NCJ Number
221327
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2008 Pages: 48-55
Date Published
January 2008
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The study evaluated the relationship between four dimensions of psychopathy (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial) and full-scale intelligence (FIQ) in males detained in a Texas county jail.
Abstract
The findings, when taken together with recent Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) studies on psychopathy and intelligence, suggest that it is advantageous to represent psychopathy in terms of four correlated dimensions rather than a global psychopathy factor. Failure to do so will likely continue to result in null findings as the differential relationships between the psychopathy factors and IQ cancel each other out. The interpersonal and antisocial facets of psychopathy had positive associations with intellectual functioning, whereas the affective and lifestyle facets had negative associations with IQ. The interpersonal factor is made up of items reflecting superficiality, grandiosity, and deceitfulness and is associated with higher levels of intellectual functioning; in contrast, the affective facet is linked to callousness and lack of empathy and ultimately was negatively related to IQ. The relationship between the lifestyle factor and IQ is more straightforward. Lower IQ has long been related to impulsive behavior, and the lifestyle factor is intimately tied to impulsivity. Intellectual deficits might be primarily related to impulsivity, rather than to antisocial behavior; limited IQ results in poor inhibitory capacity, which in turn leads to antisocial conduct. There is a positive relationship between the interpersonal factor and intelligence; individuals with specific psychopathic traits have good intelligence. Participants consisted of 100 male inmates detained at a county jail in northern Texas, and ranging in age from 18 to 51, who were incarcerated for a variety of criminal offenses ranging from misdemeanors to felonies carrying potential life sentences. Limitations are detailed. Table, figure, references