Summary by Shannon Compton and the North American Research Committee
Research Highlights
- A large sample of former and current partners of men and women in a romantic relationship with an individual with psychopathic traits reported on what they experienced in this relationship.
- Participants reported experiencing numerous types of abusive experiences with moderate to severe mental and physical health consequences. Both a greater severity of psychopathic traits in the partner and a greater amount of maladaptive coping by the person were related to increased negative impact.
- More adaptive coping by the person was associated with a less negative impact of the person with psychopathic traits.
- It is hoped the understanding of the experiences and consequences of being intimately involved with an individual with psychopathic traits will aid in the development of intervention programs to support survivors.
Background:
Psychopathy is a strong predictor of intimate partner violence (IPV); roughly 15-30% of perpetrators of violence within intimate relationships meet the clinical criteria for psychopathy (Huss & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, 2000). IPV can manifest in many different forms of abuse such as emotional abuse, physical violence, sexual violence, financial abuse, and cyber abuse. Polyvictimization refers to experiencing multiple forms of abuse. Individuals who experience polyvictimization within their intimate relationships have more severe mental health problems, such as an increased likelihood of post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), depression, and anxiety (Lagdon et al., 2014).
The kind of coping strategies used to help process victimization can have an impact on an individual’s mental health outcomes. Psychologists often divide coping into two different kinds of coping: problem focused (dealing with the problem) and emotion focused (managing or alleviating emotion). Emotion-focused coping helps people feel better but it does not solve their problems. Problem-focused coping is considered adaptive because strategies aimed directly at solving problems are often more effective at solving those problems. These strategies are also associated with greater feelings of control and improved mental health outcomes than emotion-focused (or more maladaptive) coping. The use of maladaptive coping strategies has been associated with more severe PTSD symptoms (Lilly & Graham-Bermann, 2010).
Past research surveying women who were in intimate relationships with people with psychopathic traits found that all the women reported experiencing some sort of harm perpetrated by their partner, including: emotional abuse (99%), deception (95%), financial abuse (83%), physical abuse (62%), and sexual abuse (59%). Victims/survivors reported feelings of anxiety, depression, and problems with interpersonal relationships (Humeny et al., 2021).
What were the goals of the study?
The purpose of this study by Forth et al. (2022) was to: 1) examine the experiences and effects of being in an intimate relationship with someone with psychopathic traits, 2) investigate the relationship between psychopathic traits (in their partner) and a person’s coping, and post-traumatic stress and depressive symptoms, and 3) determine what type of abuse is most predictive of PTSD and depressive symptoms.
How did the researchers do the study?
The study recruited participants from websites providing information or support to those impacted by psychopathy. A large sample of 457 former and current intimate partners of individuals with psychopathic traits participated in an online survey. This survey included questionnaires and open-ended questions. Participants were asked to complete:
- A measure of psychopathic traits in their intimate partner
- A measure of the range and severity of PTSD symptoms
- A measure of the severity of depressive symptoms
- An open-ended question “If you experienced other physical and/or mental health symptoms not mentioned in either of the scales you just filled out, what were they?”
- A measure of adaptive and maladaptive coping
What did the researchers find?
Similar to what has been reported in prior research (Humeny et al., 2021), participants reported a range of abusive experiences: emotional abuse (98%), deception (95.8%), financial abuse (80.7%), physical abuse (50.5%) and sexual abuse (31.7%). This study found that individuals who reported higher psychopathic traits in their partner experienced a moderate negative impact on their physical health and an extreme negative impact on their mental health. Higher psychopathic traits were related to higher ratings of PTSD symptoms, particularly when their partners rated high on the interpersonal manipulation and callous affect dimensions of psychopathy.
The participants reported having moderately severe PTSD and depression symptoms. Participants’ responses to open-ended question were also investigated. Psychological/emotional difficulties were the most common (e.g., anger, anxiety, panic, and depressive symptoms), but biological effects (e.g., ulcers, gastrointestinal issues, headaches) were also reported. Other impacts included behavioral changes (e.g., sleeping and eating problems, neglect of self-care, and changes in social interactions), cognitive changes (e.g., experiencing flashbacks, concentration and memory problems), and changes in interpersonal relationships (e.g., loss of trust, avoiding others).
The researchers also examined the impact of coping. Adaptive coping was related to decreased depression symptoms but not to decreased PTSD symptoms. In other words, PTSD was common in the women who had been in these relationships even when they engaged in adaptive, problem-oriented coping. Maladaptive coping was related to experiencing more severe depression symptoms and more severe PTSD symptoms.
The researchers also examined which of the following measures (psychopathy scores, physical abuse, sexual abuse, polyvictmization) were most strongly related to PTSD and depression symptoms. Both higher levels of psychopathic traits in partners and experiences of polyvictimization were related to greater severity of PTSD symptoms. Things were different for depression symptoms: only experiences of different types of abuse (polyvictimization) were related to more severe depression symptoms.
What are the implications?
The study highlighted the need for future research to consider how different types of abuse, severity of abuse, and outcomes may differ for victims/survivors of IPV whose partners are low in psychopathic traits compared to those whose partners are high in psychopathic traits. There is also a call for future research into post-traumatic growth, which is a phenomenon where victims/survivors report resiliency and positive effects, such as becoming a stronger person, in the aftermath of victimization.
References Cited:
Forth, A., Sezlik, S., Lee, S., Ritchie, M., Logan, J., & Ellingwood, E. (2022). Toxic relationships: The experiences and effects of psychopathy in romantic relationships. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 66(15), 1627-1658.
Humeny, C., Forth, A., & Logan, J. (2021). Psychopathic traits predict survivors’ experiences of domestic abuse. Personality and Individual Differences, 171, 110497.
Huss, M. T., & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (2000). Identification of the psychopathic batterer: The clinical, legal, and policy implications. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5(4), 403-422.
Lagdon, S., Armour, C., & Stringer, M. (2014). Adult experience of mental health outcomes as a result of intimate partner violence victimisation: A systematic review. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5(1), 12.
Lilly, M. M., & Graham-Bermann, S. A. (2010). Intimate partner violence and PTSD: The moderating role of emotion-focused coping. Violence and Victims, 25(5), 604-616.
