Relating sexual sadism and psychopathy to one another, non‐sexual violence, and sexual crime behaviors

Abstract

Sexual sadism and psychopathy have been theoretically, clinically, and empirically linked to violence. Although both constructs are linked to predatory violence, few studies have sought to explore the covariation of the two constructs, and even fewer have sought to conceptualize the similarities of violence prediction in each. The current study considered all four Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) facets and employed well-defined, validated measures of sadism to elucidate the relation between sadism and psychopathy, as well as to determine the role of each in the prediction of non-sexual violence and sexual crime behaviors. Study 1 assessed 314 adult, male sex offenders using archival ratings, as well as the self-report Multidimensional Inventory of Development, Sex, and Aggression (the MIDSA). Study 2 used archival ratings to assess 599 adult, male sex offenders. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of crime scene descriptions yielded four sexual crime behavior factors: Violence, Physical Control, Sexual Behavior, and Paraphilic. Sadism and psychopathy covaried, but were not coextensive; sadism correlated with Total PCL-R, Facet 1, and Facet 4 scores. The constructs predicted all non-sexual violence measures, but predicted different sexual crime behavior factors. The PCL-R facets collectively predicted the Violence and Paraphilic factors, whereas sadism only predicted the Violence factor.

Why psychopathy matters: Implications for public health and violence prevention

“…Moreover, this process would give rise to individuals prone to deriving intrinsic pleasure from inflicting violence (i.e., sadism). Indeed, studies have identified an association between psychopathy and sadistic traits in adolescents (Decety et al, 2009), college students (Buckels, Jones, & Paulhus, 2013), and adult murderers (Porter et al, 2003; Robertson & Knight, 2014). …”

Systematic mapping of forensic psychiatry: discovering evolution, trends and current priorities

“…Two dominant positions have been identified in the forensic literature concerning the personality profile of sexual offenders. In one viewpoint, Proulx and associates portray them as having schizoid and avoidant personalities (Knight & Prentky, 1990;Robertson & Knight, 2014). In another viewpoint, Knight and colleagues depict them as psychopathic and narcissistic (Beauregard et al, 2007;Proulx et al, 2014).…”

Paraphilias

“…An analysis of the correlation of sadism and Psychopathy Checklist scores revealed that sadism and psychopathy are covariate, but are not coextensive [23]. Sexual sadism and antisocial personality disorder are common among sexual homicide offenders.…”

“…Robertson and Knight [23] conducted an empirical analysis of criminal behaviours showing that sadism and psychopathy consistently predicted sexual and nonsexual violence. An analysis of the correlation of sadism and Psychopathy Checklist scores revealed that sadism and psychopathy are covariate, but are not coextensive [23].…”