Clarifying the association between psychopathy dimensions and internalizing symptoms in two community samples: The role of general personality

Publication date: 1 September 2019Source: Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 147Author(s): Shauna M. Bowes, Ashley L. Watts, William W. Thompson, Scott O. LilienfeldAbstractResearch suggests that the Boldness and Disinhibition traits of psychopathy are negatively and positively related to internalizing, respectively. Although the associations between psychopathy and internalizing are relatively well-demonstrated, few studies have examined the specificity of these associations with psychopathy as opposed to general personality. We sought to replicate and extend existing research by examining the relationships between multiple conceptualizations of psychopathy and internalizing (depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, anger) in two community samples (N1 = 430; N2 = 441). We also investigated (a) the contributions of general personality, (b) the possibility that Boldness traits are statistically protective against internalizing, and (c) gender differences in these relations. Consistent with prior research, boldness traits were negatively associated with internalizing, whereas Disinhibition traits were positively associated; Meanness traits were largely unrelated. General personality traits accounted for the majority of the relationships between psychopathy and internalizing, although Disinhibition traits were unique correlates of internalizing above-and-beyond general personality. We did not find robust evidence that Boldness buffers Disinhibition's ...
Source: Personality and Individual Differences - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research