Validating female psychopathy subtypes: Differences in personality, antisocial and violent behavior, substance abuse, trauma, and mental health

Finally, I present this bit of research. Interesting because it unusually looks at female rather than male psychopathy.

However, you cannot understand it if you don’t not know what is understood by the terms primary and secondary psychopathy. I can only offer an abstract of the article (above) – academics can follow this up, for most practitioners it may just be food for thought.

[Journal Article]
Validating female psychopathy subtypes: Differences in personality, antisocial and violent behavior, substance abuse, trauma, and mental health.
Hicks, Brian M.; Vaidyanathan, Uma; Patrick, Christopher J.
Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, Vol 1(1), Jan 2010, 38-57. doi: 10.1037/a0018135
Abstract

1. Recent empirical investigations utilizing male prisoners have begun to validate clinical conceptualizations of primary and secondary psychopathy subtypes. We extended this literature by identifying similar psychopathic subtypes in female prisoners on the basis of personality structure using model-based cluster analysis. Secondary psychopaths (n = 39) were characterized by personality traits of negative emotionality and low behavioral constraint, an early onset of antisocial and criminal behavior, greater substance use and abuse, more violent behavior and institutional misconduct, and more mental health problems, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and suicide attempts. Primary psychopaths (n = 31) exhibited few distinguishing personality features but were prolific criminals especially in regards to nonviolent crime, and exhibited relatively few mental health problems despite substantial exposure to traumatic events. The results support alternative etiological pathways to antisocial and criminal behavior that are evident in personality structure as well as gender similarities and differences in the manifestation of psychopathic personalities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

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