Exposure to Violence as a Victim and as a Witness Predict the Onset of Antisocial/Lifestyle Psychopathic Traits in Adjudicated Adolescents

• In Event: Stressful Event Exposure as a Predictor of Antisocial Behavior: Considering Gender and Physiological Functioning

Abstract

Objective: Few studies have examined the differential links between different facets of psychopathy (interpersonal/affective vs. antisocial/lifestyle) and exposure to violence (ETV) as a witness versus as a victim, and the existing findings are mixed. The differential links may inform the etiology and treatments of facets of psychopathy. The current study tests whether witnessing versus experiencing violence predict the two primary facets of psychopathy.
Methods: This study analyzed data (N = 1300) from the Pathways to Desistance Project. A modified ETV Inventory collected at baseline was scored for witnessing and experiencing violence. Psychopathy was measured with Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version, and scores of interpersonal/affective and antisocial/lifestyle facets of psychopathy were computed.
Results: Adjusting for antisocial/lifestyle facets, neither witnessing nor experiencing violence were significantly associated with the interpersonal/affective facets. However, both witnessing and experiencing violence significantly predicted antisocial/lifestyle facets, while adjusting for the interpersonal/affective facet. Age, gender, ethnicity, and location were covariates in all analyses.

Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of ETV in the antisocial/lifestyle but not the interpersonal/affective facet of psychopathy. It is likely interpersonal/affective facets may have a more physiological basis (e.g., deficiency in fear conditioning) and environmental factors such as ETV play a bigger role in antisocial/lifestyle traits.

Authors

• Katherine French, Georgia State University

• Frances R. Chen, Georgia State University

• Abrielle Kataria, Georgia State University