Introdução: A literatura aponta um envolvimento cada vez maior de jovens com a delinquência e a criminalidade. Nos últimos anos, as pesquisas com população forense têm buscado estudar a etiologia do comportamento antissocial. Neste contexto a avaliação neuropsicológica tem sido cada vez mais utilizada como recurso para a investigação da correlação entre conduta infracional e déficits cognitivos. Este estudo investigou o desempenho cognitivo de jovens infratores reincidentes e não reincidentes em tarefas relacionadas às funções executivas. Método: 38 jovens infratores com idade média de 18 anos (±0,23) foram divididos em dois grupos: Grupo 1: Infratores Primários (n=17) e Grupo 2: Infratores Reincidentes (n=21). Para a avaliação clínica utilizou-se os seguintes instrumentos: Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI); Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) e os testes neuropsicológicos: Semelhanças; Fluência Verbal, Stroop Color Test, Cubos, Vocabulário, Dígitos, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Trail Making Test (TMT) e índice de quociente de inteligência estimado (QI). Resultados: Os grupos foram pareados quanto à idade e escolaridade. O grupo de reincidentes (Grupo 2) mostrou maior pontuação na escala PCL-R (p=0,05) corroborando a tese de que traços de psicopatia são maiores entre infratores reincidentes. Nas provas neuropsicológicas de fluência verbal, TMT, Stroop, WCST, semelhanças e vocabulário, os grupos não se diferenciaram estatisticamente. Já na avaliação da execução de tarefas que exigem planejamento viso-espacial e QI estimado, o grupo 2 apresentou desempenho superior (p <0,01). Por outro lado, o grupo dos primários (grupo 1) apresentou maior eficiência (p=0,04) em tarefas relacionadas à amplitude atencional auditiva. Conclusões: O estudo permitiu identificar que as variáveis neuropsicológicas não são por si só, consistentes para discriminar aspectos cognitivos entre jovens infratores primários e reincidentes / Background: According to the literature, juvenile delinquency is a growing problem in many countries, which has increased researches with forensic population seeking for the etiology of antisocial behavior. In this context, neuropsychological evaluation is usually used as an important tool to investigate the correlation between conduct behavior and cognitive deficits. The present research compared executive functions between recidivist juvenile offenders and non-recidivist ones. Methods: 38 young offenders with 18 years old of average (±0,23) were divided in two groups: Group 1: Primary Offenders (n=17) and Group 2: Recidivist Offenders (n = 21), both evaluated through the following tools: Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Psychopathy Checklist Revised(PCL-R) and the neuropsychological tests: similarities, verbal fluency, Stroop Color Test, block design, vocabulary, digit span, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Trail Making Test (TMT) and intelligence coefficient estimated (IQ). Results: The groups were controlled regarding age and scholarship. The recidivist group (group 2) showed higher scores at the PCL-R (p = 0,05) corroborating the theory that psychopathic traits are higher in these offenders. The groups reveal no statistical difference in the following neuropsychological test: verbal fluency, TMT, Stroop, WCST, similarities and vocabulary. However, group 2 presented better ability in activities requiring perceptual organization (p< 0,01), and also had higher estimated IQ (p< 0,02). In the other hand, group 1 performed better in tasks related to auditory sequencing and short-term memory (p=0,04). Conclusion: The results indicate that neuropsychological variables alone are not sufficient to discriminate between recidivist and norecidivist young offenders

Há um consenso na literatura de que indivíduos com transtorno de personalidade anti-social (psicopatia) apresentam deficiência na emissão de respostas emocionais como a ansiedade. Investigou-se o padrão de respostas fisiológicas (freqüência cardíaca e saturação de oxigênio), fatores do temperamento e caráter e impulsividade, ansiedade traço e estado em três grupos de 35 sujeitos: homicidas psicopatas, homicidas não psicopatas e grupo controle, constituído de indivíduos sem histórico criminal, psicopatia ou outro quadro psiquiátrico. Aplicou-se a Escala de Avaliação da Psicopatia (PCL-R) e a Entrevista Estruturada para Distúrbios da Personalidade (SIDP-R), para classificação dos três grupos quanto à psicopatia; o Inventário de Ansiedade Traço-Estado (IDATE); o Inventário de Temperamento e Caráter (ITC), Escala de Impulsividade de Barratt (BIS-11). Medidas fisiológicas, freqüência cardíaca e saturação de oxigênio