Spagnuolo Flavia, Somma Antonella, Fossati Andrea, Sellbom Martin, Garofalo Carlo
Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2024 Aug;21(4):299-312. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20240406.
Research so far has investigated the bivariate relationships between psychopathic traits, romantic attachment, and emotion dysregulation. However, no research thus far has examined these concepts in their interrelatedness. The aim of the present study was therefore to shed light on the possible linking mechanisms among these concepts, examining the mediating role of emotion dysregulation in the psychopathic traits-romantic attachment link.
The present study was based on an undergraduate (N = 238, M age = 20.36 years) and a community sample (N = 521, M age = 35.27 years) from the Dutch population. Participants were administered self-report measures of psychopathic traits (measured with both the Self-Report Psychopathy Short-Form and the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure), emotion dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Brief Version) and romantic attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised). Correlation analyses and mediation analyses using a bootstrapping approach were conducted.
Results showed that all the dimensions of psychopathic traits were related to both romantic attachment avoidance and anxiety, and that emotion dysregulation mediated all these associations (with only few exceptions). Except for boldness, all other dimensions of psychopathic traits were related to greater emotion dysregulation and, in turn, to insecure romantic attachment.
It is argued that the role of emotion regulation processes deserves more attention for the theoretical and clinical understanding of psychopathic traits and their correlates in the interpersonal domain, such as romantic attachment (in)security. When their interrelationships will be better understood, emotion regulation and attachment could represent relevant targets for intervention with individuals presenting psychopathic traits.
迄今为止，已有研究探讨了精神病态特质、浪漫依恋和情绪失调之间的二元关系。然而，目前尚无研究考察这些概念之间的相互关联性。因此，本研究的目的是阐明这些概念之间可能的联系机制，检验情绪失调在精神病态特质与浪漫依恋关系中的中介作用。
本研究基于来自荷兰人群的一个本科生样本（N = 238，年龄中位数 = 20.36岁）和一个社区样本（N = 521，年龄中位数 = 35.27岁）。参与者接受了关于精神病态特质（使用《自陈式精神病态简表》和《三元精神病态量表》进行测量）、情绪失调（《情绪调节困难量表简版》）和浪漫依恋（《亲密关系经历量表修订版》）的自陈式测量。进行了相关分析和采用自抽样法的中介分析。
结果表明，精神病态特质的所有维度均与浪漫依恋回避和焦虑相关，且情绪失调介导了所有这些关联（仅有少数例外）。除了无畏维度外，精神病态特质所有其他维度均与更高程度的情绪失调相关，进而与不安全的浪漫依恋相关。
有人认为，情绪调节过程的作用在理论和临床层面对于理解精神病态特质及其在人际领域中的相关因素（如浪漫依恋的（不）安全感）而言，值得更多关注。当它们之间的相互关系得到更好理解时，情绪调节和依恋可能成为对具有精神病态特质个体进行干预的相关靶点。
