Psychopathy, personality and criminal recidivism: a multimethod approach

U ovom istraživanju psihopatija je posmatrana u širem kontekstu mernih metoda, kao i odnosa kako sa bazičnim crtama ličnosti, tako i sa stabilnim vršenjem krivičnih dela. Cilj studije je bio dobijanje što preciznijih informacija o odnosima psihopatije merene pomoću različitih metoda, ličnosti i recidiva u populaciji institucionalizovanih izvršilaca krivičnih dela. U istraživanju je učestvovalo 156 muških ispitanika (starosni prosek 34.7 godina, SD=9.85) koji su u vreme prikupljanja podaka izdržavali kaznu u dve penalne institucije u Srbiji. Psihopatija je merena metodom samoprocene, pomoću SRP3 upitnika i metodom rejtinga, odnosno korišćenjem intervjua (PCL-R skala) i informacija iz osuĎeničkih dosijea. Za eksploraciju crta ličnosti korišćen je upitnik HEXACOPI- R koji meri 6 širokih domena: Poštenje-Skromnost, Ekstraverziju, Emocionalnost, Saradljivost, Savesnost i Otvorenost. Dalje, merene su dve dodatne dispozicije koje su konceptualno povezane sa psihopatijom i kriminalitetom: šizotipija, dispozicija ka doživljavanju iskustava nalik psihotičnim, operacionalizovana preko konstrukta Dezintegracije (merena instrumentom DELTA10) i Amoralnost, crta koja ispituje uže tendencije ka amoralnom i antisocijalnom ponašanju (ispitana upitnikom AMORAL9). Najzad, u istraživanju su prikupljene i dve mere pomoću računarski administriranih testova: 1. Test kockanja, koji ispituje tendecije ka impulsivnom rizikovanju bazirane na disfunkcijama orbitofrontalnih zona korteksa prefrontalnog korteksa i 2. Test implicitnih asocijacija koji je ispitivao implicitne afektivne asocijacije na vizuelne stimuluse koje karakteriše nasilje. Kriminalni recidiv je evidentiran pomoću informacija o broju krivičnih dela, pravnosnažnih presuda i broju boravaka u institucijama kazneno-popravnog tipa. Rezultati su pokazali da postoji niska do umerena pozitivna korelacija izmeĎu psihopatskih crta merenih različitim metodama ali da je prisutan nedostatak kongruencije kada je u pitanju crta Interpersonalnog stila (manipulativnost, prevrtljivost, iskorišćavanje drugih): ove dve mere su ortogonalne. Nedostatak kongruence je objašnjen složenošću rejting mere Interpersonalnog stila: ona u sebi sadrži i adaptivne karakteristike, ali predstavlja i pro-kriminalnu dispoziciju koja utiče na stabilnost prestupništva. Dakle, ovi nalazi pokazuju da endogene psihopatske crte ličnosti merene pomoću rejting metode poseduju i adaptibilne potencijale koji mogu potpomoći psihološko funkcionisanje. Ova složenost ne postoji kod istovetne crte merene samoprocenom. Razlika izmeĎu mera psihopatije je vidljiva i u odnosima sa drugim konstruktima: sa ličnošću su uglavnom povezane mere samoprocenjene psihopatije, dok rejting mere znatno više asociraju sa kriminalnim recidivom. Opis psihopatije pomoću bazičnih crta je saglasan sa prethodnim istraživanjima: ona se bazira na nisko izraženim dimenzijama Poštenja-Skromnosti, Emocionalnosti, Saradljivosti i Savesnosti, uz dodatak visoko izražene Dezintegracije i Amoralnosti. Rezultati nisu potvrdili sposobnosti Testa kockanja da predvidi recidiv, niti njegove asocijacije sa psihopatijom. Sa druge strane, postignuće na IAT testu se pokazalo kao važno za razumevanje odreĎenih personalnih dispozicija ali i stabilnosti kriminalnog ponašanja: slabija sposobnost generisanja negativnih emocija kao reakcija na nasilne stimuluse se zasniva na sadistički moduliranim šizotipalnim disfunkcijama i u stanju je da predvidi penalni recidiv kod ispitanika. Dakle, rezultati istraživanja su omogućili preciznije razumevanje crte Interpersonalnog stila, odnosno njene dvostruke prirode; proširili su i produbili znanje o odnosima izmeĎu psihopatije, bazičnih crta ličnosti, šizotipije i Amoralnosti; omogućili uvid u asocijacije implicitnog procesiranja stimulusa koje karakteriše nasilje sa sadizmom i penalnim recidivom i u praktičnom smislu ponudili nove mere koje bi mogle da obogate metodološku bateriju za procenu rizika od kriminalnog recidiva.In this research, psychopathy is viewed in the wider context of measurement methods, and the relationships with the basic personality traits, as well as with a stable criminal behavior. The aim of the study was to