Written by Taffy Chan, Sara Lapsley and the Research Committee
What is psychopathy and how are psychopathic traits related to domestic abuse?
The study by Humeny and colleagues (2020) examines the relationship between psychopathic traits and the experiences of abuse in romantic relationships. Psychopathy is a personality disorder, consisting of a collection of traits organized into 4 different facets which include affective, interpersonal, lifestyle and antisocial. The affective facet describes features of psychopathy that are related to feelings, moods, and attitudes (e.g., lack of empathy), whereas the interpersonal facet relates to features of psychopathy that show up in communications and in relationship between people (e.g., manipulation). The lifestyle facet focuses on irresponsible and risky behaviors (e.g., need of stimulation). The antisocial facet describes early onset and persistent antisocial behaviors (e.g., getting in trouble in different settings).
In the scientific literature, these facets are grouped into two broad factors, with Factor 1 comprising affective and interpersonal traits and Factor 2 encompassing the lifestyle and antisocial traits. In the context of romantic relationships, research suggests that Factor 1 traits play a more prominent role in understanding the link between psychopathy and domestic abuse compared to Factor 2. For instance, interpersonal traits such as deceptiveness can make it easier for individuals with psychopathic traits to maintain control over their partners, and to engage in acts of premediated acts of aggression to obtain their goals. Affective traits may be more related to the frequency and severity of abuse as such violent actions may not be overshadowed by feelings such as guilt or remorse in people with the affective traits. On the other hand, Factor 2 traits are related to reactive aggression, acts of aggression that are committed in response to a threat or after a frustration as perceived by an abuser.
Survivors of psychopathic abusers can provide valuable information, as the insight and perspective they bring enable a better understanding of how psychopathic traits manifest in romantic relationships. However, current research on domestic abuse and psychopathy has often neglected to explore this unique perspective, primarily focusing on incarcerated abusers. In the study by Humeny, Forth, and Logan (2020), they aimed to identify which psychopathic factors and facets were most strongly associated with the frequency, length, types, and severity of abusive experiences.
Who were the survivors and what information was collected?
A community sample of 475 adult survivors who identified being in a heterosexual abusive relationship with a partner that exhibited psychopathic traits participated in the study. Participants were asked to complete a series of self-report questionnaires online. The Victimization Screening Survey investigated the experiences that survivors had with psychopathic individuals. Information was collected on the demographics of the abuser, the type and duration of relationship, and the type, frequency, and versatility of abuse experienced. The Modified Self-Report Psychopathy Scale Short Form (MSRP-SF) assessed the extent to which the abuser displayed psychopathic traits as perceived by the survivors. Psychopathic traits are based on the observations of these survivors; higher scores indicate that survivors perceived a higher level of psychopathic traits in the abusers.
What were the associations between psychopathic traits and abuse experiences?
Most of the abusers were men (90.3%). Survivors reported a wide range of abusive experiences, including emotional abuse (99.6%), financial abuse (82.8%), physical abuse (62.4%), and sexual abuse (59.9%). Results from the study found that the more psychopathic traits that abusers demonstrated (as rated by the survivor), the more frequently they committed domestic abuse (62% reported very frequent abuse), the more they harmed survivors physically (25% reported moderate to extreme physical injury), and the greater the variety of types of abuse they committed (on average 5.3 types of abuse reported). Higher levels of Factor 1 traits (particularly the affective traits) in abusers were linked to survivors experiencing longer-term relationships with these abusers. Factor 2 traits, specifically higher levels of early and persistent antisocial behavior traits, were linked to greater degrees of physical injury experienced by survivors. Both factors were related to frequency of abuse and different types of abuse experienced, although Factor 1 was more strongly related. Overall, these findings suggest that Factor 1 traits may play a more essential role compared to Factor 2 traits regarding domestic abuse within the context of romantic relationships. Factor 1 traits may be more relevant in maintaining the survivor’s commitment to the relationship, but also in enabling perpetrators to partake in different forms of abuse. This may be due to perpetrators being uninhibited by feelings of empathy and guilt.
What are the implications of this study?
This study is one of the first to identify specific psychopathic traits linked to abuse experiences as reported by survivors. The current study focused on female survivors of domestic violence and future studies should investigate if there are gender differences in survivors’ experiences. Future studies will need to incorporate participants from a variety of settings (e.g., from people living in shelters), not only the community, to provide a more diverse and holistic picture of survivors’ experiences.
Keywords: romantic relationships, psychopathic traits, domestic abuse
Reference:
Humeny, C., Forth, A., & Logan, J. (2020). Psychopathic traits predict survivors’ experiences of domestic abuse. Personality and Individual Differences. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110497.
