Aggressive behavior and measurement of psychopathy in female inmates of German prisons--a preliminary study

Reimbursing incarcerated individuals for participation in research: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Little is known about global practices regarding the provision of reimbursement for the participation of people who are incarcerated in research. To determine current practices related to the reimbursement of incarcerated populations for research, we aimed to describe international variations in practice across countries and carceral environments to help inform the development of more consistent and equitable practices.

METHODS

We conducted a scoping review by searching PubMed, Cochrane library, Medline, and Embase, and conducted a grey literature search for English- and French-language articles published until September 30, 2022. All studies evaluating any carceral-based research were included if recruitment of incarcerated participants occurred inside any non-juvenile carceral setting; we excluded studies if recruitment occurred exclusively following release. Where studies failed to indicate the presence or absence of reimbursement, we assumed none was provided.

RESULTS

A total of 4,328 unique articles were identified, 2,765 were eligible for full text review, and 426 were included. Of these, 295 (69%) did not offer reimbursement to incarcerated individuals. A minority (n = 13; 4%) included reasons explaining the absence of reimbursement, primarily government-level policies (n = 7). Among the 131 (31%) studies that provided reimbursement, the most common form was monetary compensation (n = 122; 93%); five studies (4%) offered possible reduced sentencing. Reimbursement ranged between $3-610 USD in total and 14 studies (11%) explained the reason behind the reimbursements, primarily researchers' discretion (n = 9).

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of research conducted to date in carceral settings globally has not reimbursed incarcerated participants. Increased transparency regarding reimbursement (or lack thereof) is needed as part of all carceral research and advocacy efforts are required to change policies prohibiting reimbursement of incarcerated individuals. Future work is needed to co-create international standards for the equitable reimbursement of incarcerated populations in research, incorporating the voices of people with lived and living experience of incarceration.

Disentangle psychopathic traits, self-construal and prosocial behaviours: A literature review

Psychopathy encompasses a constellation of personality traits, including interpersonal callousness, absence of remorse and guilt, and impulsivity. While extensive research has linked psychopathy to various antisocial behaviours, there has been a scarcity of studies investigating its association with prosocial behaviours, particularly within diverse sociocultural contexts. This comprehensive review explores recent literature that delves into the intricate interplay between psychopathy, prosocial behaviours, and self-construal. The current review reveals a complex and sometimes contradictory relationship between psychopathy and prosocial behaviours. The authors also examine the role of self-construal, a crucial sociocultural aspect, in relation to psychopathy and prosocial behaviours, and imply the intricate interplay between them. Amidst the review, the interactions between key constructs and sociocultural as well as contextual factors, including group identification and public awareness, are highlighted, and their potential role in modulating individuals' prosocial decision-making is discussed. At last, this review pinpointed notable research gaps: the potential moderating role of self-construal in the connection between psychopathy and prosocial behaviours, and a methodologically specific recommendation for future research is proposed. These findings consolidate the current evidence on psychopathy, self-construal and prosocial behaviours, and offer valuable insights into how sociocultural factors contribute to the heterogeneous expression of psychopathic traits, illuminating the directions for research on the development of culture-specific conceptualizations of psychopathy.

Psychopathic personality disorder and cybercriminality: an outline of the issue

The rapid development of information and communication technologies has created a new dimension in interpersonal relationships, which is commonly called cyberspace. Structural features of cyberspace such as anonymity, the lack of non-verbal indicators of interaction, their asynchrony, a sense of impunity and the lack of specific norms of conduct cause that the behavior of some people online may differ significantly from their behavior in real life. Individuals with psychopathic personality disorder can use cyberspace for criminal activities such as cyberbullying, trolling, digital piracy, cybervandalism or data theft. This is a very significant problem, as some researchers predict that as digital communication develops, 'cyberpsychopaths' will become the dominant form of criminals. Currently, there is a lack of research on the relationship between the structural features of cyberspace and the expression of psychopathic personality traits and their role in committing cybercrimes.

Correlates of psychopathy in a Tunisian sample of incarcerated women

BACKGROUND

Considerable effort has been devoted to elucidating correlates of psychopathy in males, but only few researchers have turned their attention to this field in female counterparts, with most of the research in this field having been driven from western countries. We aimed to explore psychopathic traits, impulsiveness and psychiatric symptoms that characterize a Tunisian female prison population.

METHOD

Data were collected in a cross-sectional design during September 2017. The sample was comprised of 100 adult females who were incarcerated at the "Manouba Women's Prison" at the time of the survey. The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and The Brief Symptom Inventory were used.

