Prior research has shown that psychopathic traits correlate with ability to make more accurate assessments of vulnerability based on nonverbal cues (Wheeler, Book, & Costello, 2009; Book, Costello, & Camilleri, 2013). The current study aims to provide further support for this finding, examine effect of criminal experience, and determine if the finding generalizes to females and non-Caucasians. An online survey was conducted, where each participant was shown several videos of people walking alone down a hallway. After each video, they were asked to rate the vulnerability of the depicted person. Higher levels of psychopathic traits (measured by the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA; Lynam et al., 2011)) were found to correlate with more accurate assessments of vulnerability when white or black males were assessing videos of males of their same race. Prior criminal behavior, however, did not relate to better accuracy, despite its relation to psychopathic traits. Results for females were not consistent with findings for males, indicating the finding may not generalize across gender. Potential reasons for these findings are discussed.

<p>This study investigates if there is a scientific consensus among experts in regard to diagnosing psychopathy, treatment of psychopaths, and if psychopathy is a reliable/valid predictor for recidivism. These results have been compared to how psychopathic diagnoses’ are used within the Swedish correctional system. Questionnaires were answered by 11 experts in the field of psychiatry and psychology. The results showed that no consensus exists in regard to diagnosing psychopathy, or its treatment. As for predicting recidivism there is someagreement. In short, different professionals claim different views. The Department of Corrections official position was static, e.g. psychopaths can be easily identified and most should be denied treatment. If an inmate was deemed as psychopathic the possibility for rehabilitation, furloughs or other alleviations, were greatly diminished.</p><p>Keywords: Psychopathy, psychopathic diagnosis, treatment, recidivism, correctional system</p>

<p>This study re-examines whether a new instrument, Child Problematic Traits Inventory, can assess core traits of psychopathy in children. A sample of 309, 3-5 year olds, (mean age 4 ), were recruited from 3 medium sized Swedish communities. Results show that items from the test load in three dimensions: Grandiose/Deceitful, Callous/Unemotional and Impulsivity, Need for stimulation. They are related to symptoms of Conduct- and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, fearlessness, proactive- and relational aggression. The study presents evidence that psychopathic like traits can be meaningfully studied in young children and that the Child Problematic Traits Inventory is a valid instrument for assessing these traits. Future longitudinal research is needed to see whether this construct is stable and predictive for future psychopathic disorder.</p> / <p>Studien replikerar om ett nytt instrument, Child Problematic Traits Inventory, kan mäta grundläggande psykopatiska personlighetsdrag hos barn, 3-5 år. Försökspersonerna bestod av 309, 3-5 åringar (medelålder 4) från tre medelstora svenska kommuner. Resultat visar att frågor från Child Problematic Traits Inventory laddar och formar tre dimensioner, en Grandiose/Decieteful en Callous/Unemotional och en Impulsivity/Need for Stimulation. Dessa tre dimensioner är relaterade till symptom av trotssyndrom, uppförandestörning, oräddhet samt proaktiv och relationell aggression. Studien visar att psykopatiliknande drag kan bli meningsfullt studerande i barn och att Child Problematic Traits Inventory är ett bra instrument för att mäta detta. Framtida longitudinell forskning är nödvändig för att undersöka om psykopati liknande personlighetsdrag är stabila över tid samt predicerar psykopati.</p>

This study re-examines whether a new instrument, Child Problematic Traits Inventory, can assess core traits of psychopathy in children. A sample of 309, 3-5 year olds, (mean age 4 ), were recruited from 3 medium sized Swedish communities. Results show that items from the test load in three dimensions: Grandiose/Deceitful, Callous/Unemotional and Impulsivity, Need for stimulation. They are related to symptoms of Conduct- and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, fearlessness, proactive- and relational aggression. The study presents evidence that psychopathic like traits can be meaningfully studied in young children and that the Child Problematic Traits Inventory is a valid instrument for assessing these traits. Future longitudinal research is needed to see whether this construct is stable and predictive for future psychopathic disorder. / Studien replikerar om ett nytt instrument, Child Problematic Traits Inventory, kan mäta grundläggande psykopatiska personlighetsdrag hos barn, 3-5 år. Försökspersonerna bestod av 309, 3-5 åringar (medelålder 4) från tre medelstora svenska kommuner. Resultat visar att frågor från Child Problematic Traits Inventory laddar och formar tre dimensioner, en Grandiose/Decieteful en Callous/Unemotional och en Impulsivity/Need for Stimulation. Dessa tre dimensioner är relaterade till symptom av trotssyndrom, uppförandestörning, oräddhet samt proaktiv och relationell aggression. Studien visar att psykopatiliknande drag kan bli meningsfullt studerande i barn och att Child Problematic Traits Inventory är ett bra instrument för att mäta detta. Framtida longitudinell forskning är nödvändig för att undersöka om psykopati liknande personlighetsdrag är stabila över tid samt predicerar psykopati.