foram obtidas durante a apresentação de figuras de conteúdos emocionais neutros, agradáveis e desagradáveis do International Affective Picture System. Um ruído desagradável de 85 db foi apresentado como estímulo sonoro aversivo intermitente durante a exibição das imagens. Os resultados demonstraram que os psicopatas não experimentam ansiedade (traço ou estado) comparados aos homicidas não psicopatas e ao grupo controle. Nos fatores do temperamento e caráter os psicopatas apresentam características específicas como Esquiva ao Dano, Dependência de Gratificação, Autodirecionamento e Cooperatividade, que os difere dos demais grupos. Já os homicidas não psicopatas apresentam algumas características significativamente diferentes do grupo controle, ocupando uma posição intermediária. A freqüência cardíaca e a saturação de oxigênio nos psicopatas não sofreram alteração em nenhum dos momentos de avaliação, independente do estímulo visual ou sonoro. Nos homicidas não psicopatas houve uma variação significativa na freqüência cardíaca para as figuras agradáveis e na saturação de oxigênio para as figuras desagradáveis de menor intensidade que as observadas no grupo controle. No grupo controle a freqüência cardíaca aumentou frente às figuras agradáveis e desagradáveis e a saturação de oxigênio aumentou frente as figuras desagradáveis. O maior tempo de reação dos parâmetros fisiológicos ocorreu no grupo dos psicopatas. Concluiu-se que as características de personalidade avaliadas pelo ITC, o traço de ansiedade e as variáveis fisiológicas - freqüência cardíaca, a saturação de oxigênio e o tempo de reação desses parâmetros frente a figuras com diferentes conteúdos emocionais - foram capazes de caracterizar as reações de homicidas psicopatas e distingui-los de homicidas não psicopatas e não homicidas / It has a consensus in the literature of that individuals with antisocial personality disorders (psyhopathy) present deficiency in the emission of emotional answers as the anxiety. One investigated the standard of physiological responses (cardiac frequency and saturation of oxygen), factors of the temperament and character and impulsiveneness, anxiety trait and state in citizens condemned for homicide. A total of 105 men (evaluated individually, age between 18 and 61 years), divided in 3 groups of 35 citizens: (group 1 psychopathic homicides, 2 nonpsychopathic homicides and 3, group has controlled, constituted of individuals without criminal description, psychopathy or another psychiatric disorder). It was applied Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) and the Interview Structuralized for Disorders of Personality (SIDP-R), for classification of the three groups how much the psychopathy; the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; the Inventory of Temperament and Character (ITC), Barratt Impulsiveneness Scale (BIS-11). For the physiologicals measures a pulse oximeter and the presentation of figures of neutral, pleasant and unpleasant contents emotional of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), during 6 seconds. A unpleasant noise of 85 db was presented as aversive sonorous stimulaton. The results had demonstrated that the psychopaths do not try anxiety (been trace or) compared with the nonpsychopathic homicides and to the group she has controlled. In the factors of the temperament and character the psychopaths present specific characteristics as reduction of fear response concern, impulsiveneness, greater affective insensibility, lack of planning, egocentrism pathological and raised sensitivity to the tedium that differs them from the too much groups. Already the not psychopathic homicides present some significantly different characteristics of the group have controlled, however they occupy an intermediate position (above of the group it has controlled and below of the psychopaths). The Cardiac frequency and the saturation of oxygen in the psychopaths had not suffered alteration in none from the moments of evaluation, independent of the visual or sonorous stimulation. In the not psychopathic homicides it had a significant variation in the cardiac frequency for the pleasant figures and in the saturation of oxygen for the unpleasant figures. The group has controlled if it characterized for being different of the too much groups, how much the cardiac frequency in all the different moments of evaluation and of the psychopathic homicides how much the saturation of oxygen for the unpleasant figures. The time of reaction of the cardiac frequency at the three moments of evaluation was measured still. Again, the psychopaths had presented the biggest time of reaction in relation to the too much groups. In a general way the results suggest that the psychopaths do not present anxiety, with not psychopathic homicides and not criminal citizens comparative. As much the group has controlled how much the not psychopathic homicides front to the interpreted situations as emotionally unpleasant they present a standard of physiological alteration of the psychopaths. It still concluded that the psychopaths present characteristics of the personality in moving to the temperament and the character that if present with factors capable to distinguish psychopaths from nonpsychopathic homicidals