RESULTS

In the univariate analysis, socioeconomic level (p = .001), tobacco use (p = .001), poly drug use (p = .014) and physically aggressive behaviors in the 6 months before incarceration (p = .043) were significantly associated with psychopathy total scores. After multivariable adjustment, motor impulsiveness (β = 0.426, p < .01) and phobic anxiety (β = 0.284, p < .05) contributed significantly to the variance of psychopathy total scores.

CONCLUSION

The current findings not only add to the growing body of literature on female psychopathy, but also help inform decision making about mental health-related programs and policies in female prison settings in underdeveloped and underrepresented countries similar to our sociocultural context.

Psychopathy and Associated Factors Among Newly Admitted Prisoners in Correctional Institution Located in Bench Sheko and West Omo Zone, South West Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Psychopathy is an emerging health and behavioral problem worldwide. Psychopathy is linked to risk substance use, maltreatment, violence, crime, and reoffending, but little is known about psychopathy in low income countries like Ethiopia. Therefore, we assessed the prevalence and factors associated with psychopathy among newly-admitted prisoners in Bench Sheko and West Omo zone correctional center, Mizan Aman, Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 20 to July 19, 2019, among 411 (N=422) newly-admitted Bench Sheko and West Omo zone correctional center prisoners by using a consecutive sampling technique. A semi-structured and interviewer administered psychopathy checklist revised tool was used for screening psychopathy. WHO, ASSIST tool was used for screening risk use of khat, tobacco, and alcohol. Trauma, maltreatment, and social support were assessed with a life event checklist, adverse life experience screening tool, and Oslo social support scale, respectively. In addition, Criminal and clinical history of the prisoner was also assessed. The data was entered into Epi-data 3.1 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 21 for statistical analysis. A logistic regression model was used. Variables with a p-value less than 0.05 in the final fitting model were declared as independent predictors of psychopathy.

Results

The prevalence of psychopathy was 24.3%. Childhood maltreatment (AOR=6, 95% CI=2.2–17.5), risky khat use (AOR=4.6, 95% CI=2.4–8.7), poor social support (AOR=3.5, 95% CI=1.9–6.6), family history of imprisonment (AOR=3, 95% CI=1.5–6), history of trauma (AOR=2.3, 95% CI=1.1–4.8), and reoffending (AOR=2, 95% CI=1.1–3.8) were positively associated variables with psychopathy.

Conclusion

Psychopathy is highly prevalent among newly-admitted prisoners. Integrated efforts involving relevant stakeholders are needed to design strategies for early screening of psychopathy to prevent reoffending, and management of risk substance use at admission is crucial.

The psychopathic dimension in women of mafia

The authors focus their interest on the socially deviant mafia world, especially on the question of a psychopathic dimension of individuals in mafia. From the scientific point of view this continues to be an unknow world. In all these cases, individuals in mafia, their "feats", their profiles seem to correspond to popular conceptions of the psychopath. Even less known is the women's role in criminal organizations. Their historical role in recent decades has gradually shifted and become more important than it was in the past. The investigators' interest was focused on identifying the prevalence of the psychopathic dimension in mafia women. So the authors examined a sample of 20 convicted mafia women coming from Campania and Calabria, the regions of Camorra and 'Ndrangheta respectively, historical Italian criminal organizations. These women inherited their roles from previous bosses and successfully carried on the criminal business. The authors compared this sample of mafia women with a sample of female offenders with full criminal responsibility who were in common female prisons. Like men of mafia, the women of mafia have a low prevalence of the psychopathic dimension. Further research is necessary to identify the psychopathic dimension in larger samples of women, and then compare them with similar male samples.

The Impacts of the Presence of an Unfamiliar Dog on Emerging Adults' Physiological and Behavioral Responses Following Social Exclusion

Research indicates that non-human attachment figures may mitigate the negative consequences of social exclusion. In the current experiment, we examined how the presence of an unfamiliar companion dog in the laboratory effects physiological and behavioral reactions in female emerging adults after social exclusion compared to inclusion. Results revealed the beneficial effects of the dog: Socially excluded participants in the company of a dog showed less aggressive behavior in response to the hot sauce paradigm compared to excluded participants in the control condition. Furthermore, cardiac responses indicated mitigated perception of threat in a subsequent insult episode when a dog was present. The presence of a dog did not impact the most instantaneous, "reflexive" response to the social exclusion as revealed by characteristic cardiac changes. Together, the findings indicate that the presence of a companion dog takes effect in a later, reflective period following a social exclusion experience, which implicates relevant social elaboration and appraisal processes.