This study investigates if there is a scientific consensus among experts in regard to diagnosing psychopathy, treatment of psychopaths, and if psychopathy is a reliable/valid predictor for recidivism. These results have been compared to how psychopathic diagnoses’ are used within the Swedish correctional system. Questionnaires were answered by 11 experts in the field of psychiatry and psychology. The results showed that no consensus exists in regard to diagnosing psychopathy, or its treatment. As for predicting recidivism there is someagreement. In short, different professionals claim different views. The Department of Corrections official position was static, e.g. psychopaths can be easily identified and most should be denied treatment. If an inmate was deemed as psychopathic the possibility for rehabilitation, furloughs or other alleviations, were greatly diminished. Keywords: Psychopathy, psychopathic diagnosis, treatment, recidivism, correctional system

The relationship that develops between a client and therapist is arguably one of the most important factors toward achieving positive outcomes from therapy. Although the therapeutic alliance has been well studied, there is a paucity of research related to the impact of this relationship when the client is an offender, of Aboriginal ancestry, or psychopathic. The present study employed an archival design in which a sample of 427 treated sexual offenders were examined with regard to their experience of therapeutic alliance with their primary therapists. Offenders who were admitted to the Clearwater Sex Offender Program at the Regional Psychiatric Centre Hospital in Saskatoon (RPC Prairies) between 1998 and 2005 completed a measure that rated the strength of their relationship with their primary therapists using the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) roughly three months after program admission. Approximately 46% of the sample was of Aboriginal ancestry, while the majority of the balance (approximately 52%) was Caucasian. A sub-sample of 111 offenders was also scored on the PCL-R. Analysis of WAI scores among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders demonstrated a significant difference on the Bond scale of the WAI, suggesting that although the bonds between Aboriginal offenders and their primary therapists were not as strong as they were between non-Aboriginal offenders and therapists, Aboriginal offenders were still able to identify and agree on the goals and the tasks of the treatment (weaker bonds notwithstanding). Aboriginal offenders also spent slightly less time in treatment overall than their non-Aboriginal counterparts. The present research also found that as the scores on the WAI increased, rates of treatment noncompletion decreased, the implications of which would seem to highlight the need to foster and maintain strong therapeutic relationships. In terms of outcome, perhaps unexpectedly, results of the present research found that WAI was not a significant predictor of any recidivism criteria. Aboriginal Ancestry was related to non-sexual violent reconvictions and general reconvictions, but not sexual recidivism. Moreover, offenders who were both Aboriginal and reported low WAI scores were the most likely to recidivate in a non-sexual violent manner and in general, but not sexually. An examination of the relationship of working alliance to psychopathy found that WAI and PCL-R scores were not significantly correlated overall; however, a negative inverse relationship between the Lifestyle and Emotional facets with total WAI score was noted, suggesting that callous-unemotional traits and lifestyle were associated with weaker alliance. Interestingly, these correlations were not evident in the Aboriginal sample suggesting that other factors, aside from levels of psychopathy, were associated with working alliance in this ancestral group. In addition, results of the present analysis revealed WAI and PCL-R together, were better able to predict sexual recidivism for non-Aboriginal offenders than for Aboriginal offenders; however, the WAI and PCL-R jointly predicted nonsexual violent recidivism, but only for non-Aboriginal offenders, and jointly predicted general recidivism for both ancestral groups. Together, the results of this study attempt to further advance our understanding of the therapeutic alliance and its link to treatment outcome, Aboriginal ancestry, and psychopathy.

