Adolescent Psychopathic Traits, Early Adversity, and Intimate Partner Violence

• Published date: 01 February 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231219810
• Author: Kristopher J. Brazil,Adelle E. Forth
• Date: 01 February 2024
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2024, Vol. 51, No. 2, February 2024, 213 –229.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231219810

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2023 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

213

ADOLESCENT PSYCHOPATHIC TRAITS, EARLY

ADVERSITY, AND INTIMATE PARTNER

VIOLENCE

KRISTOPHER J. BRAZIL

ADELLE E. FORTH

Carleton University

Research shows psychopathic traits in adults are associated with perpetrating intimate partner violence (IPV). Less research,

however, has examined this association in adolescents’ relationships. Our study examines whether adolescent psychopathic

traits are associated with different forms of IPV and whether early adverse experiences of abuse and/or interparental violence

might be implicated in this relationship. A mixed sample of 156 justice-involved and at-risk adolescents were assessed with

the PCL:YV, participated in an early adversity interview assessing abuse and interparental violence, and completed IPV

measures of physical and psychological aggressive acts. Psychopathic traits were associated with each IPV measure over and

above early adversity. Psychopathic traits continued to be associated with psychological but not physical IPV after accounting

for sample type. Furthermore, psychopathic traits indirectly linked interparental violence with psychological IPV, suggesting

that psychopathic traits may play a role in the intergenerational perpetration of partner violence.

Keywords: psychopathic traits; adolescents; abuse; witnessing domestic violence; intimate partner violence

An increasing number of studies show that psychopathic traits (e.g., manipulation, cal-

lousness, sensation seeking, criminality) are associated with various forms of intimate

partner violence (IPV) in adult populations (Forth et al., 2022; Robertson et al., 2020).

Relationship behavior, however, including abusive behavior can begin to develop during

the earliest romantic relationships, including during adolescence (Wolfe, 2006). Despite the

potential importance of these formative early relationships, few studies have examined how

psychopathic traits relate to IPV in adolescent populations (Robertson et al., 2020). There

is also a need to consider how the link between psychopathic traits and early adversity (de

Ruiter et al., 2022) could play a role in fostering abusive relationships. Those who experi-

ence abuse and/or witness violence between parents in their early relationships may go on

to perpetrate violence in their own relationships (McKinney et al., 2009; Whitfield et al.,

AUTHORS’ NOTE: The study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and

informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Adelle E. Forth receives

royalties from the sale of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version. Correspondence concerning this article

should be addressed to Kristopher J. Brazil, Department of Psychology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By

Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6; e-mail: kristopher.brazil@carleton.ca.

1219810CJBXXX10.1177/00938548231219810Criminal Justice and BehaviorBrazil, Forth / Adolescent Psychopathic Traits and IPV

research-article2023

214 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR

2003)—a process described as the cycle of violence (Widom, 1989, 2017). Because not all

young people who experience early adversity go on to perpetrate violence themselves

(Murphy & Blumenthal, 2000), individual differences like psychopathic traits may play an

important mediating role in this process. Our goals in this study are to examine in adoles-

cence (a) whether psychopathic traits are associated with different forms of IPV beyond the

effects of early adversity and (b) whether psychopathic traits may play a mediating role in

the association between early adversity and IPV perpetration.

PSYCHOPATHIC TRAITS IN ADOLESCENCE

Psychopathic traits in adolescence include interpersonal (e.g., manipulation, impression

management), affective (e.g., callousness, lack of remorse), and behavioral features (e.g.,

impulsivity, sensation seeking) that collectively combine with antisocial features (e.g., poor

anger control, criminal versatility) to reflect the prototypical personality of psychopathy

(Forth et al., 2003; Neumann et al., 2007). The Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version

(PCL:YV; Forth et al., 2003) is the most common clinical measure used to assess adolescent

psychopathy and has been shown to be associated with similar outcomes that the Psychopathy

Checklist–Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) shows in adults, including violence and recidivism

(Forth & Book, 2010; Schmidt et al., 2011). Previous concerns that psychopathic traits

might reflect normative changes in adolescent personality may be unfounded (e.g., Seagrave

& Grisso, 2002). Although adolescence is a developmental period of increased adventur-

ousness and experimentation (Hill et al., 2012), recent research shows that the personality

traits underlying psychopathy themselves do not generally increase across adolescence but

rather stay relatively stable (Lynam et al., 2009; Vachon et al., 2018). There also appears to

be moderate stability of psychopathic traits from adolescence into adulthood (Hemphälä

et al., 2015; Lynam et al., 2007).

Several studies show that psychopathic traits exist on a continuum in adults and adoles-

cents (Murrie et al., 2007; Walters, 2014; Walters et al., 2007). Mean level differences are

typically found across different populations including community, psychiatric, and justice-

involved populations (Coid et al., 2009; Hare, 2003; Skeem & Mulvey, 2001), but these

mean level differences do not capture qualitatively distinct populations of psychopathic

versus nonpsychopathic individuals. Rather, the differences in psychopathic traits are a

matter of degree rather than kind, ranging from very low to moderate to very high (Murrie

et al., 2007). Hence, we take the approach as others have (Vitacco et al., 2010) of not label-

ing youth as a “psychopath” or not and instead refer to youth who display elevated or higher

levels of psychopathic traits compared with those who display lower levels.

PSYCHOPATHIC TRAITS AND IPV

Because of the antisocial collection of traits underlying psychopathy, it has been exam-

ined for its role in IPV specifically (Humeny et al., 2021). A meta-analysis assessing 43

studies found that psychopathic traits were associated with IPV, with a medium effect size

(Robertson et al., 2020). Some evidence suggests psychopathic traits increase the risk of

premeditated rather than impulsive forms of IPV (Juodis et al., 2014; Stanford et al., 2008)

and those higher in psychopathic traits may feel less concern for the harm caused to partners

(Costa & Babcock, 2008; LaMotte et al., 2019). Most of this research, however, has been