Toxic Relationships: The Experiences and Effects of Psychopathy in Romantic Relationships

Abstract

Limited research exists on the impact of psychopathy within romantic relationships. We examined mental and physical health consequences reported by intimate partners of individuals with psychopathic traits. Additionally, we explored whether psychopathy severity and coping impacted the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms. Four hundred fifty-seven former and current intimate partners of individuals with psychopathic traits were recruited from online support groups. Victims reported a variety of abusive experiences and various negative symptomatology involving emotional, biological, behavioral, cognitive, and interpersonal consequences. Psychopathy severity and maladaptive coping were significantly related to increased PTSD and depression, while adaptive coping was only related to decreased depression. Regression analyses revealed that experiencing many forms of victimization predicted increased PTSD and depression symptoms. Examining the specific consequences experienced by intimate partners of individuals with psychopathic traits can aid the development of individualized treatment interventions aimed at symptom mitigation, recovery, and prevention of future victimization.

All Walks of Life: Editorial for the Special Issue on “The Impact of Psychopathy: Multidisciplinary and Applied Perspectives”

“…An important focus for future research may thus be to investigate the mediators and moderators of these impacts. Chief examples from the present Special Issue are that buffering factors can reduce the detrimental effects of psychopathy on others (e.g., as in the case of coping; Forth et al, 2022), providing some hope that fostering individual and environmental resilience is effective-if not in targeting psychopathy directly-in reducing its negative impact. Another example is from Fanti et al (2021), who showed that the impact of maternal psychopathic traits (specifically, impulsive irresponsibility traits) on adolescent offspring's psychopathology was mainly exerted indirectly through the mediating role of maternal antisocial behavior.…”

“…A common theme that emerged across several papers was that psychopathic traits can interfere significantly with the quality of interpersonal relationships, invoking not only physical but also psychological harm on close others. For instance, Forth et al (2022) reported increased post-traumatic and depressive symptoms related to the level of psychopathic traits in an intimate partner; and Uzieblo et al (2022) described reductions in the overall perceived quality of intimate relationships when one partner has heightened psychopathic traits. These findings may not surprise, but these psychological harms represent important, under-demonstrated impacts that can manifest as a result of heightened psychopathic traits.…”

“…For instance, Rojas and Olver (2022) reported that overall levels of psychopathy—as assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version—predicted non-sexual violent, general violent, and any other recidivism, as well as treatment noncompletion. Additionally, Forth et al (2022) found that perpetrators’ psychopathic traits measured with an informant-report version of the Self-Report Psychopathy scale were related to increased post-traumatic and depressive symptoms in survivors of abusive relationships with psychopathic individuals. In contrast, papers that considered dimensions of the disorder tended to offer more granular insights into potential underlying mechanisms.…”

“…To this end, while only two of the papers included in the Special Issue focused on forensic samples (and more specifically on treatment and recidivism; Polaschek et al, 2021 ; Rojas & Olver, 2022 ), all 10 papers have nonetheless offered a clear focus on the detrimental impacts that individuals with psychopathic traits can impart within society. Indeed, included manuscripts focused on the impact of psychopathy within romantic relationships (in both middle and older adulthood; Andersen et al, 2022 ; Forth et al, 2022 ; Uzieblo et al, 2022 ), within parent-child dyads ( Fanti & Lordos, 2022 ; Kuay et al, 2022 ), within the workplace ( Kranefeld et al, 2022 ; Stewart et al, 2022 ), and within society at large ( Jurjako et al, 2022 ). Across these studies, the significant, detrimental impact that individuals with heightened psychopathic traits impart is highlighted, not only for their victims, but also for their family, friends, and colleagues.…”

Why might psychopathy develop? Beyond a protective function: a commentary on Zara et al. (2023)

“…For instance, how might an adaptive function of protection and/or exploitation relate to gender and how might this inform the construct of psychopathy across gender (Strand et al , 2016)? Because males and females differ in the reproductive challenges they face (Buss, 2017), it may be important to examine how sexual and relationship factors are involved in adaptive perspectives of psychopathy across gender (Forth et al , 2022). As mentioned above, it would be useful to incorporate how adaptive perspectives inform the debate on offending behavior and psychopathy (Boduszek et al , 2021; Cooke et al , 2012).…”