NCJ Number
57503
Date Published
1978
Length
27 pages
Annotation
THE GENETIC INFLUENCES ON PSYCHOPATHIC BEHAVIOR AND THE RELATION BETWEEN SUCH BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY ARE NOTED IN SUPPORT OF A DIMENSIONAL RATHER THAN A CATEGORICAL APPROACH TO THE CLASSIFICATION OF PSYCHOPATHIC BEHAVIOR.
Abstract
THE DIMENSIONAL SYSTEM OF PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION AND DIAGNOSIS MAINTAINS THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN MAJOR PERSONALITY VARIABLES, INDEPENDENT OF EACH OTHER AND MOSTLY GENETICALLY DETERMINED, THAT CAN BE USED TOGETHER TO LOCATE A GIVEN PERSON AT A PARTICULAR POINT IN THIS MULTIDIMENSIONAL SPACE. PSYCHOPATHIC BEHAVIOR IS RELATED TO ALL THREE MAJOR PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS: PSYCHOTICISM, EXTRAVERSION AND NEUROTICISM. HYPOTHESES SUGGESTED BY RESEARCH UTILIZING THE DIMENSIONAL SYSTEM MAY BE SUMMARIZED AS FOLLOWS: (1) ANTISOCIAL, CRIMINAL, AND PSYCHOPATHIC BEHAVIOR IS INTIMATELY LINKED GENETICALLY WITH PSYCHOSES OF THE FUNCTIONAL VARIETY, AND THIS GENETIC PREDISPOSITION UNDERLIES 'PRIMARY PSYCHOPATHY'; (2) THE SOURCE OF 'SECONDARY PSYCHOPATHY' IS PROBABLY A COMBINATION OF LOW CORTICAL AROUSAL AND HIGH AUTONOMIC EXCITABILITY, LEADING TO ANTISOCIAL CONDUCT THROUGH FAILURE TO CONDITION SOCIAL APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL; (3) THESE GENETICALLY DETERMINED, PHYSIOLOGICAL PREDISPOSITIONS FIND THEIR PHENOTYPIC REPRESENTATION IN THE PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS OF EXTRAVERSION/INTROVERSION AND NEUROTICISM/STABILITY; (4) ANTISOCIAL, CRIMINAL, AND PSYCHOPATHIC BEHAVIOR IS MOST LIKELY TO BE FOUND IN THAT PART OF PERSONALITY SPACE GENERATED BY THE MAJOR PERSONALITY VARIABLES OF PSYCHOTICISM (P), EXTRAVERSION (E), AND NEUROTICISM (N), WHICH HAS HIGH POSITIVE VALUES FOR THESE DIMENSIONS; AND (5) THE GENERAL SHAPE OF THE 'PSYCHOPATHIC SPACE' POSTULATED IS LIKELY TO BE AN ELLIPSOID, WITH ITS FOCAL POINTS NEAR THE POSTULATED POSITIONS OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PSYCHOPATHY. THE MAJOR FINDINGS RELEVANT TO THESE HYPOTHESES INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING: (1) MAJOR PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS P, E, AND N CAN BE MEASURED BY MEANS OF QUESTIONNAIRES; (2) THESE DIMENSIONS ARE STRONGLY BASED ON GENETIC DETERMINANTS AND LINKED WITH ANTISOCIAL, CRIMINAL, AND PSYCHOPATHIC CONDUCT AT ALL AGES. (3) CRIMINAL CONDUCT IN ADULTS IS STRONGLY DETERMINED BY GENETIC FACTORS, PROBABLY ACTING THROUGH THE DIMENSIONS OF P, E, AND N; AND (4) RELATIONS OBSERVED BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR EXIST NOT ONLY IN CAPITALIST BUT ALSO IN COMMUNIST COUNTRIES AND THEREFORE ARE NOT A PRODUCT OF PARTICULAR SYSTEMS. TABULAR AND GRAPHIC DATA ARE PROVIDED, ALONG WITH REFERENCES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--KBL)