Recent research focuses on understanding the relationship between intelligence and psychopathy. However, many inconsistent results are found. On top of that, the information on how individuals with...Show moreRecent research focuses on understanding the relationship between intelligence and psychopathy. However, many inconsistent results are found. On top of that, the information on how individuals with psychopathy could be helped optimally, is still limited. The current study investigated the relationship between intelligence and the three domains of psychopathy: the affective, interpersonal, and behavioral dimension. A second topic of interest was the possible moderation effect of conduct disorder on the relationship between intelligence and the three dimensions of psychopathy. A sample of adolescents with and without conduct disorder was used to answer the question whether there is a relationship between intelligence and the three domains of psychopathy and whether conduct disorder moderates these three relationships (N = 89, Mage = 17.1, SDage = 1.33). The participants were asked to fill in the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory, the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia to decide if the participants were meeting the criteria for the classification of conduct disorder or not, and to complete some tasks of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (third edition) or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (third edition) to estimate the general intelligence. To answer the research question six regression analyses were performed. Socioeconomic status was considered as a control variable within every regression analysis. After performing the regression analyses only one result was found to be significant: the moderation effect of intelligence X conduct disorder on the relationship between intelligence and the affective dimension of psychopathy. There appeared to be a crossover interaction in which the relationship between intelligence and the affective dimension of psychopathy is positive when someone has the classification of conduct disorder and in which the relationship between intelligence and the affective dimension of psychopathy is negative when someone doesn’t have conduct disorder.Show less
De term “kindpsychopaten” is in wezen een onterechte benaming en een niet bestaand fenomeen. Persoonlijkheidsstoornissen zoals psychopathie kunnen immers niet onder de 18 jaar gediagnosticeerd...Show moreDe term “kindpsychopaten” is in wezen een onterechte benaming en een niet bestaand fenomeen. Persoonlijkheidsstoornissen zoals psychopathie kunnen immers niet onder de 18 jaar gediagnosticeerd worden. Kinderen kunnen echter wel al op zeer jonge leeftijd psychopathische trekken vertonen, wat mogelijk zou kunnen leiden tot psychopathie. Bovendien blijken psychopathische trekken bij kinderen vaak deel uit te maken van een groter probleemscala. In deze scriptie worden relaties onderzocht tussen psychopathische trekken, internaliserende problematiek, en externaliserende problematiek bij 180 kinderen van 4 tot 7 jaar (M = 5.62, SD = 0.86) en de verschillen op elk van deze probleemgebieden tussen jongens en meisjes. Ouders hebben vragenlijsten over hun kind ingevuld die samengesteld waren uit de Children’s Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI), om de mate van psychopathische trekken te meten, en de Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), om de mate van internaliserende en externaliserende problematiek te meten. Er is gevonden dat er (1) een klein tot gemiddeld sterke, positieve correlatie bestaat tussen internaliserende en externaliserende problematiek, (2) een gemiddeld sterke, positieve correlatie tussen externaliserende problematiek en psychopathische trekken, en (3) een gemiddeld sterke, positieve correlatie tussen het totale probleemscala en psychopathische trekken. Ook is er een kleine relatie gevonden tussen internaliserende problematiek en psychopathische trekken, maar niet wanneer deze relatie voor jongens en meisjes apart bekeken werd. Jongens scoren gemiddeld hoger op (1) de mate van psychopathische trekken, (2) de mate van externaliserende problematiek, en (3) het totale probleemscala volgens de SDQ. Er is geen verschil gevonden in gemiddelden tussen jongens en meisjes bij internaliserende problematiek.Show less
Background. Both Moroccan boys and psychopaths are overrepresented in justice institutions. Limited research is available about possible overlap. This study focused on the relationship between...Show moreBackground. Both Moroccan boys and psychopaths are overrepresented in justice institutions. Limited research is available about possible overlap. This study focused on the relationship between implicit and explicit self-esteem and psychopathic traits in Dutch and Moroccan boys adolescents between 12 and 18 years old. Methods. The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were used to measure psychopathic traits and explicit self-esteem. Implicit self-esteem was examined by the Implicit Association Task Self-Esteem. Results. Moroccan and Dutch boys didn’t seem to differ in both implicit and explicit self-esteem. Moroccan boys showed higher scores on the affective factor, Dutch boys on the lifestyle factor. Low self-esteem in Moroccan youth caused higher levels of psychopathic traits. Since this relation wasn’t found for the native Dutch boys, the social-defeat model might be a plausible explanation for this outcome. Future research should focus on distinguishing psychopathy in primary traits and secondary traits by fear and anxiety, rather than by the affective and lifestyle factor. Secondary, increasing self-esteem among Moroccan boys is important in order to reduce the chance of developing psychopathic traits caused by social-defeat.Show less
