specifically, meanness and disinhibition) were observed to exacerbate the effects of neighborhood and psychological distress on antisocial behavior, as hypothesized. Supplemental analyses also considered index variables comprising neighborhood disadvantage. Overall, results of this study help inform psychological and sociological theories of antisocial behavior, and may assist in clarifying potential neighborhood- and individual-level foci for interventions to prevent and reduce antisocial behavior in the community. / Ph. D.

Psychopathy is a severe personality disorder that results in antisocial, manipulative, and callous behavior. The main diagnostic instrument for assessing psychopathy is the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. This thesis will introduce the psychopathy construct, including what is known as subclinical psychopathy. Subclinical psychopathy refers to individuals who exhibit many of the characteristics of psychopathy, except for some of the more severe antisocial behaviors. This constellation of traits allows the subclinical psychopath to avoid incarceration. The fundamental difference between clinical and subclinical psychopaths is a major question in the field of psychopathy and is the main theme of this thesis. Impaired empathy is one of the key aspects of psychopathy and it may be a significant factor in both clinical and subclinical psychopaths. Subclinical psychopathy may be related to a moderated or altered expression of empathy. Hence, the empathy construct is a secondary concern in this thesis. This thesis has two aims: (a) to argue that the conceptualization of subclinical psychopathy is flawed and needs revision in accordance with less ambiguous criteria; and (b) to present data in support of the hypothesis that subclinical psychopaths have intact, or even enhanced, cognitive capacities in contrast to clinical psychopaths.

The intent of this thesis is to explore the perceived discrepancies between individual scores of psychopathy, particularly the division of primary and secondary psychopathy, and how such scores may moderate the relationship of one's emotional experiences with the corresponding emotional expression. There is evidence to consider that a person's working memory ability and/or volitional suppression of expression may also moderate this relationship and result in constricted emotional expression, a trait often found in primary psychopathy. Undergraduate participants completed the study online, and after exclusions, a final sample size of 126 participants (62.7% women) was used in analyses. An initial linear regression found that primary psychopathy severity showed a negative relationship with performance on a visuo-spatial n-back test of working memory. While age did not relate to expression, women reported a greater strength of expression for both negative and positive emotions than men. Using hierarchical linear regressions, a significant four-way interaction was found between primary psychopathy severity, working memory performance, degree of volitional expression suppression, and internal emotional experience, in predicting the strength of expressing negative emotions. Analysis of simple effects revealed that, for participants scoring higher in primary psychopathy (n = 63), there was a significant three-way interaction for experience of negative emotions, the use of emotional suppression, and working memory performance in predicting the strength of expressing negative emotions. Simple effects of this interaction showed that for a subgroup who were higher in primary psychopathy and volitional suppression of emotional expression (n = 25), there was significant negative relationship between the frequency of experiencing negative emotions and the strength of expressing those emotions. There were no significant interactions involving secondary psychopathy severity or variables relating to positive emotions in any regression. The findings of this study could be useful for future research on psychopathy as it relates to understanding the characteristics and functioning of individuals with psychopathy.

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Psychopathy continues to receive increased attention due to the negative outcomes, including recidivism, violence, and poor treatment amenability. Despite the vast amount of attention psychopathy has received, research on its applications to mentally disordered offenders remains sparse. The current study explored the relationship between psychopathy, depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. It also investigated the comparative fits of two and three-factor models of the PCL-R with mentally disordered offenders. Participants consisted of 96 inmates placed in the mental health pod at Tarrant County Jail. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with testlets found the three-factor PCL-R model had excellent fit (Robust Comparative Fit Index = 1.00). Psychopathy was found to be a construct independent of mental disorders. Two exceptions were (a) a modest correlation between anxiety and Impulsive and the Irresponsible Lifestyle factor of the PCL-R (r = 0.20) and (b) a modest negative correlation between Deficient Affective Experience of the PCL-R and mania (r = -.37). Based on the current data, treatment programs for mentally disordered offenders are suggested that focus on both behavioral and personality aspects of psychopathy.