The purpose of this study was to investigate what distinguishes psychopaths who commit crimes ("unsuccessful"), and psychopaths who do not commit crimes ("successful"). Most previous research has focused on neurobiological risk factors, while social and psychosocial factors have been studied to a lesser extent. Participants were drawn from the Swedish population-based RESUMÉ-study (Retrospective Study of Young People's Experiences). In total, 2500 individuals between the ages 20-24 (mean age=22.15, SD=1.38, 52.6% female and 47.4% male) participated in the study. Results showed that the “unsuccessful” psychopathy group was consuming larger amounts of alcohol and substances as well as scoring higher on the psychopathy dimension behavior (irresponsible/impulsive) than the "successful" group. In conclusion, these differences might partly explain why “unsuccessful” psychopaths commit crimes while “successful” psychopaths do not. / Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vad som skiljer mellan psykopater som begår brott ("misslyckade"), och psykopater som inte begår brott ("lyckade"). Större delen av den tidigare forskningen har fokuserat på neurobiologiska riskfaktorer, medan sociala och psykosociala faktorer har studerats i mindre utsträckning. Deltagarna kom från den svenska populationsbaserade RESUMÉ-studien (REtrospektiv Studie av Unga Människors Erfarenheter). Totalt deltog 2500 individer i åldrarna 20-24 år (medelålder=22.15, SD=1.38, 52.6% kvinnor och 47.4% män) i studien. Resultaten visade att den "misslyckade" psykopatigruppen konsumerar större mängder alkohol och substanser samt uppvisar högre nivåer av psykopatidimensionen beteende (oansvarig/impulsiv) än den "lyckade" psykopatigruppen. Sammanfattningsvis kan dessa skillnader delvis förklara varför "misslyckade" psykopater begår brott medan "lyckade" psykopater inte gör det.

Although their numbers are in the minority in the general offender population, psychopathic offenders are responsible for a significant proportion of the most serious offenses committed (Hare, 1993, 2003). A particularly serious concern is that they are a notoriously challenging population to work with clinically and effectively treat (Polaschek, 2014; Salekin, 2002). Recent findings suggest, however, that psychopathic offenders are able to demonstrate treatment changes that translate into reduced recidivism (Olver & Wong, 2009). A greater understanding of the etiology and treatment responses of psychopathic offenders is needed (Salekin, 2002). Consequently, the present archival dissertation program of research aimed to explore the etiological and treatment response variables of psychopathic and nonpsychopathic sexual offenders in a sample of 302 federal inmates. The influence of psychopathy, risk, and treatment change as it pertained to rates of long-term recidivism was explored. Further, to add to the growing body of literature suggesting that psychopathy may be best conceptualized as different subtypes, cluster analysis was utilized to examine the potential of subtypes of psychopathic offenders who respond differently to treatment. Finally, it has been proposed that psychopathic traits may be adaptive and thus, treatment resistant (Harris & Rice, 2006). Therefore, the relationship between treatment response and evolutionarily relevant variables was explored. Phase one results were consistent with past findings (Olver & Wong, 2009; Olver, Stockdale, & Wormith, 2011) where psychopathic offenders demonstrated higher rates of treatment drop out, but the majority did complete treatment in the current sample. Furthermore, although psychopathic offenders amassed fewer risk relevant treatment gains than their nonpsychopathic counterparts on the whole, there was a group of psychopathic individuals whose therapeutic gains were high and resulted in similar recidivism rates to the nonpsychopathic offenders. Finally, after controlling for comprehensive baseline risk level and treatment change, the PCL-R no longer significantly predicted violent or sexual recidivism. Moreover, treatment change was associated with reduced recidivism, regardless of risk level or psychopathy. This provided support for Wong and colleagues (2012) two component model for the treatment of psychopathy, wherein if service providers can manage and respond to the specific responsivity issues with psychopathic individuals and increase their engagement in treatment, then risk relevant changes that result in lower recidivism are possible. In phase two, two subtypes of psychopathic offenders were found using PCL-R facet scores that were consistent with the primary and secondary distinction. The primary subtype demonstrated a high degree of the classic psychopathic personality traits, whereas the secondary type had more behavioral and lifestyle traits and to a lesser degree, the callous personality. In terms of external variables, the secondary group had slightly higher risk levels, treatment change, and rates of violent reoffending, but the differences failed to reach statistical significance. Finally, in phase three, there was evidence for psychopathy’s relationship with proxies for adaptation, but the evidence for adaptation had little bearing on treatment response. Furthermore, the adaptive markers were largely accounted for by the general antisociality of psychopathy, rather than the psychopathic personality itself. The results were then integrated and implications for the future treatment of psychopathic offenders were discussed.

