Development and Validation of the Chinese Triarchic Psychopathy Measure

Psychopathic Traits in a Swedish Court-Ordered Forensic Sample: Preferential Associations of Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition

The construct validity of the triarchic psychopathy model has yet to be evaluated in the Swedish forensic psychiatric context. We examined associations between the three phenotypic constructs of the triarchic model of psychopathy (i.e., boldness, meanness, disinhibition), self-assessed empathy and anxiety, and clinical variables in 91 individuals undergoing pretrial forensic psychiatric evaluation in Sweden. Participants completed the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) and self-report measures of empathy and anxiety. Clinical variables, including psychiatric diagnoses and criminal behavior, were collected from the forensic psychiatric evaluations (FPE). All three subscales of the TriPM displayed significant and predominantly anticipated correlations with empathy and trait anxiety measures. TriPM Disinhibition was the only subscale with significant associations with the clinical variables collected from the FPEs. The results provide evidence for the reliability and construct validity of the Swedish translation of the TriPM in a pretrial forensic setting.

Psychopathy in Iran: Developing and Validating a Persian Version of the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality- Self-Report (CAPP-SR)

The Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality-Self-Report (CAPP-SR) is the most recent operationalization of the CAPP model which uses 33 symptoms to conceptualize psychopathic personality disorder. In the current study, we sought to examine the cross-cultural utility of the CAPP-SR in an Iranian sample. In Study 1, we translated the CAPP-SR into Persian and assessed the linguistic convergence between the Persian and original English versions using a sample of Persian–English bilingual university students in New Zealand. In Study 2, we examined the reliability and validity of the Persian CAPP-SR using a sample of university students in Iran. Our results showed that the Persian CAPP-SR has a promising pattern of convergent and incremental validity in terms of their associations with conceptually-relevant criterion measures, including those designed for the Iranian cultural context. Overall, the findings from the current study support the use of the Persian CAPP-SR as well as having implications for the cross-cultural utility of the CAPP model.

The Persian version of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S): A psychometric evaluation

Studies on the psychopathy construct are mostly limited to Western cultures, and there is a lack of research in this area in non-Western countries, specifically in Iran. The present study aimed to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity of the Persian version of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S) with a sample of 668 school-attending adolescents in Iran (46% girls; M_age = 16.35). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed three-factor model. While the internal consistency of some YPI-S scores was unsatisfactory, the YPI-S scores showed the expected relations with external correlates (e.g., aggression, hyperactivity), supporting the validity of YPI-S scores. The authors' results supported the YPI-S for assessing psychopathic traits in Iranian adolescents. The modification of the YPI-S factor structure, the low factor loadings of some YPI-S items, and the inadequate internal consistency of some YPI-S dimensions indicate cultural influences on the assessment of cross-cultural traits.

Cross-cultural assessment and comparisons of risk tolerance across domains

Risk attitudes are known to play an important role in influencing one’s behavior under conditions of uncertainty. To date, cultural influences on risk attitudes - beyond the effects they have on perceived risk - have not been well understood. Having a cross-culturally invariant measure of risk attitudes is a prerequisite for carrying out more in depth explorations in this area. The current study applied the domain-specific risk attitudes framework and focused on the Chinese and US cultural contexts. Using novel network analysis techniques, we explored domain-specific patterns of risk attitudes in Chinese and US community samples and we subsequently developed a version of the Multi-Domain Risk Tolerance scale (MDRT-EC) that had similar applicability in both samples. The MDRT-EC demonstrated excellent psychometric characteristics and achieved strong measurement invariance across both samples. The associations between MDRT-EC domain scales and criterion scales were also similar between the two samples, further indicating the measurement invariance of the MDRT-EC. Finally, we used the MDRT-EC to explore cultural differences in risk attitudes across domains and their predictive relations with a range of lifestyle behaviors.

Psychopathic dispositions and emotion dysregulation: A dual-disposition model perspective

The Dual-Disposition Model proposes to understand psychopathy through two dispositions (i.e., threat sensitivity and poor inhibitory control) with distinct etiological substrates. In the current study, we examined the predictive contributions of threat sensitivity, poor inhibitory control, and their interaction to emotion dysregulation in 694 Chinese undergraduates based on the Disinhibition subscale of Triarchic Psychopathy Measure, Behavioral Inhibition System Scale, and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Our results suggested that two dispositions have independent contributions to emotion dysregulation. Additionally, interactive effects of two dispositions were found for emotion awareness, impulse control, emotional acceptance, and limited emotion regulation strategies when upset. These provide evidence that deficits associated with poor inhibitory control can be selectively suppressed by low threat sensitivity or exacerbated by high threat sensitivity. Training individuals with high psychopathic dispositions to focus on their emotional state might be able to enhance their ability of emotion regulation.

