Psychopathy and its Relation to Criminal Behaviour

Have you ever wondered what actually goes on beyond the media representation of psychopathic offenders and how the factor of psychopathy correlates with criminal behaviour? If this is something you find yourself being curious about, then dive right in!

Psychopathy: The Definition

Psychopathy does not hold a spot as a clinical diagnosis in the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), a reference book used by mental-health professionals to diagnose and treat mental disorders. According to an article posted by the website “healthline”, under the title, “What is a Psychopath?”, it is a term often used to define the condition Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). They are not entirely the same but are closely related.

As seen in the National Library of Medicine, the clinical features described under Antisocial Personality Disorder DSM-5-TR Criteria include ≥3 of the following:

• Failure to conform to social norms concerning lawful behaviours, such as performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
• Deceitfulness, repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for pleasure or personal profit.
• Impulsivity or failure to plan.
• Irritability and aggressiveness, often with physical fights or assaults.
• Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others.
• Consistent irresponsibility, failure to sustain consistent work behavior, or honor monetary obligations.
• Lack of remorse, indifference to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another person.

All in all, according to the article, “Psychopathy: Developmental Perspectives and their Implications for Treatment”, psychopathy is described as:

“a neuropsychiatric disorder marked by deficient emotional responses, lack of empathy, and poor behavioural controls, commonly resulting in persistent antisocial deviance and criminal behaviour.”

Relation to Criminal Behaviour

Psychopathic traits generally exert significant direct and indirect impact on criminal behaviour. By indirect it is implied that there are multiple risk factors, along with psychopathy, that boost criminal behaviour. This can be seen addressed in the article, “Psychopathic traits and different types of criminal behavior: An assessment of direct effects and mediating processes”. It says, “…although psychopathic traits represent an individual’s strong criminal propensity, the likelihood of engaging in crime can vary based on the circumstances individuals face, the context in which they reside, and the risk factors they possess.” Some of the risk factors are :

• Peer Influence
• Gang Membership
• Alcohol Use
• Victimization
• Procedural Justice

Let’s take a closer look at one of the factors- Peer Influence. Adolescents with psychopathic traits tend to enjoy the attention they get from people they attract through manipulative ways and also, they do not really care if what they are doing is morally wrong. The article states, “Considering their grandiose sense of self-worth, they may also enjoy the attention they receive from peers when they engage in risky situations that portray them as “cool kids” or “bad asses”. ” Hence, this increases the chances of them engaging in risky behaviour.

Now, let’s dive into the topic of psychopathy in closer relation to delinquency among the youth.

Many of the risk factors i.e.,

characteristics at the biological, psychological, family, community, or cultural level that precede and are associated with a higher likelihood of negative outcomes

as described by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, that are used to assess delinquency in youth, overlap with the psychopathic traits. According to the article, “A Multimethod Assessment of Juvenile Psychopathy: Comparing the Predictive Utility of the PCL:YV, YPI, and NEO PRI”, the three-factor model—comprised of these three personality-focused factors: Arrogant and Deceitful Interpersonal style (ADI; Factor 1), Deficient Affective Experience (DAE; Factor 2), and Impulsive and Irresponsible Behavioral style (IIB; Factor 3), is used to assess psychopathy in adolescents. It is mentioned in the other article, “The Importance of Child and Adolescent Psychopathy” that these ADI, DAE and IIB traits included in psychopathy are also included in lists of risk factors for delinquency base on prior research. So, that’s how psychopathy and delinquency are related.

Treatment and Management of Psychopathy

It is believed that psychopathy is untreatable. The statement holds true for the most part. Studies have also shown that offenders who scored high on psychopathy and engaged in treatments recorded higher rates of recidivism (the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend) and eventually became worse. The article, “Treatment and psychopathy in forensic settings”, explains this by saying, “The radical and intrusive involuntary program would be considered unethical and harmful for anyone by today’s standards, so it is not difficult to believe that it harmed psychopaths.” However, in recent years, it has started to being considered as curable for some population of individuals who score high on psychopathy. This is what the article has to say on this: Treatment programs for offenders yield the largest reductions in criminal behavior when they:

• target relatively intensive services at higher risk offenders (the Risk principle), leaving lower risk offenders with little or no therapeutic attention
• recognize that as the level of offender risk increases, so too should the intensiveness of the treatment (also the Risk principle)
• focus treatment services on changing empirically established correlates of criminal risk (e.g., criminal attitudes, substance abuse, and impulsivity)—also referred to as targeting dynamic risk factors or criminogenic needs (the Need principle)
• deliver intervention in a manner that maximizes offenders’ engagement in the treatment process and ability to use the treatment services to make changes (the Responsivity principle)

Conclusion

Recent scientific evidence gives us hope that individuals who score high on psychopathy are, indeed, capable of improving, given the right treatment approach. There are various measurement tools, and a developing range of treatments for high-risk and personality disordered offenders. We are hopeful for revolutionary research and investigation on this very intriguing topic in the coming years.