Is Psychopathy Related to Exposure to Violent Scenes? An Exploratory Study

• In Event: Interplay of personal and environmental factors and criminal behaviour

Abstract

While studies show a link between exposure to violence and violent behavior (Baskin and Sommers 2014; Durant et al. 1994; Gaylord-Harden et al. 2011; Hawkins et al. 2000; Spano et al. 2006), not everyone exposed to violence will act violently. Personality factors can shape how exposure to violence translates into violent behavior. For instance, previous research indicates that psychopathy, a condition marked by emotional insensitivity, impulsivity, antisocial tendencies, and a lack of guilt or empathy (Paulhus & Williams, 2002), can mediate this relationship (Estrada et. al., 2020). Psychopathic traits can lead to notably violent behavior, and clinicians often use the concept of psychopathy to predict violent tendencies in criminal offenders. This study aims to explore whether exposure to violence predicts psychopathic traits in adults. We ran an anonymous online survey with an Italian sample, using the Psychopathy subscale of the SD3 questionnaire and the Callousness subscale of the LSRP questionnaire, both in their Italian versions (respectively: Somma, et. al., 2020; Somma et. al. 2014). This allowed us to investigate the potential link between being exposed to violent scenes and psychopathic traits. We also differentiated between those directly exposed to violence and those who experienced it indirectly (for istance by media or social media). We analyzed the collected data using SPSS v25 software and will discuss the results in the context of a personality traits model.

Author

• Fabio Delicato, Criminiseriali Association