scholarly journals Dysfunctional neurocognition in individuals with clinically significant psychopathic traits

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-299 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Psychopathic Traits ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Emotional Responsiveness ◽  
Drug Cues ◽  
Callous Unemotional ◽  
Emotional Responding ◽  
Callous Unemotional Traits ◽  
Clinically Significant

The main goal of this review is to consider the main forms of dysfunctional neurocognition seen in individuals with clinically significant psychopathic traits (ie, reduced guilt/empathy and increased impulsive/antisocial behavior). A secondary goal is to examine the extent to which these forms of dysfunction are seen in both adults with psychopathic traits and adolescents with clinically significant antisocial behavior that may also involve callous-unemotional traits (reduced guilt/empathy). The two main forms of neurocognition considered are emotional responding (to distress/pain cues and emotional stimuli more generally) and reward-related processing. Highly related forms of neurocognition, the response to drug cues and moral judgments, are also discussed. It is concluded that dysfunction in emotional responsiveness and moral judgments confers risk for aggression across adolescence and into adulthood. However, reduced reward-related processing, including to drug cues, is only consistently found in adolescents with clinically significant antisocial behavior, not adults with psychopathy.

Parental Antisocial and Psychopathic Traits Influence Adolescent Psychopathology

2021 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2110135
Author(s):  
Kostas A. Fanti ◽  
Alexandros Lordos
Keyword(s):  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Adolescent Psychopathology ◽  
Psychopathic Traits ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Callous Unemotional ◽  
Oppositional Defiant ◽  
Callous Unemotional Traits

The role of parental antisocial behavior in the development of adolescent psychopathology is well established in the literature. However, less is known about the role of parental psychopathic traits in offspring psychopathology. Adolescents (N = 210; boys = 107) and their parents participated in a study measuring parental antisocial behavior, psychopathic traits (i.e., callous-unemotional traits, impulsive-irresponsibility, and grandiosity), and adolescent psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD). Results from the structural equation model suggested that maternal antisocial acts, but not anger propensity, positively predicted adolescent CD, ODD, and depressive symptoms. Paternal anger propensity mainly predicted internalizing problems, whereas paternal impulsive-irresponsibility predicted anxiety and ADHD symptoms. In addition, findings pointed to several indirect effects from maternal and paternal psychopathic traits to adolescent psychopathology, with the strongest one being between maternal impulsive-irresponsibility to maternal antisocial acts to adolescent ODD. The findings suggest that parental antisocial behaviors and psychopathic traits, and especially impulsive-irresponsibility, should be considered in interventions aiming to reduce adolescent psychopathology.

scholarly journals Callous-Unemotional Traits Moderate Anticipated Guilt and Wrongness Judgments to Everyday Moral Transgressions in Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarida Vasconcelos ◽  
Essi Viding ◽  
Catherine L. Sebastian ◽  
Susana Faria ◽  
Pedro R. Almeida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Psychopathic Traits ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Affective Processing ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Cu Traits ◽  
Callous Unemotional ◽  
Animated Cartoon ◽  
Moral Transgressions

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits observed during childhood and adolescence are thought to be precursors of psychopathic traits in adulthood. Adults with high levels of psychopathic traits typically present antisocial behavior. Such behavior can be indicative of atypical moral processing. Evidence suggests that moral dysfunction in these individuals may stem from a disruption of affective components of moral processing rather than from an inability to compute moral judgments per se. No study to date has tested if the dissociation between affective and cognitive dimensions of moral processing linked to psychopathic traits in adulthood is also linked to CU traits during development. Here, 47 typically developing adolescents with varying levels of CU traits completed a novel, animated cartoon task depicting everyday moral transgressions and indicated how they would feel in such situations and how morally wrong the situations were. Adolescents with higher CU traits reported reduced anticipated guilt and wrongness appraisals of the transgressions. However, our key finding was a significant interaction between CU traits and anticipated guilt in predicting wrongness judgments. The strength of the association between anticipated guilt and wrongness judgement was significantly weaker for those with higher levels of CU traits. This evidence extends our knowledge on the cognitive-affective processing deficits that may underlie moral dysfunction in youth who are at heightened risk for antisocial behavior and psychopathy in adulthood. Future longitudinal research is required to elucidate whether there is an increased dissociation between different components of moral processing from adolescence to adulthood for those with high psychopathic traits.

scholarly journals Emotional reactivity and the association between psychopathy-linked narcissism and aggression in detained adolescent boys

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luna C. Muñoz Centifanti ◽  
Eva R. Kimonis ◽  
Paul J. Frick ◽  
Katherine J. Aucoin
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Proactive Aggression ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Autonomic Reactivity ◽  
Adolescent Boys ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Detention Center ◽  
Callous Unemotional ◽  
Callous Unemotional Traits

AbstractDifferent patterns of emotional reactivity characterize proactive and reactive functions of aggressive behavior, and theory also suggests a link of both types with narcissism. How people with narcissistic traits respond emotionally to competitive scenarios could influence their aggressiveness. Participants were 85 adolescent boys from a detention center. Several indices of emotional functioning were assessed, including attentional bias to negative emotional stimuli and psychophysiological responding. In addition, we included self-report and laboratory measures of aggression and measures of psychopathy-linked narcissism, callous–unemotional traits, and impulsivity. Psychopathy-linked narcissism was uniquely related to unprovoked aggression (i.e., proactive aggression) and to heightened attention to pictures depicting others’ distress. Compared with those scoring low on narcissism, those high on narcissism, who were the least physiologically reactive group, evinced greater proactive aggression, whereas those showing a pattern of coactivation (i.e., sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic reactivity) evinced greater reactive aggression. Results are consistent with descriptions of narcissistic individuals as being hypervigilant to negative cues and exhibiting poor emotion regulation. These characteristics may lead to aggressive and violent behavior aimed at maintaining dominance over others.

scholarly journals Antisocial behavior from a developmental psychopathology perspective

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1111-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Frick ◽  
Essi Viding
Keyword(s):  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
Development Model ◽  
Abnormal Development ◽  
Antisocial Behaviors ◽  
Callous Unemotional ◽  
Callous Unemotional Traits ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Causal Theories

AbstractThis paper reviews research on chronic patterns of antisocial behavior and places this research into a developmental psychopathology framework. Specifically, research suggests that there are at least three important pathways through which children and adolescents can develop severe antisocial behaviors. One group of youth shows antisocial behavior that begins in adolescence, and two groups show antisocial behavior that begins in childhood but differ on the presence or absence of callous–unemotional traits. In outlining these distinct pathways to antisocial behavior, we have tried to illustrate some key concepts from developmental psychopathology such as equifinality and multifinality, the importance of understanding the interface between normal and abnormal development, and the importance of using multiple levels of analyses to advance causal theories. Finally, we discuss how this development model can be used to enhance existing interventions for antisocial individuals.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document