obtain more precise information about the relationships of psychopathy measured by different methods, personality and criminal recidivism in a population of institutionalized offenders. The study included 156 male subjects (average age 34.7 years , SD = 9.85), who were serving their sentence in two penal institutions in Serbia at the time of the data collecting. Psychopathy was measured using a self-report (SRP3 questionnaire) and a rating method, based on the interviews and information from the offenders' files (PCL -R scale). HEXACO-PI-R inventory was used for the exploration of the participants' personality traits. It measures six broad domains of personality: Honesty- Humility, Extraversion, Emotionality, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Openness. Furthermore, two additional dispositions that are conceptually related to psychopathy and criminality were measured: schizotipy, a disposition toward psychotic-like experiences operationalized by the construct of Disintegration (and measured with DELTA10 inventory) and Amorality, a trait that refers to the more narrow tendencies toward amoral and antisocial behavior (explored via AMORAL9 questionnaire). Finally, two measures based on computer-administered tests were also collected in this study: 1. Gambling Task, which examines a tendency toward impulsive risk taking, based on the dysfunctions of the orbitofrontal area of prefrontal cortex and 2. Implicit Association Test, which examined implicit affective associations to the visual stimuli characterized by violence. Criminal recidivism was registered by taking several types of information from the offenders' personal files: information on the number of offenses, lawful sentences that participants have and the number of prison sentences (penal recidivism) that respondents had already served. The results showed that there is a low to moderate positive correlation between psychopathic traits measured by different methods, but there is a lack of congruence when it comes to the Interpersonal psychopathic style (manipulative behavior, glibness and superficial charm, taking advantage of others): these two measures of psychopathy are orthogonal. The lack of congruence is explained by the complexity of the rating measure of Interpersonal style: it contains adaptive features, but it is also a pro-criminal disposition that affects the stability of delinquency. Thus, these findings suggest that endogenous psychopathic personality traits measured by the rating method of PCL-R, possess an adaptable potentials that can facilitate psychological functioning. This complexity does not exist with identical traits measured by selfreport. The difference between the measures of psychopathy is evident in relations with other constructs: self-reported measures of psychopathy are related to personality traits to a higher degree, while rating measures are significantly more associated with criminal recidivism. Description of psychopathy using the basic personality traits is consistent with previous research: it is based on the low pronounced dimensions of Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, with the addition of highly expressed Disintegration and Amorality. The results did not confirm the ability of Gambling Task to predict the stability of criminal behavior, nor its association with psychopathy. On the other hand, the performance on the IAT test proved to be important for the understanding of certain personality dispositions and criminal recidivism: weaker ability to generate negative emotions in response to violent stimuli is based on sadistically modulated schizotypal dysfunctions and is able to predict penal recidivism in offenders. Therefore, the results have enabled a more precise understanding of the features of Interpersonal style and its dual nature; they have expanded and deepened knowledge about the relationship between psychopathy, basic personality traits, schizotypy and Amorality; provided some insight into the association of implicit processing of stimuli that are characterized by violence with sadism and penal recidivism; and in practical terms, offered new measures that could enrich the methodological battery for the assessment of the risk of criminal relapse