Traditional conceptualizations of psychopathy highlight the importance of affective features of the syndrome in perpetuating social deviance. However, little research has directly investigated the callousness that psychopathic offenders display toward society and their victims. The current study investigated the roles of empathy and alexithymia in psychopathy among male and female incarcerated offenders, particularly in distinguishing psychopathy from antisocial personality disorder. Gender differences were also investigated. Regarding empathy, as predicted, group differences were largest between psychopathic and non-psychopathic offenders; no reliable differences emerged between psychopathic and APD-only offenders. In contrast, alexithymia robustly distinguished between offenders with prominent psychopathic traits, those with only APD, and those with neither condition. Psychopathic females unexpectedly exhibited slightly higher levels of alexithymia than their male counterparts, while empathic deficits were relatively consistent across genders. These findings are discussed in terms of improving assessment methods for the accurate identification and treatment of offenders with prominent psychopathic features.

The accuracy of perception of facial emotion expressions was studied in individuals with low and high psychopathic personality characteristics in a sample of 21 male and 39 female university students. Participants completed the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI), and the Behavioural Inhibition Scale and the Behavioural Activation Scale (BIS/BAS) as measures of psychopathy. Participants completed a computerised emotion recognition task containing six emotions of facial expressions (each emotion had five different intensities). The results showed that participants scoring low on the BIS and high on the BAS scores showed significant impairments in the recognition of both sad and fearful expressions. On the other hand, group scoring high on the PPI, showed significant impairment in the recognition of angry, but not fearful or sad expressions in the total sample. Males with high psychopathic personality characteristics showed significant impairments in the recognition of sad, fearful and angry expressions compared to males with low psychopathic personality characteristics. On the other hand females with high psychopathic personality characteristics showed significant impairment in recognising the expression of disgust only compared to females with low psychopathic personality characteristics. The PPI and the BIS/BAS scales showed reasonable alpha reliabilities with some exceptions for one subscale in each measure. Correlations between the PPI and the BIS/BAS scales were weak to moderate. The current findings suggest that different dimensions of psychopathy may be associated with selective impairments in recognising unpleasant emotion expressions in others.

The present investigation examined a sample of 64 offenders treated at the Regional Treatment Centre (Ontario) Sex Offender Treatment Program (RTCSOTP) and a sample of 55 untreated sexual offenders from the Ontario region of Correctional Service of Canada. Groups were matched on age at index offence, Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) score and type of sexual offender. The Rapid Risk Assessment of Sexual Offence Recidivism Scale was scored on all participants. Recidivism, based upon officially recorded charges and conviction data, was the primary dependent measure. Results indicated that both treated participants and control participants, including those with high PCL-R scores, evidenced low sexual recidivism rates. Based on a survival analysis using time to recidivism as the dependent variable, no differences were found between treated and untreated sexual offenders. The need to consider a wider range of treatment outcome measures and the benefits of using dynamic methods of risk assessment are highlighted.

The present investigation examined a sample of 64 offenders treated at the Regional Treatment Centre (Ontario) Sex Offender Treatment Program (RTCSOTP) and a sample of 55 untreated sexual offenders from the Ontario region of Correctional Service of Canada. Groups were matched on age at index offence, Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) score and type of sexual offender. The Rapid Risk Assessment of Sexual Offence Recidivism Scale was scored on all participants. Recidivism, based upon officially recorded charges and conviction data, was the primary dependent measure. Results indicated that both treated participants and control participants, including those with high PCL-R scores, evidenced low sexual recidivism rates. Based on a survival analysis using time to recidivism as the dependent variable, no differences were found between treated and untreated sexual offenders. The need to consider a wider range of treatment outcome measures and the benefits of using dynamic methods of risk assessment are highlighted.