High levels of psychopathic traits increase the risk of transferring reactive aggression to innocent people after provocation: Evidence from an ERP study

This study investigated the neuropsychological underpinnings of reactive aggression toward innocent people in a student population with different levels of psychopathic traits. While recording event-related potentials, participants (divided into high/low psychopathic [HP/LP] traits groups) competed against two fictitious opponents in a modified Taylor Aggression Paradigm. We found that the HP group compared to the LP group selected more often high-intensity punishment for the second innocent opponent after being provoked by the first opponent. Further, a more negative N2 and a smaller P3 was found in the HP group while punishing the innocents-reflecting a tendency on antisocial-aggressive behavior. Finally, both groups showed a more negative FRN for losing than winning trials when seeing the outcome of the game. Our results suggest that high psychopathic traits increase the risk of transferring provoked aggression to innocent people-offering a psychophysiological perspective for explaining and predicting aggression against the innocents in social interactions.

Female psychopathy: A descriptive national study of socially dangerous female NGRI offenders

Understudied is psychopathy in females, particularly socially dangerous NGRI females, where the construct could be of forensic, clinical and criminologic significance. Italy's recent transformation of its mental health system created the context for studying such a population on a national level. Throughout the twentieth century until their closure in 2015, offenders found to be not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) and socially dangerous were placed in one of the the six high security hospitals in Italy (OPGs). Only one hospital, the Castiglione delle Stiviere maximum security hospital (OPG) in North Italy, treated female offenders, who came from all parts of Italy. The authors studied 66 of all 86 women in Castiglione delle Stiviere OPG. The aims of this study were to identify the prevalence of psychopathy in NGRI female offenders and eventually to identify any phenotypic gender-specific features of psychopathy. The SCID I and II interviews and other tests (MMPI-2, MCMI-III, R-Bans) were administered to all the women. Clinical historical information was obtained. Finally for all women who consented to participate in the study, the researchers administered the PCL-R version validated for the Italian population. The final sample consisted of 66 women, who were deemed NGRI and socially dangerous. Here the authors present the final results as well as limitations of the research.

Psychopathy and Female Gender: Phenotypic Expression and Comorbidity; A Study Comparing a Sample of Women Hospitalized in Italy's Maximum Security Facility with Women Who were Criminally Sentenced and Imprisoned

Various studies have shown that women with psychopathy tend to commit crimes that are less violent than those of psychopathic men. The present study was designed to address the influence of psychopathy on the crimes committed by female offenders. A national sample of female offenders found NGRI or of diminished responsibility and at risk for criminal recidivism (OPG patients) was compared with a sample of female offenders who were convicted and imprisoned. Results of this comparison between the two groups of female offenders indicate that psychopathy is a transversal psychopathological dimension which may or may not be associated with other mental disorders. In both samples, the most commonly reported offenses among women with high PCL-R scores were minor offenses, not particularly violent, but they appear to be related to typical psychopathic features such as superficial charm, pathological lying, and manipulation.

The Normative Nature of Aggressive Intrusive Thinking Among an Underserved Incarcerated Population Compared With a Student Sample

Aggressive intrusive thoughts (AITs) are unwanted and repetitive thoughts, impulses, or desires that enter into consciousness involuntarily. The current study compared the frequency of and distress from AITs in a sample of inmates jailed for violent crimes ( n = 78) versus college students ( n = 103; that is, participant status). The relationship between psychopathic traits and AITs was also explored. Results indicated that, although there were no differences between students and inmates, AIT frequency was positively associated with Primary Psychopathy. However, there was no significant interaction between participant status (i.e., inmate vs. student) and psychopathy. Finally, there were no significant main or interactions effects in the model predicting AIT distress. These findings demonstrate that AIT frequency is a normative cognitive experience that occurs in both nonviolent and violent individuals, and provides further evidence for an association between psychopathic traits and unwanted aggressive cognition.

A taxometric investigation of psychopathy in women

The taxonomic status of psychopathy is the topic of considerable research interest. The latent structure of psychopathy will latent structure will guide the determination of the best assessment approaches, maximize the reliability and validity, will help to establish optimal cutting scores that minimize decision errors and will also facilitate the selection of the best research designs to advance the study of the construct. In the present study, taxometric analyses were used for assessing taxonicity, and they were applied to Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) ratings of 1218 female offenders. Hare's four-factor solution to the PCL-R was used as the bases of the analyses. The results of the various analytical strategies obtained dimensional solutions and corroborated that for females, as well as for males, psychopathy as measured by the PCL-R, may best be conceptualized as distinct configurations of extreme scores on personality traits rather than as a distinct, nonarbitrary class. These results reaffirm the fact that cut-off scores of are arbitrary in nature.