Bullying and being a victim of bullying have serious consequences for adolescents. Why do adolescents bully others and why do some become victims, could it be because of their personalities or maybe even problematic personality traits. In the current study, we will investigate if psychopathy or if any of the   dimensions of psychopathy separately, can predict engagement in bullying or being a victim of bullying. The data that is used in this study is taken from a community sample from 7th through 8th grade. The results in this study show that psychopathy as an entirety and the interpersonal and behavioral dimension of psychopathy do in fact predict some levels of engagement in bullying, while the affective dimension did not. Psychopathy and the different dimensions did not significantly predict becoming a victim of bullying. In conclusion, traits like impulsivity and grandiosity can to some extent predict engagement in bullying, however psychopathy nor the dimension do not predict being a victim of bullying. / Att mobba andra eller att falla offer för mobbning har allvarliga konsekvenser. Hur kommer det sig att vissa tonåringar mobbar andra och att andra blir offer; kan det möjligtvis vara på grund av personlighetsdrag eller mer problematiska personlighetsdrag. I denna studie kommer vi undersöka om psykopati i sin helhet eller någon av psykopatins dimensioner separat kan förutse att man mobbar andra eller att bli mobbad. De data som har använts i denna studie är från en stor datainsamling med ett urval bestående av ungdomar i sjunde och åttonde klass. Resultaten från denna studie visar att de två dimensionerna interpersonella och beteende till viss del kunde förutse att mobba andra. Psykopati eller någon av dess dimensioner kunde dock inte signifikant predicera att man blev mobbad. Sammanfattningsvis så visar studien att psykopatiska personlighetsdrag som att vara impulsiv och grandios till viss del kan predicera att mobba andra men inte predicera att man blir ett offer för mobbning.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) for use with a female population. Seventy-five women who were either incarcerated or on probation were assessed using interview and file information. In addition, all subjects completed a battery of self-report inventories that were theoretically relevant to the PCL-R. The results strongly supported the appropriateness of the PCL-R for use with female offenders. The psychometric properties were excellent indicating a homogeneous and unidimensional scale. The factor analysis confirmed a two factor structure representing two distinct aspects of psychopathy; the personological and behavioural dimensions. The pattern of correlations obtained from the self—report inventories was highly similar to that obtained with male samples, further suggesting that the same construct is being measured in both sexes. The implications of these findings in terms of the construct of psychopathy and explanations of women’s criminality are discussed as well as future research and practical implications. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

This study explored the relationship between a new self-report measure built from justification mechanisms of aggression (i.e., the basis of conditional reasoning; James, 1998) with a traditional explicit measure and an implicit conditional reasoning measure of aggression. The construct validity and generalizability of the new measure were investigated by using non-work related criteria (violent acts, traffic violations, alcohol use, competitiveness, and agreeableness) in an undergraduate student sample. Correlations and moderated hierarchical multiple regressions were used to assess the relationships between variables. The results support the literature in that both explicit and implicit components of personality need to be examined. In conclusion, the newly developed measure fills a gap in the literature by operationalizing aggression as reasons for behaving aggressively. It is similar to the explicit aggression measure in that it is a self-report; however, the moderate correlation between the two suggests that each is measuring slightly different aspects of aggression.