This study examines behavior problems, psychopathic traits and self-confidence in Dutch, Turkish and Moroccan youth in the Netherlands. The social defeat model states that immigrant youth are prone...Show moreThis study examines behavior problems, psychopathic traits and self-confidence in Dutch, Turkish and Moroccan youth in the Netherlands. The social defeat model states that immigrant youth are prone to developing problems, because of the experience of not being part of the main ethnic group. This can cause stress, which makes the immigrant youth vulnerable. Self-confidence is supposed to protect against this effect. This study applies the social defeat model to behavior problems and psychopathic traits. Youth from age 12 till age 18 filled in questionnaires about themselves. It was found that Dutch youth had more attention/hyperactivity problems, Moroccan youth had more conduct problems and Turkish youth had more problems with peers. Both Moroccan and Turkish youth reported more feelings of superiority. It was also found that self-confidence is inverse related to behavior problems as well as psychopathic traits. Ethnicity did not play a role in this effect with respect to behavior problems. The social defeat model is therefore not applicable to behavior problems. With regard to psychopathic traits, ethnicity also did not seem to play a role. However, a trend became visible, indicating that for Dutch youth psychopathic traits were not related to self-confidence, whereas for Moroccan youth there was a moderate relation between self-confidence and psychopathic traits. The social defeat model may therefore be applicable to psychopathic traits in Moroccan youth.Show less
The primary purpose of this research was to examine psychopathic traits in adolescence and the association with ethnicity, self-esteem and socio economic status. Psychopathic traits can be divided...Show moreThe primary purpose of this research was to examine psychopathic traits in adolescence and the association with ethnicity, self-esteem and socio economic status. Psychopathic traits can be divided in three factors; the interpersonal factor, the affective factor and the behavioural factor (Cooke, Michie & Skeem, 2007). In the study two minority groups in the Netherlands; adolescence from Moroccan background and adolescence from Antillean background, were compared with the majority. The minority groups might experience stress trough social defeat, so that the assumption was that they scored higher on psychopathic traits (Selten & Cantor-Graae, 2005). The research question was: ‘What is the influence of ethnicity, socio economic status and self-esteem on psychopathic traits?’. Self-report assessments were administered to 302 adolescence in the age of 12 to 17 in the Netherlands. There were 170 (35%) Dutch adolescence, 108 (22%) adolescence with a Moroccan background and 27 (6%) with a Antillean background. Regression analyses revealed that a lower self-esteem predicted higher scores on psychopathic traits. Self-esteem and an Antillean background were predictors for the interpersonal factor on psychopathic traits. Self-esteem was also a predictor for the behavioural factor of psychopathic traits. And adolescence from Moroccan background with low self-esteem scored higher on psychopathic traits. It is possible that Moroccan adolescence experience social defeat so low self-esteem is a predictor for higher scores on psychopathic traits. This study provided support for the association between low self-esteem and psychopathic traits. The explanation can be found in the mechanism used by threatened egotism, when there is external negative evaluations (Baumeister, Smart & Boden, 1996). People with psychopathic traits are sensitive for ego threats. They will try keeping their self-esteem high with violence and aggression.Show less
In dit onderzoek is de invloed van sekse op de samenhang tussen de affectieve factor van psychopathie en sociale competentie onderzocht. De respondenten waren jongens (N = 244) en meisjes (N = 170)...Show moreIn dit onderzoek is de invloed van sekse op de samenhang tussen de affectieve factor van psychopathie en sociale competentie onderzocht. De respondenten waren jongens (N = 244) en meisjes (N = 170) van het VMBO en MBO. Jongens lieten een hogere mate van de affectieve factor van psychopathie, problemen met leeftijdsgenoten en mindere mate van pro-sociaal gedrag zien dan meisjes. Er was een positief verband tussen de affectieve factor van psychopathie en problemen met leeftijdsgenoten en een negatief verband tussen de affectieve factor van psychopathie en pro-sociaal gedrag. Sekse lijkt geen invloed te hebben op het verband tussen de affectieve factor van psychopathie en sociale competentie.Show less
In Western society, the prevalence of disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) is rapidly growing. Scientific research of related child factors contributes to optimization of prevention and treatment...Show moreIn Western society, the prevalence of disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) is rapidly growing. Scientific research of related child factors contributes to optimization of prevention and treatment of DBDs and psychopathic traits. Previous research has revealed DBDs and psychopathic traits are related to aberrant reward and punishment sensitivity and aberrant response perseveration. Current research aims to investigate the exact reflection of reward and punishment sensitivity and response perseveration in boys with DBDs and psychopathic traits. In current correlational Dutch research, 84 boys between 8 and 12 years from clinical centers, regular and special education have been studied. Both surveys – Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Parent version, Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory-Child Version and Antisocial Processing Screening Device-Parent Form – and assessments for measuring cognitive abilities – Hungry Donkey Task and Door Opening Task – have been used. Results suggest a very large effect of DBDs on psychopathic traits measured by parent reports. No effects on reward and punishment sensitivity and response perseveration have been found between the DBD group and the control group. Psychopathic traits neither correlate with reward and punishment sensitivity and response perseveration, nor moderate reward and punishment sensitivity and response perseveration in the DBD group. In conclusion, boys with DBDs show – according to parents – more disturbances in interpersonal, affective and behavioral responses compared to the control group. No differences in reward and punishment sensitivity and response perseveration are found between these groups, neither when controlling for psychopathic traits. Finally, the extent to which boys with a DBD persevere in their responses (i.e. when no reward is given), cannot be predicted by their responses to reward and punishment (i.e. conduct continuation and adjustment). Compared to earlier research, contradicting findings have been found in current research and further research needs to be done.Show less
