Journal
SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY
Volume 46, Issue 6, Pages 473-480Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00127-010-0212-4
Keywords
Psychopathy; Violence; Public health; Population survey
Categories
Funding
- Department of Health (England)
- National Institute of Health Research
- National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR) [RP-PG-0407-10500] Funding Source: National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR)
- National Institute for Health Research [RP-PG-0407-10500] Funding Source: researchfish
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background The public health impact of psychopathy on violence has not previously been measured in the general population. Methods Psychopathy was measured using the Psychopathy Checklist:Screening Version (PCL:SV) in adults 16-74 years (n = 638) in households in England, Scotland and Wales in a two-phase survey which included self-reported measures of violence. Results Participants with PCL:SV scores 11 or above demonstrated a prevalence of 2.1% (95% CI 1.2, 3.8) but accounted for 18.7% of violent incidents, a population-attributable risk of 16.6%, and demonstrated an exponential rise in reported violent incidents. Psychopathic traits correlated with victim injury, multiple victim subtypes and locations. Conclusions Psychopathy makes a substantial impact on violence among the general population despite a low prevalence. Explanations of this association include interpersonal difficulties due to psychopathic traits, fearlessness, thrill seeking, and antisocial lifestyle, but not impulsivity independent of antisocial lifestyle.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available