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Olson L, Vaughn MG. Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychopathic Features Among Juvenile Offenders: Does it Matter Which Traits? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OFFENDER THERAPY AND COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY 2023; 67:184-206. [PMID: 34622698 DOI: 10.1177/0306624x211049200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Psychopathic traits and a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are common among imprisoned individuals. Although previous research has examined correlates of TBI among juvenile offenders, little research has explored the relationship between psychopathic traits and TBI among this population. Study objectives included: (1) examine the association between the history of a TBI and psychopathic traits among juvenile offenders and (2) determine if the history of a TBI predicts the manifestation of different psychopathic factors among juvenile offenders. Cross-sectional data from the Multidimensional Youth Residential Inventory consisted of 226 juvenile offenders. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Results of linear regression analyses showed that history of a TBI significantly predicted callous unemotional and impulsive irresponsible traits. Clinical implications suggest early intervention is needed to treat the potential long-term effects of TBIs and the development of psychopathic traits. Recommendations for further research are discussed.
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Brugués G, Caparrós B. Dysfunctional personality, Dark Triad and moral disengagement in incarcerated offenders: implications for recidivism and violence. PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND LAW : AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION OF PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW 2022; 29:431-455. [PMID: 35756705 PMCID: PMC9225686 DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2021.1917011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
It is particularly important to study the underlying processes of the dysfunctional personality patterns and of antisocial behaviour in the prison population, to identify them and to analyse the functioning of the psychological mechanisms involved in these constructs. The main goal of this study was to analyse dysfunctional personality patterns, Dark Triad, moral disengagement mechanisms and their relationship with violence and recidivism. Participants were 63 incarcerated offenders in two prisons. The study found a higher degree of moral disengagement in the participants convicted for crimes involving the use of violence. The results indicated that antisocial and aggressive-sadistic tendencies were the dysfunctional personality traits most strongly associated with moral disengagement. The binary logistic regression analysis showed that the variables, which influenced recidivism in criminal behaviour, were the use of violence in the crime committed, antisocial personality traits, and advantageous comparison and dehumanisation as mechanisms of moral disengagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glòria Brugués
- Psychology Department, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
- Correspondence: Glòria Brugués, Department of Psychology, University of Girona, 17004Girona, Spain. E-mail:
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Cazala F, Harenski KA, Thornton DM, Kiehl KA, Harenski CL. Neural Correlates of Moral Judgment in Criminal Offenders with Sadistic Traits. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2021; 50:2163-2171. [PMID: 33156438 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-020-01818-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Sexual sadism is a paraphilia that focuses on domination, humiliation, and infliction of pain on a victim to stimulate sexual arousal. Although extensively described in psychology and forensic sciences, less is known about whether the harmful acts committed by sexual sadists are accompanied by deficits in moral judgment. A limited amount of behavioral research suggests moral insensitivity in sexual sadists; however, the neural networks underlying moral judgment in sadists have not been studied. In this pilot study, 21 incarcerated male sexual offenders with (n = 11) and without (n = 10) sexual sadism were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they viewed pictures that did or did not depict situations considered by most individuals to represent moral transgressions, and rated their degree of moral transgression severity. Results indicated primarily overlapping neural systems underlying moral judgment in sadists and non-sadists. However, non-sadists but not sadists showed a positive correlation between moral transgression severity ratings and activity in the anterior temporal cortex (ATC). This lack of ATC engagement in sadists might be a biomarker of altered moral judgment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fadwa Cazala
- Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87108, USA.
| | - Keith A Harenski
- Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87108, USA
| | | | - Keith A Kiehl
- Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87108, USA
| | - Carla L Harenski
- Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87108, USA
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Brooks N, Fritzon K, Watt B. 'You can tell a victim by the tilt of her head as she walks': psychopathic personality and social-emotional processing. PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND LAW : AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION OF PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW 2020; 27:538-557. [PMID: 33679197 PMCID: PMC7906111 DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2020.1734979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Much contention and speculation exists regarding the emotional and social skills associated with psychopathic personality, including the idea of a predatory perception. The current study examined the relationship between psychopathic personality and social and emotional processing. The study utilised a quasi-experimental design along with self-report measures to examine psychopathy in a community sample (N = 115) of males and females. To examine psychopathy and social information processing, a series of Mixed Design ANOVA's were conducted to examine the effect of psychopathy on character recall. Psychopathy was found to significantly predict recall of the unsuccessful character, however, did not predict recall of character gender or emotion. Two hierarchical regressions analyses were conducted to examine emotional intelligence and empathy. Psychopathy was found to be a significant negative predictor of empathy, however, did not significantly predict emotional intelligence. Implications for the current study lie within advancing the empirical understanding on psychopathic personality and victim vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Brooks
- School of Health, Medical, and Social Science, Central Queensland University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Katarina Fritzon
- Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia
| | - Bruce Watt
- Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia
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Pace U, D’Urso G, Zappulla C. Hating Adolescents Test (HAT): a preliminary development of a measure to assess hating among adolescents. PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND LAW : AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION OF PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW 2020; 27:234-245. [PMID: 32944124 PMCID: PMC7476629 DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2020.1719374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The phenomenon of haters is becoming common among adolescents. The aims of the present research were to evaluate the preliminary psychometric properties of the Hating Adolescents Test (HAT), an ad hoc questionnaire created to evaluate online and offline hate (Study 1), and possible risk factors connected with hate (Study 2). Participants (202 female and 200 male) of this study completed the HAT, the How I Think Questionnaire, the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied. Preliminary data suggest how males reported higher level of hate than females. Cronbach's alpha coefficient suggested excellent reliability of the measure. Results of this study also revealed satisfactory construct, convergent and divergent validity. Moreover, the results show a significant gender difference on the variables of the study (pathological worry and hostility aggressiveness). The mediation model suggests how hostile aggressiveness mediated the relationship between pathological worry and hate. HAT is a brief self-report questionnaire composed of 12 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale, with good psychometric properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugo Pace
- Faculty of Human and Social Science, ‘Kore’ University of Enna, Enna, Italy
| | - Giulio D’Urso
- Faculty of Human and Social Science, ‘Kore’ University of Enna, Enna, Italy
| | - Carla Zappulla
- Department of Society and Culture, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Somma A, Fossati A, Ferracuti S, Caretti V, Montalbò D, La Tegola D, Carabellese F. Tracking Psychopathy in Female Italian Inmates: The Role of the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders Dysfunctional Personality Domains. CLINICAL NEUROPSYCHIATRY 2019; 16:140-148. [PMID: 34908949 PMCID: PMC8650178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The present study aimed at testing the relationships between measures of psychopathy and measures of the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) domains in a sample of female offenders who were serving their sentences in Italian prisons. METHOD Thirty-eight Italian adult female inmates were underwent the Italian versions of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Informant Report Form (PID-5-IRF). RESULTS According to MM robust regression analysis results, high scores on the PID-5-IRF Disinhibition domain scale and low scores on the PID-5-IRF Anxiousness trait scale were significant and substantial predictors of the PCL-R total score. CONCLUSIONS As a whole, our findings support the hypothesis that assessing the DSM-5 AMPD domains (and traits) may be important for tracking psychopathy in female inmates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Somma
- Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Fossati
- Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefano Ferracuti
- Department of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Domenico Montalbò
- Sezione di Criminologia e Psichiatria Forense, Dipartimento Interdisciplinare di Medicina, Università degli Studi Aldo Moro di Bari, Italy
| | - Donatella La Tegola
- Sezione di Criminologia e Psichiatria Forense, Dipartimento Interdisciplinare di Medicina, Università degli Studi Aldo Moro di Bari, Italy
| | - Felice Carabellese
- Sezione di Criminologia e Psichiatria Forense, Dipartimento Interdisciplinare di Medicina, Università degli Studi Aldo Moro di Bari, Italy
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D’Urso G, Petruccelli I, Costantino V, Zappulla C, Pace U. The role of moral disengagement and cognitive distortions toward children among sex offenders. PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND LAW : AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION OF PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW 2018; 26:414-422. [PMID: 31984086 PMCID: PMC6762118 DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2018.1506718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the individual and social characteristics, moral disengagement strategies and cognitive distortions toward children among 120 sex offenders in Italian jails. A semistructured interview was administered to collect data about family, social and medical histories, utilizing the Moral Disengagement Scale and the Hanson Sex Attitude Questionnaire. Results showed that sex offenders with sexual abuse trauma in their past had higher scores of moral disengagement and cognitive distortion toward children than sex offenders without sexual abuse trauma. In particular, the highest levels of moral disengagement, cognitive distortions related to children as sexual objects and sexual entitlement were shown by sex offenders who had been physically and sexually abused in their past. Moreover, moral disengagement predicted cognitive distortions related to children being sexy and sexual entitlement. Studying self-regulatory mechanisms and cognitive distortions is important to expand the literature about sexual behaviors committed by offenders and implement the promotion of effective and targeted treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio D’Urso
- Faculty of Human and Social Science, ‘Kore’ University of Enna, Enna, Italy
| | - Irene Petruccelli
- Faculty of Human and Social Science, ‘Kore’ University of Enna, Enna, Italy
| | | | - Carla Zappulla
- Department of Psychological and Educational Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Ugo Pace
- Faculty of Human and Social Science, ‘Kore’ University of Enna, Enna, Italy
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D'Urso G, Petruccelli I, Pace U. Drug Use as a Risk Factor of Moral Disengagement: A Study on Drug Traffickers and Offenders against Other Persons. PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND LAW : AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION OF PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW 2018; 25:417-424. [PMID: 31984029 PMCID: PMC6818399 DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2018.1437092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This study investigates the moral-disengagement strategies and influence of drug use in adolescence on 49 offenders in Italian jails, 30 of which are drug traffickers and 19 of which are offenders against other persons. A semi-structured interview was conducted to collect data on family, social and medical histories and the manner in which the deviant act was carried out, and the Moral Disengagement Scale was used to identify specific moral disengagement mechanisms. The results show that the traffickers reported higher levels of general moral disengagement, dehumanization of victims, and advantageous comparison with respect to offenders against other persons. However, the offenders who used drugs in adolescence reported higher levels of advantageous comparison with respect to offenders who did not use drugs. Studying self-regulatory mechanisms is important for enriching the literature about risk factors connected with moral disengagement and deviant behaviour committed by offenders in order to implement the promotion of effective and targeted treatment and educational strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio D'Urso
- Faculty of Human and Social Science, Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy
| | - Irene Petruccelli
- Faculty of Human and Social Science, Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy
| | - Ugo Pace
- Faculty of Human and Social Science, Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy
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