Personality pathology, especially antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), often occurs in patients with methamphetamine use disorder (MAUD). However, little is known about potential risk factors for this dual diagnosis, and the impact of this comorbidity on both the severity of MAUD and levels of functional impairment. Casting light on such phenomena may aid in early identification of treatment targets, assist in the management of patients in this particular population, and contribute to development of treatment strategies. This crosssectional study described and compared sociodemographic, clinical and childhood trauma correlates in patients with a dual diagnosis of MAUD and ASPD (MAUD+ASPD) and those with MAUD without ASPD (MAUD-ASPD). The contribution of sociodemographic and childhood trauma variables in predicting membership of the MAUD+ASPD group was also investigated. A sample of 62 adult patients with a primary diagnosis of MAUD took part in the study. A sociodemographic questionnaire was completed and well established diagnostic measures of ASPD (The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview; MINI) and MAUD (Structured Clinical Interview; SCID - 5) were used to determine diagnostic status. Illness severity was evaluated with the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive scale (adapted for MAUD) (Y-BOCS-du) and functional impairment was assessed with the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS). Histories of exposure and severity of childhood trauma (CT) were measured using the CTQ-SF. Of the 62 participants, 14 (23%) had MAUD and had MAUD+ASPD whereas 48 (77%) had MAUD without ASPD (MAUD-ASPD). Bivariate analyses found significant group differences in terms of gender (df =1) = 8.05; p =< 0.01), language (df = 2) = 7.12; p = 0.03), and level of physical neglect (F(1, 60) = 2.33; M = 9.85; SD = 4.23; p = 0.04). The MAUD+ASPD group members were mostly male (N = 9; 64%), English-speaking and with histories of increased physical neglect. Logistic regression suggested that male gender (beta = 1.08; OR = 8.65; p = 0.01) and English language (beta = 1.55; OR = 11.38; p = 0.03) significantly predicted ASPD comorbidity. There were no significant differences in clinical severity or functional impairment between the MAUD+ASPD and MAUD-ASPD groups. In conclusion, this study indicated that male gender and having English as a first language are associated with MAUD+ASPD but other sociodemographic variables, CT histories and clinical severity and impairment were not. Men who use MA are thus more prone to antisocial behaviour, which complicates their substance use condition. Treatment approaches for MAUD may benefit from developing adaptations that cater for challenges specific to comorbid ASPD. Additionally, the finding regarding first language warrants further investigation. Recommendations for future research are suggested.

No description available.

Patients with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) are deceptive, apathetic, and impulsive. Their social behavior is often inappropriate, and they fail to follow social norms, leading to frequent criminal behavior. Understanding the neural correlates of ASPD could alleviate issues for the patients, such as unstable living conditions, as well as financial costs for the justice system and society. Due to previous research and theoretical implications of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and its role in emotion-regulation and decision-making, it is likely that ASPD patients would show differences in the PFC relative to healthy individuals. Therefore, emphasis is placed on this region. By systematically reviewing articles which used fMRI to examine ASPD patients, this paper aims to understand if the brain activity in the PFC or functional connectivity within these regions differs between ASPD patients and healthy controls. Decreased activity was found in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) in ASPD patients compared to healthy controls. Further, decreased functional connectivity was found in the frontoparietal control network, default modenetwork, and attentional network. Other prefrontal regions implicated include the medial frontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex. Most of these regions are important for cognitive control, enabling integration of information regarding, e.g., errors and conflict. Abnormal processing of such information can lead to the impulsive or inappropriate actions often seen in ASPD patients. The PFC seems to play an important functional role in ASPD, mainly the regions responsible for cognitive control, such as the ACC and dlPFC.

Psychopathy is a frequently reported personality trait among violent offenders, and psychopaths have a higher rate of recidivism than inmates without psychopathic features. This systematic review aimed to investigate whether structural brain differences, measured with magnetic resonance imaging, are observed in violent offenders with psychopathy compared to violent offenders without psychopathy or healthy non-violent controls. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The search utilised the academic databases Web of Science and Medline EBSCO and included original peer-reviewed articles written in English and published between 2013 and 2023. Seven articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria were selected for the review. The findings indicated that there are structural differences between violent psychopaths compared to non-violent psychopaths and healthy controls, such as reduced grey matter volume in the prefrontal cortical areas, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, and striatal and limbic regions. Further, the degree of structural brain differences in psychopaths correlated with the degree of psychopathic traits. The structural differences found in the brains of violent psychopaths can provide insight into the neurobiological basis and neural mechanisms of psychopathy and elucidate how changes in brain morphology relate to antisocial behaviour and psychopathic personality traits. In addition, the evidence of structural abnormalities in the brain of psychopaths may help develop targeted treatments that could reduce the risk of psychopathic individuals turning to crime and violence or committing repeated violent crimes.

