Psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder: Gender ...

PSYCHOPATHY AND ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN EMPATHY AND ALEXITHYMIA Jill E. Rogstad, B.S.

Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2011

APPROVED: Richard Rogers, Major Professor Amy R. Murrell, Committee Member Kenneth W. Sewell, Committee Member Vicki Campbell, Chair of the Department of

Psychology James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the

Toulouse Graduate School

Rogstad, Jill E. Psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder: Gender differences in empathy and alexithymia. Master of Science (Psychology), August 2011, 133 pp., 24 tables, references, 210 titles.

Traditional conceptualizations of psychopathy highlight the importance of affective features of the syndrome in perpetuating social deviance. However, little research has directly investigated the callousness that psychopathic offenders display toward society and their victims. The current study investigated the roles of empathy and alexithymia in psychopathy among male and female incarcerated offenders, particularly in distinguishing psychopathy from antisocial personality disorder. Gender differences were also investigated. Regarding empathy, as predicted, group differences were largest between psychopathic and non-psychopathic offenders; no reliable differences emerged between psychopathic and APD-only offenders. In contrast, alexithymia robustly distinguished between offenders with prominent psychopathic traits, those with only APD, and those with neither condition. Psychopathic females unexpectedly exhibited slightly higher levels of alexithymia than their male counterparts, while empathic deficits were relatively consistent across genders. These findings are discussed in terms of improving assessment methods for the accurate identification and treatment of offenders with prominent psychopathic features.

Copyright 2011 by

Jill E. Rogstad

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi

Chapters

1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 Psychopathy: An Overview .........................................................................1 Conceptualization of Psychopathy...................................................2 Psychopathy and Antisocial Conduct ..............................................4 Psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder.......................................8 Gender Differences in Psychopathy...........................................................13 Gender Differences in APD ...........................................................15 Prevalence of Female Psychopathy ...............................................16 Severity of Female Psychopathy....................................................18 Measurement Bias..........................................................................19 Construct Validity and Factor Structure ........................................20 Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism in Female Psychopathy ........22 Affective Features of Psychopathy ............................................................23 Emotion Processing Deficits..........................................................23 Emotion Processing in Female Psychopathy .................................26 Empathy and Psychopathy.............................................................28 Gender Differences in Empathy.....................................................30 Victim Empathy and Psychopathy.................................................31 Alexithymia and Psychopathy .......................................................33 Current Study .............................................................................................38 Research Questions and Hypotheses .........................................................39

2. METHOD ..............................................................................................................41 Design ........................................................................................................41 Participants .................................................................................................41 Research and Administrative Approval .....................................................41 Materials ....................................................................................................42

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Psychopathy Checklist ? Revised ..................................................42 Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality................................42 Self-Report Measures.....................................................................43 Procedure ...................................................................................................47 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria....................................................47 Primary Research Procedures ........................................................48

3. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................50 Refinement of the Sample..........................................................................50 Demographic Data .....................................................................................50 Scale Properties..........................................................................................53 Descriptive Data.........................................................................................55 Primary Data Analysis ...............................................................................57 Emotion in Psychopathy and APD ................................................57 Gender Differences in Emotion .....................................................69 Discriminant Validity of Psychopathy and APD ...........................80

4. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................82 General and Victim Empathy.....................................................................83 Alexithymia................................................................................................90 Alexithymia in Psychopathy and APD ..........................................91 Alexithymia in Female and Male Psychopathy .............................94 Potential Interventions for Alexithymia and Psychopathy ............96 Emotional Memory in Psychopathy...........................................................98 Discriminant Validity of Psychopathy and APD .....................................101 Limitations and Future Directions ...........................................................103 Concluding Remarks................................................................................106

Appendices

A. A COMPARISON OF THE CRITERIA FOR PSYCHOPATHY AND ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER ....................................................108

B. LIST OF NEGATIVE, NEUTRAL, AND POSITIVE WORDS USED AS STIMULI IN THE PRESENT STUDY...............................................................111

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C. AFFECTIVE DEFICITS? COMPARING NORMATIVE VALIDATION SAMPLES TO THE CURRENT OFFENDER SAMPLE ..................................113

ENDNOTES ................................................................................................................................115 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................118

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LIST OF TABLES Page

1. Cleckley's (1941) Clinical Profile of a Psychopath.............................................................2 2. Two-Factor, Four-Facet Structure Conceptualization of the Psychopathy Checklist ?

Revised (PCL-R)..................................................................................................................4 3. A Comparison of Male and Female Offenders on Demographic and Clinical Variables

............................................................................................................................................51 4. Descriptive Categorization of PCL-R Psychopathy Total Scores by Gender....................52 5. Reliability Estimates for Self-Report Measures ................................................................54 6. Relationships Between Psychopathy Facets, Empathy, and Alexithymia Among Jail

Detainees ............................................................................................................................56 7. General Empathy Deficits Across Psychopathy and APD Groups....................................58 8. Impression Management and Social Desirability Among Psychopathy and APD Groups

............................................................................................................................................60 9. Relationships Among Psychopathy Facets and PDS Response Style Scales ....................61 10. Victim Empathy Deficits in Offender Groups with Psychopathy and APD......................63 11. High Victim Empathy in Offender Groups with Psychopathy and APD ..........................63 12. Relationships Among General and Specific Affective Deficits in Offenders ...................64 13. Differences in Alexithymia in Psychopathy and APD Groups..........................................66 14. Differences in General Affectivity in Psychopathy and APD Groups ..............................66 15. Differences in Emotional Memory Facilitation in Psychopathy and APD Groups ...........68 16. Gender Differences in General Empathy in Offenders with Psychopathy and APD ........70 17. Gender-Specific Relationships between Psychopathy, APD, and General Empathy in

Offenders............................................................................................................................71 18. Gender Differences in Victim Empathy in Offenders with Psychopathy and APD ..........73 19. Gender-Specific Relationships between Psychopathy, APD, and Victim Empathy in

Offenders............................................................................................................................74

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20. Gender-Specific Correlations Among General and Specific Affective Deficits in Male and Female Offenders ........................................................................................................75

21. Gender Differences in Alexithymia in Offenders with Psychopathy and APD ................77 22. Gender-Specific Relationships between Psychopathy, APD, and Alexithymia Features

............................................................................................................................................78 23. Gender Differences in Emotional Memory Facilitation in Offenders with Psychopathy-

APD....................................................................................................................................79 24. Gender Differences in General Affectivity in Offenders with Psychopathy-APD............80

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