Parental Antisocial and Psychopathic Traits Influence Adolescent Psychopathology

• Author: Kostas A. Fanti,Alexandros Lordos
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211013517
• Published date: 01 November 2022
• Date: 01 November 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211013517

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2022, Vol. 66(15) 1550 –1574

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X211013517

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Article

Parental Antisocial and

Psychopathic Traits Influence

Adolescent Psychopathology

Kostas A. Fanti1 and Alexandros Lordos1

Abstract

The role of parental antisocial behavior in the development of adolescent

psychopathology is well established in the literature. However, less is known about

the role of parental psychopathic traits in offspring psychopathology. Adolescents

(N = 210; boys = 107) and their parents participated in a study measuring parental

antisocial behavior, psychopathic traits (i.e., callous-unemotional traits, impulsive-

irresponsibility, and grandiosity), and adolescent psychopathology, including

depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional

defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD). Results from the structural

equation model suggested that maternal antisocial acts, but not anger propensity,

positively predicted adolescent CD, ODD, and depressive symptoms. Paternal anger

propensity mainly predicted internalizing problems, whereas paternal impulsive-

irresponsibility predicted anxiety and ADHD symptoms. In addition, findings

pointed to several indirect effects from maternal and paternal psychopathic traits

to adolescent psychopathology, with the strongest one being between maternal

impulsive-irresponsibility to maternal antisocial acts to adolescent ODD. The findings

suggest that parental antisocial behaviors and psychopathic traits, and especially

impulsive-irresponsibility, should be considered in interventions aiming to reduce

adolescent psychopathology.

Keywords

parental psychopathology, parental psychopathy, adolescent psychopathology,

externalizing and internalizing, callous unemotional, imulsive-irresponsibility,

grandiose-manipulation

1University of Cyprus, Nicosia

Corresponding Author:

Kostas A. Fanti, Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Nicosia, CY 1678,

Cyprus.

Email: kfanti@ucy.ac.cy

1013517IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X211013517International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyFanti and Lordos

research-article2021

Fanti and Lordos 1551

Introduction

The role of parental psychopathology in the development of child and adolescent psy-

chopathology is well established in the literature (e.g., Fanti et al., 2013; Frick et al.,

1992; Marmorstein & Iacono, 2004). Several studies also examined parental antisocial

behaviors as possible risk factors, finding that parental aggressiveness, criminal activi-

ties, and anger increase children’s anxiety, depression, oppositional defiant disorder

(ODD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and conduct disorder (CD)

symptoms (Dutton et al., 2011; Harris et al., 2001; Kuperman et al., 1999; Moss et al.,

2001; Pfiffner et al., 2005). Prior work investigating antisocial behaviors in parents

focused on antisocial personality disorder symptoms (Johnson et al., 2008; Kopp &

Beauchaine, 2007), antisocial parenting (Harris et al., 2001), externalizing psychopa-

thologies (Bornovalova et al., 2010), or a combination of these measures as well as

other forms of aggressive problems and criminal activities (Faraone et al., 1998; Frick

et al., 1992; Johnson et al., 2006; Lahey et al., 1988b; LeMoine et al., 2018; Marmorstein

& Iacono, 2004; Moss et al., 2001; Steinsbekk et al., 2019). Since our study is based

on a community sample, we use the term parental antisocial behaviors to describe

these symptoms.

Although several studies focused on parental antisocial behaviors, the impact of

parental psychopathic traits on adolescents’ psychopathology is not well established in

the literature. It is possible that personality traits associated with psychopathy can

influence parent-child interactions leading to the child’s developmental maladjust-

ment, which agrees with prior work investigating associations between personality

and parenting (Huver et al., 2010). The aim of the current study was to investigate how

parental psychopathic traits predict different forms of adolescent psychopathology

after accounting for parental antisocial symptoms. Different psychopathic traits were

considered, including callous-unemotionality, grandiose manipulation, and impulsive-

irresponsibility. In addition, both maternal and paternal antisocial behaviors and psy-

chopathic traits were investigated to identify potential differences.

Parental Antisocial Behaviors

Antisocial parents are more likely to engage in negative parenting, with parental anti-

social behaviors being more strongly associated with negative child-rearing behaviors

compared to internalizing psychopathologies (Johnson et al., 2008). Harris et al.

(2001) suggested that antisocial parents might be more likely to physically abuse,

reject and neglect their children (also see Kim-Cohen et al., 2006). In addition, chil-

dren of antisocial parents might be more likely to be exposed to environmental adver-

sities, such as financial hardship, marital conflict, and family violence (Mok et al.,

2016). Through these negative familial interactions and environmental hardship,

parental antisocial behaviors might result in greater offspring psychopathology.

Despite this evidence, additional work suggested that the effect of parental antisocial

behavior on adolescent depression and CD was unrelated to measures of parenting