(1) Problem: Previous evidence showed that parenting programs effectively reduce externalizing problems and disorders in children living in high-income countries. However, there was less evidence about the effectiveness of parenting programs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In addition, there is a need for more studies that assess how parenting practices and family characteristics mediate the effects of parenting programs. The overall goal of this dissertation was to contribute to closing the gap in the evidence regarding the efficacy of parenting programs in and low- and middle-income countries. Also, this dissertation intended to increase the evidence regarding how parenting practice (i.e., supervision, parent child communication, and punishment) meditate the effects of parenting programs high-income and low- and middle-income countries. (2) Materials and methods: First, in chapter 2, I conducted a systematic review to synthesize the evidence regarding how parenting practices and family variables mediated the parenting programs effects. In chapter 3, I assessed the effect of Pilas program on child’s oppositional and conduct problems and aggressive behaviors. Also, I examined the mediating mechanism though parent-child communication, supervision, and punishment. Pilas was a multimodal program designed and implemented in Medellin Colombia. The program was evaluated through a cluster randomized control trial, including children aged 6-11 who were followed at baseline, 1-, and 3-year assessments. In chapter 4, I assessed how parent-child communication and supervision mediated the effect of Fast Track Project (FTP) on antisocial behaviors at grade 7 and 9, exploring the mediating mechanism of FTP in the early- and middle-adolescence. FTP is a multimodal intervention that aim to reduce conduct problem in childhood in four communities of the USA (Durham, NC, Nashville, TN, rural PA, and Seattle, WA.). (3) Results and conclusions: In the chapters 2, the systematic review showed that positive parenting and parental discipline had been the most studied mediators of parenting programs. However, there was limited evidence or methodological problems regarding other mechanisms (i.e., supervision, family functioning, parent-child relationships, harsh parenting, and ineffective discipline). In addition, few articles studied the medium (3-5 years follow-up) and long-term (more than 5 years) mediating mechanisms, and no articles assessed mediation mechanisms in low- and middle-income countries. Among, the most important methodological problems were the lack of control for confounding in the Mediator-Outcome pathway (M-Y pathway) and underreporting of the mediating results. In chapter 3, I presented the Pilas effects and mediated mechanisms. Children exposed to Pilas had 22% fewer conduct problems, 32% fewer oppositional problems, 36% less indirect aggression, 15% less total aggressive behaviors, and 22% less direct aggression. On the other hand, there were not program effects on child behaviors based on caregivers' reports. In addition, after three years of follow-up, Pilas reduced the number of psychological and psychical punishments reported by the children, but it did not have an effect on punishment as reported by caregivers. Pilas improved parent-restricted topics and role orienting reported by the caregivers. However, the Pilas effects were not mediated through the target mediators (supervision, parent-child communication, and punishment) so the mediation mechanisms remain unknown. Chapter 4 presented the medium- and long-term mediating mechanism of Fast-track project. I found that parent-child communication and supervision were not mediators of FTP effects on antisocial behaviors during early- and middle- adolescence. However, FTP improved antisocial behavior in early- and middle-adolescents and improve parenting practices such as parent-child communication and supervision. FTP reduced child antisocial behaviors in grades 7 and 9 and improved child communication and total communication and supervision variables, such as daily discussion of activities and curfew time. Finally, chapter 5 presented the most important dissertation findings and conclusions. There is evidence about the mediating mechanism of parenting programs. However, the evidence available is not conclusive and had multiple methodological weakness and underreporting. Pilas programs improved children’s conduct problems, oppositional problems and aggressive behavior and reduces punishment against the children. However, the program effect was not mediated through parenting practices. Regarding FTP, the program effects of antisocial behaviors were not mediated through parent-child communication and supervision during early- and middle- adolescence. Further studies should be conducted to enlarge the evidence about the effects of parenting programs on LMIC and research about how parent-child communication meditate the effects of parenting programs in both LMIC and HIC.