Blood Lead Levels in Early Childhood Predict Adulthood Psychopathy

• Author: Danielle Boisvert,Jamie Vaske,John Paul Wright
• DOI: 10.1177/1541204009333827
• Published date: 01 July 2009
• Date: 01 July 2009
• Subject Matter: Articles

208

Blood Lead Levels

in Early Childhood Predict

Adulthood Psychopathy

John Paul Wright

Danielle Boisvert

Jamie Vaske

University of Cincinnati

Using data from the Cincinnati Lead Study, this study examines the effects of postnatal blood

lead concentrations in early childhood (78 months) on adult psychopathy and six subscales of

the Psychopathic Personality Inventory. Results reveal that higher blood lead concentrations

in early childhood are associated with higher levels of psychopathic symptoms in adulthood,

controlling for the effects of gender, race, mother ’s IQ, child’s intellectual achievement, and

the quality of the home environment. Childhood lead levels predicted variation in Machiavellian

Egocentricity, Social Potency, Impulsive Nonconformity, and Blame Externalization. Overall,

these results implicate lead exposure in the etiology of psychopathy.

Keywords: lead; psychopathy; Psychopathic Personality Inventory; delinquency; childhood

Much debate exists on the origins of psychopathy. Some researchers argue that psycho-

pathy is the result of environmental or social factors (Porter, 1996; Wootton, Frick,

Shelton, & Silverthorn, 1997). For example, McCord and McCord’s (1964) literature

review lead them to conclude that psychopathy is a function of parental conflict, parental

neglect, and erratic parental punishment. Other scholars have noted that individuals who

score higher on psychopathy inventories also report that they have worse family back-

grounds and more interpersonal problems than individuals who score lower on psychopa-

thy inventories. Marshall and Cooke’s (1999) case control study of 105 adult inmates found

that psychopaths scored higher on parental antipathy, parental neglect, poor parental super-

vision, psychological abuse, negative school experience, negative social experience, and

child antipathy to parents.

Other scholars, however, have argued forcefully that the origins of psychopathy do not lie

within the social environment but within a person’s genetic and biological composition

(Gunilla Stalenheim, 2004; Hare, 1999; Lorber, 2004; Raine & Venables, 1992). This is

expected to be true especially for individuals who score higher on inventories of callous-

unemotional traits (Frick & White, 2008; Viding, Blair, Moffitt, & Plomin, 2005; Vaughn,

Edens, Howard, & Smith, 2008). Hare and others, for example, have asserted that psychopathy

Youth Violence and

Juvenile Justice

Volume 7 Number 3

July 2009 208-222

© 2009 SAGE Publications

10.1177/1541204009333827

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Authors’ Note: Please address correspondence to John P. Wright, Division of Criminal Justice, University of

Cincinnati, PO Box 210389, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0389; e-mail: john.wright@uc.edu.