A new legal treatment for psychopaths? Perplexities for legal thinkers

Public perception, fueled not only by popular and news media but also by expert claims that psychopaths are archetypes of evil: incorrigible, remorseless, cold-blooded criminals, whose crimes manifest in the most extreme levels of violence. But is there empirical evidence that psychopaths truly are what they are portrayed to be? If so, should the law respond, and adjust its treatment of psychopaths in court - permitting psychopathy to be admitted under an insanity defense and/or resulting in mitigation? In this paper, we demonstrate that fundamental questions from the law to science remain unanswered and must be addressed before any alternative treatment of psychopathy can be considered. As it stands, psychopaths cannot be reliably defined or diagnosed and, as we will demonstrate, even the presumed link with criminal dangerousness is problematic. We conclude that the current legal approach should not be modified, however, if preliminary findings regarding impairments in impulsivity/self-control are confirmed, some, but not all individuals who fall under one definition of psychopathy may merit different treatment in future.

Psychopathy and its relation to personality psychopathology in a South African female forensic context

There is a paucity of research about personality pathology among female offenders. This study aims to address this gap in the forensic psychology empirical base by examining the relationship between female psychopathy, as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised, and personality disorders, as measured by the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III in a South African forensic context. Participants included 108 purposively sampled female offenders incarcerated in South Africa. The Kruskal–Wallis H test and Mann–Whitney U test revealed a number of significant differences in levels of personality pathology between groups. Importantly, the results support international findings that significantly higher rates of Cluster B personality pathology are found among psychopathic offenders compared to non-psychopathic offenders.

Psychopathy in women: Prediction of criminality and violence in UK and USA psychiatric patients resident in the community

Psychopathy is an important clinical construct often used in the assessment and management of psychiatric patients and offenders. This, in part, is due to the strong association between psychopathy, crime, and particularly violent crime. However, there are few studies of these associations in women. These relationships were examined using information from two large databases. The Partnerships in Care database contains data from a sample of forensic psychiatric patients (154 women and 777 men) in the UK that were discharged from secure psychiatric units. Follow-up was via official conviction data within the next 2 years. The MacArthur study examined violence and aggression in a sample of civil psychiatric patients (367 women and 496 men) in the USA following discharge from an acute psychiatric hospital. Follow-up was via a mixture of self-report, informant report and official records. Psychopathy in both samples was measured via the PCL:SV prior to discharge. Psychopathy was a good predictor of target events for the women in both samples and for all time intervals used. No significant gender differences in the PCL:SV's predictive efficacy were found. The results provide a strong evidence-base for the use of psychopathy in women when considering future community behaviour and reoffending.

Psicopatia e Reconhecimento de Expressões Faciais de Emoções: Uma Revisão Sistemática

A psicopatia é um transtorno de personalidade caracterizado por comportamentos antissociais, capacidade de julgamento comprometida e déficits no processamento emocional. Pesquisadores têm investigado a habilidade de psicopatas e indivíduos com traços de psicopatia reconhecer emoções expressas pela face. Este estudo teve como objetivo realizar uma revisão sistemática nas principais bases de dados internacionais de artigos publicados entre 1975 e 2013, sobre essa temática. Dezessete artigos preencheram os critérios de inclusão desta revisão. Os resultados evidenciam o uso de métodos não convergentes e sugerem que a psicopatia está relacionada a déficits no reconhecimento de emoções negativas. Dados confirmatórios só poderão ser alcançados a partir de uma padronização metodológica. Sugere-se a utilização de tempos distintos de exposição dos estímulos para estudos futuros.

Psychopathy and Violent Reoffending in German-Speaking Countries

The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and its screening version, the PCL:SV, are clinical assessment instruments for the observer rating of psychopathic personality in offenders. Given the link between PCL-R/SV total scores and violent offending, these instruments have been incorporated into various risk assessment protocols in forensic psychology. The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive validity of the PCL-R/SV instruments in German-speaking countries. We collated data from 11 published studies (total-N = 2,412 offenders). Based on suitable diagnostic cutscores for prototypical psychopathy, the proportions of true-positive and false-positive cases with respect to violent reoffending were compared. Overall, sensitivity was estimated at 27% and specificity at 88% for the PCL-R (or at 28% and 90% for the PCL:SV, respectively). At critical score levels, the odds for violent offense recidivism were more than two times higher than at subcritical levels for both instruments. A decision-theory analysis suggested that the implicit utility of false-positive risk assessments was about halfway between the minimal utility of false-negative assessments and the maximal utility of correct assessments. Both the PCL-R and its screening version are viable instruments for the prediction of violent offense recidivism in German-speaking countries.