Journal
SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 18, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad016
Keywords
self-concept; antisocial behavior; psychopathy; fMRI
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Self-concept is influenced by social experiences, and the neural and behavioral development of self-concept in individuals with a history of antisocial behavior is not well understood. This study examined neural responses to self-evaluations in young adults with a history of antisocial behavior and found a negative association between current psychopathic traits and prosocial self-concept and medial prefrontal cortex activity during self-evaluation.
Self-concept is shaped by social experiences, but it is not yet well understood how the neural and behavioral development of self-concept is influenced by a history of antisocial behavior. In this pre-registered study, we examined neural responses to self-evaluations in young adults who engaged with antisocial behavior in childhood and either desisted or persisted in antisocial behavior. A self-concept task was performed by 94 young adults (age range 18-30 years). During the task, participants with a persistent or desistent antisocial trajectory (n = 54) and typically developing young adults (n = 40) rated whether positive and negative traits in different domains (prosocial and physical) described themselves. We examined both the effects of a history of antisocial behavior as well as current heterogeneity in psychopathic traits on self-concept appraisal and its neural underpinnings. Participants endorsed more positive trait statements than negative across domains, which did not differ between antisocial-history groups. However, current psychopathic traits were negatively associated with prosocial self-concept and medial prefrontal cortex activity during self-evaluation. Together, these findings suggest that antisocial tendencies might indeed be reflected in self-concept development of young adults, specifically in the prosocial domain.
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