Sociocultural Influences on Psychopathy Traits: A Cross-National Investigation

It is important to consider cultural implications in the development and manifestation of psychopathy because this construct is often understood in reference to behavioral deviance from social norms. This study examined the construct of psychopathy as it relates to three psychological constructs that are shaped by sociocultural contexts: collectivism-individualism, Zhongyong thinking, and dialectical self-concept. The authors recruited 636 participants from four nations and examined differences between Western English-speaking populations and East Asian Chinese-speaking populations. The results showed that collectivism and Zhongyong thinking negatively correlated with the maladaptive aspects of psychopathy (affective/interpersonal and behavioral), whereas individualism and dialectical self-concept positively correlated with the behavioral aspect of psychopathy. Dialectical self-concept also negatively correlated with Boldness. The majority of these associations did not differ significantly between the Western and East Asian samples. This finding suggests the potential universality of the psychological processes of psychopathy in relation to cultural values and thinking styles.

Investigating the Validity Evidence of the Swedish TriPM in High Security Prisoners Using the PCL-R and NEO-FFI

The triarchic model of psychopathy was developed to bridge opposing descriptions of psychopathy by separating the core construct in three domains; boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. The Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) operationalizes the model through a 58-item self-report questionnaire. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Swedish translation by investigating intercorrelations and associations to expert-rated psychopathy, general personality and psychopathy-related traits in male high-security prisoners (n = 191). Psychopathy rated with TriPM and the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) demonstrated expected convergence, as did empathy and impulsivity measures. The Disinhibition and Meanness scales were highly correlated, indicating that the scales might not be adequately differentiated. Nevertheless, the divergent association patterns to other important variables, particularly neuroticism and empathy, also points to meaningful differences. However, the lack of association between Disinhibition and Boldness may put into question if these domains are related at all, especially since there was a lack of similarity in the association patterns with other clinical variables. The influence of antisocial behavior in the TriPM operationalization might amplify the similarities of the Meanness and Disinhibition scales, while diluting the associations between Meanness and Boldness. In conclusion, the Swedish TriPM is effective in measuring the domains of triarchic model in forensic settings, even though a revision of the scales might improve the psychometric properties of the instrument.

The Dark Side of Emotion Recognition - Evidence From Cross-Cultural Research in Germany and China

Background

The dark triad of personality (DT) comprises three antisocial personality traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) that are characterized by callousness and the motive to elevate the self while derogating other people. Previous research indicates that the positive relationship between the DT traits and interpersonally deviant behaviors is especially pronounced at high levels of emotional abilities. This has also been referred to as dark Emotional Intelligence (EI). Since prior studies predominantly examined dark EI via trait-approach, the present study targeted at providing evidence for dark EI using a behavioral measure of EI, namely emotion recognition performance. In order to study the robustness and cross-cultural validity of findings, parallel investigations were conducted in Germany and China.

Methods

A total of N = 198 German (age: M = 23.40, SD = 5.88, 130 female) and N = 223 Chinese (age: M = 19.01, SD = 1.06, 105 female) participants took part in an online survey and completed a set of questionnaires in German and Mandarin translations, respectively. DT traits were assessed by means of the Short Dark Triad Scale. As a behavioral measure of emotional abilities, participants completed the Eyes Test for pairs of eyes of Caucasian and Asian models. Moreover, participants filled in the Emotional Manipulation Scale for the assessment of emotionally manipulative tactics.

Results

Effects were highly gender- and culture-dependent. Among German females, Machiavellianism and narcissism showed the strongest positive associations with emotionally manipulative tactics at high levels of emotion recognition performance. A similar pattern of results was found among German males for psychopathy. None of the effects was observed in the Chinese female or male samples.

Discussion

The present findings indicate that emotional abilities may constitute risk factors with the potential to promote rather than to prevent deviant behaviors especially in samples from Western cultures with pronounced scores on DT personality traits. Limitations and psychometric properties are discussed.

Psychometric Properties of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory Triarchic Scales and Its Short Version in Chinese Male Juvenile Offenders

The triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy encompasses three distinct dispositional components: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. The current study aimed to validate triarchic construct scales composed of items from the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) in a sample of Chinese male juvenile offenders (N = 613, mean age = 17.14 years, SD = 1.09 years). Although the CFA and ESEM models failed to support the three-factor structure for YPI-based triarchic scores, the convergent and criteria validity of the YPI-Tri and YPI-Tri-S were supported as they demonstrated the expected relation with other psychopathic traits or component measures and aggressive behavior measures. The internal consistency of the YPI-Tri and YPI-Tri-S scores ranged from marginal to good. The findings provide preliminary evidence for the YPI-based triarchic scores and support for the utility of the YPI-Tri and YPI-Tri-S in assessing psychopathy in Chinese male juvenile offenders.

Components of the Triarchic Model of Psychopathy and the Five-Factor Model Domains Share Largely Overlapping Nomological Networks

The triarchic model of psychopathy is a recently developed model of psychopathy that identifies three primary domains: Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition. These traits overlap substantially with general and pathological five-factor model of personality (Boldness = low Neuroticism + high Extraversion; Meanness = low Agreeableness; Disinhibition = low Conscientiousness). In the current study (total N = 1,266), we compare domains from the triarchic model of psychopathy and five-factor model in relation to self- and informant-report of external criteria (e.g., pathological traits, antisocial behavior), and quantified their absolute similarity using a profile-matching approach. The corresponding traits from these models show large interrelations and very similar convergent and divergent relations, suggesting that unaltered traits from one can be considered excellent representations of the other. Results are discussed in terms of the benefits of using a unifying trait-based model to study psychopathy, as well as personality disorders more broadly.