Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol. 2023 Jun;51(6):833-845. doi: 10.1007/s10802-022-00989-z. Epub 2023 Feb 2.
Psychopathic traits are associated with several forms of antisociality, including criminal offending, legal system involvement, and substance use. Some research suggests that primary (high psychopathic traits, low negative emotions) versus secondary (high psychopathic traits, high negative emotions and/or negative experiences and environments) variants confer different levels of risk for antisociality. However, research has not examined trajectories of co-occurring fluctuations in psychopathic traits, negative emotions, and negative experiences and environments or how trajectory membership relates to antisociality. We implemented group-based multi-trajectory modeling in a sample of 809 justice-involved male (n = 681) and female (n = 128) youth from the Pathways to Desistance Study to address these gaps. We identified four trajectories of co-occurring change in psychopathic traits, anxiety, and violence exposure spanning three years: Low (low levels of each factor); Moderate Psychopathic Traits, High Negative Emotions and Experiences (moderate-decreasing psychopathic traits and high-decreasing anxiety/violence exposure); Potential Primary Psychopathic Traits (elevated-decreasing psychopathic traits, moderate-decreasing anxiety, moderate-stable violence exposure); and High/Secondary Psychopathic Traits (high-stable psychopathic traits, elevated-stable anxiety, high-decreasing violence exposure). Compared to the Low trajectory, all trajectories predicted greater violent crime and substance use three and four years later. Additionally, compared to the Low trajectory, the Potential Primary Psychopathic Traits trajectory predicted more nonviolent offending three years later. Finally, the High/Secondary Psychopathic Traits trajectory showed the most persistent antisociality, predicting more nonviolent crime, higher substance dependence symptoms, and higher likelihood of arrest three and four years later. Youth with co-occurring high psychopathic traits, anxiety, and violence exposure appear most at risk for severe antisociality.
心理变态特征与多种形式的反社会行为有关，包括犯罪、法律系统介入和物质使用。一些研究表明，原发性（高心理变态特征，低负面情绪）与继发性（高心理变态特征，高负面情绪和/或负面经历和环境）变体对反社会行为的风险程度不同。然而，研究尚未检验心理变态特征、负面情绪和负面经历和环境同时出现的波动轨迹，也未检验轨迹成员与反社会行为的关系。我们在来自“停止犯罪之路研究”的 809 名涉及司法的男性（n=681）和女性（n=128）青少年样本中实施了基于群组的多轨迹建模，以解决这些差距。我们确定了心理变态特征、焦虑和暴力暴露共变的四个轨迹，跨越三年：低（每个因素的低水平）；中度心理变态特征、高负面情绪和经历（中度减少的心理变态特征和高减少的焦虑/暴力暴露）；潜在原发性心理变态特征（升高减少的心理变态特征、中度减少的焦虑、中度稳定的暴力暴露）；高/继发性心理变态特征（高稳定的心理变态特征、升高稳定的焦虑、高减少的暴力暴露）。与低轨迹相比，所有轨迹在三年和四年后都预测了更多的暴力犯罪和物质使用。此外，与低轨迹相比，潜在原发性心理变态特征轨迹在三年后预测了更多的非暴力犯罪。最后，高/继发性心理变态特征轨迹表现出最持久的反社会行为，在三年和四年后预测了更多的非暴力犯罪、更高的物质依赖症状和更高的被捕可能性。同时存在高心理变态特征、焦虑和暴力暴露的青少年似乎面临最严重的反社会风险。