A lack of empathy is considered to be a hallmark feature of psychopathy. However, remarkably little research has specifically examined the relationship between psychopathy and empathy, and what does exist relies solely on self-report measures, which is problematic given psychopaths' propensity for dishonesty. This research signifies an attempt to develop an objective measure of empathy, using psychophysiological indices of emotional experience as indicators of an empathic response. Specifically, corrugator and zygomatic facial muscle activity, event-related heart rate, and acoustic startle reflex responses were measured while participants viewed brief films of individuals experiencing happy and sad emotional events.Pilot investigations of the films suggest they are appropriate for eliciting happy and sad empathic emotion, and the pattern of responses by undergraduates with high and low trait levels of empathy indicates the validity of the approach, and the promise of utilizing psychophysiological indices of emotional responding to measure situational empathy in an objective manner. In particular, participants demonstrated patterns of psychophysiological responses to the empathy-inducing films which both matched their self-reported emotional experiences as well as the emotional valence of the stimuli. Moreover, several of the psychophysiological indices were able to discriminate high and low empathy individuals, whereby low empathy participants exhibited less facial expressiveness and less modulation of the acoustic startle reflex to the empathy-inducing stimuli than their high empathy counterparts.The paradigm was then extended to a sample of male undergraduates with high and low levels of psychopathic traits, as assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised. Results suggest a significant negative relationship between self-reported psychopathy and self-reported dispositional empathy, with high levels of psychopathy associated with low levels of dispositional empathy, particularly with respect to affective empathy. However, despite differences in dispositional empathy, psychopathic and non-psychopathic undergraduates were not easily discriminated on subjective or objective measures of situational empathy, with the exception of an anomalous pattern of zygomatic EMG activity exhibited by the psychopathic participants. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the nature of the empathic capabilities of psychopaths, as well as considerations of the methodological limitations of the current study and directions for future research.

There have been few investigations of sexual coercion in relationships. I conducted several studies to develop a measure of partner sexual coercion and to identify its proximate causes and the relevant personal characteristics of male perpetrators. Community participants’ self-reported propensity to engage in various tactics to obtain sex from a reluctant partner clustered into a subscale relating to sexual coercion and a subscale pertaining to sexual coaxing. These subscales had excellent internal reliability, construct validity, criterion validity, and were used to test predictions in subsequent studies. I tested the application of Lalumière et al.’s (2005) three-path model for the development of sexually coercive behavior in general to sexual coercion in relationships. Self-reported interest in partner sexual coercion in a community sample was significantly related to psychopathy, but not age or neurodeveopmental insults. I confirmed the importance of psychopathy in this model by comparing men who raped their partner to other sex offender groups. Another characteristic of sex offenders, sexual deviance, was tested for its application to partner rapists. Unlike non-partner rapists, men who raped their partner exhibited low sexual arousal to rape scenarios, similar to community controls. Cuckoldry risk, a hypothesized proximate cause of partner sexual coercion, was also tested. Direct cues to cuckoldry risk were related to self-reported propensity for partner sexual coercion, whereas indirect cues of cuckoldry risk were related to sexual coaxing. In a forensic sample, most partner rapists had experienced cuckoldry risk prior to committing their offense, and they experienced more cuckoldry risk events than partner assaulters. A necessary condition of the cuckoldry risk hypothesis is that men should exhibit sexual arousal to cues signaling cuckoldry risk. Men in a community sample exhibited as much sexual arousal to stories depicting partner infidelity as they did to stories depicting consenting sex with their partners, and men who were currently in relationships showed greater arousal to stories of infidelity than consenting sex. Taken together, my results suggest psychopathy and cuckoldry risk are important contributors to partner sexual coercion. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-16 11:13:04.26