People who reported suffering from betrayal trauma in childhood were more likely to exhibit psychopathic and callous traits in adulthood, according to a new study.Dissociative experiences were found to mediate this association. . This research Journal of Trauma and Dissection.
Psychopathy is often made up of a series of behavioral traits that are observed together in an individual. These are severe and chronic antisocial behaviors, lack of empathy, bold and disinhibited behaviors, paired with attractive but exploitative behaviors. So far, we have mainly focused on the antisocial behavior that characterizes psychopaths. It was usually studied in prisoners and individual samples registered or processed by the criminal justice system. However, psychopathic personality traits are present to varying degrees across populations.
Recently, the focus of research has shifted to successful individuals who exhibit psychopathic traits, so-called “successful psychopaths”. Researchers have found that individuals with psychopathic traits who are able to adapt effectively to social norms and have better control over their antisocial impulses and overall behavior can avoid incarceration and achieve greater career success. I am proposing.
A more recent contribution describes primary psychosis, which is believed to be influenced primarily by biological and genetic factors, and secondary psychosis, which is believed to be the result of unresolved emotional conflicts and trauma. are distinguished. The main characteristic of primary psychopaths is callousness, whereas secondary psychopaths are characterized by impulsive and antisocial behavior.
Research author Alexandria Gravois Kathy Becker-Blease wanted to explore the childhood factors that lead to secondary psychopathy in adulthood. They proposed that the trauma of childhood betrayal could lead to emotional numbness and dissociation, which in time could lead to the development of secondary psychopathic traits.
“The topic arose from a conversation I had when I first met co-author Dr. Kathy Becker-Bries,” explained Grabois, an assistant professor at California State University, San Marcos. “I was completing my external training as a counselor at Oregon State University when I reached out to Dr. We talked about opportunities to use community sample datasets came up in our conversations.”
“At the time, I was attending a seminar with Dr. Jennifer Freid at the University of Oregon and was under the clinical supervision of Dr. Pamela Birrell, who described the trauma of betrayal and the blindness of betrayal. An amazing woman who coined words. Therefore, the opportunity to contribute to research in this area was very exciting. ”
Betrayal trauma refers to traumatic experiences caused by caregivers or loved ones. This type of trauma is specific. This is because survival instincts tend to cause individuals to stop interacting and move away from harmful individuals. However, in betrayal trauma, children are unable to stop these interactions because they depend on their caregivers for their basic needs and survival itself.
Thus, children can react to traumatic events by becoming emotionally numb or losing their memory of the event (amnesia). Able to withstand trauma but maintain relationships with dependent caregivers (who hurt them).
“Many experiences and behaviors that quickly become pathological in adults, including dissociation and callousness, may be the reason why they were able to survive the traumatic early childhood experience of betrayal,” Grabowa explained.
“Based on Dr. Becker Brees’ previous work in the field of trauma and psychopathy, using dissociation as a potential survival mechanism helps explain the relationship between early trauma and psychopathic traits in adulthood. “A lot of the research on trauma and psychopathy has focused on individuals involved in the criminal justice system, so these same links exist in community samples,” she continued. I also wanted to check whether
These researchers analyzed data from the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample. This is a longitudinal study designed to measure personality traits and symptoms of various psychiatric disorders, as well as other factors. Data were collected from a total of 746 participants at his three time points from 1997 to 2006. -report psychopath scale).
Researchers tested a statistical model that childhood betrayal trauma not only directly affects adulthood psychopathy, but indirectly affects psychopaths by causing dissociation. Dissociation in this context refers to the release from processing emotional information, leading to the development of emotional numbness and callous unemotional traits.
This has been proposed as a mechanism to help children protect their psychological integrity from harm caused by the person they depend on (caregiver/close person). Dissociative assessment also includes measures of amnesia.
Although the results showed that such a model of the relationship between these factors is indeed possible, the link between childhood behavioral trauma and psychopathy is an indirect one achieved through dissociation. It’s just
The researchers tested yet another statistical model and proposed that the trauma of childhood betrayal leads to the formation of callous and apathetic traits in adulthood, both directly and through dissociation. supported the possibility of both a direct effect of trauma on the formation of callous and apathetic traits in adulthood and an indirect effect through dissociation.
“Our study found that childhood traumatic experiences of betrayal tended to predict the development of certain traits associated with psychopaths, such as callousness and interpersonal manipulation,” Grabowa told PsyPost. “We also found that adult experiences of dissociation help explain why people with a history of childhood betrayal and trauma develop these traits.
“Experiencing the trauma of being betrayed as a child does not automatically lead to the development of traits associated with psychopathy, and it is important to remind people that even if they do become psychopaths, they should be demonized. As a society, we hope that these coping mechanisms likely help these individuals to survive and thrive. We need to collectively find ways to intervene as soon as possible to try to understand and help these survivors find other ways to heal and move forward.”
There were slightly more women than men in the sample (58%). Most of the participants were college educated (84%) and almost all were white (98.4%).
“I think the idea of privilege was a story not told in this study,” Gravois said. “Again, while many studies on psychopaths focus on participants involved in the criminal justice system, our sample consisted primarily of white, middle-class homeowners. .”
“While we do not know if these individuals had a prior criminal justice system history, some of the sample supported prior criminal behavior (previous arrest, shoplifting, theft, assault). , suggests the existence of “successful psychopaths” characterized by charming and charismatic, yet deceitful and empathetic individuals. People from more privileged backgrounds who develop these more prosocial behaviors may be better able to camouflage their socially unacceptable behaviors to avoid involvement in the criminal justice system. There is something to consider. ”
This study sheds light on the link between adverse childhood experiences and psychopathic traits in adulthood. However, there are also limitations that need to be taken into account. Notably, all assessments were based on self-reports. In addition, assessments of childhood betrayal trauma were obtained retrospectively. That is, adult participants provided them based on their childhood memories. These memories are not always accurate representations of childhood events.
“We also want the reader to understand the relatively low level of psychopathic traits in this study, so our findings may not apply to people diagnosed with psychopathic-related disorders.” Grabowa added.
“One of the concepts we indirectly explored in our research was the idea of ’primary’ versus ‘secondary’ psychopaths. Primary psychopaths are influenced by biological/genetic factors (inborn) and secondary psychopaths are generated by environmental exposure. factors such as trauma. Since this study is primarily concerned with secondary psychopaths (trauma affecting psychopathic traits), we ask whether and how genetic risk factors into this equation. would be interesting. ”
the study, “Acquisition of Psychopathy and Callous Traits: Investigating the Effects of Childhood Betrayal Trauma and Adult Dissociation Experiences in a Community Sample‘ was written by Alexandria Grabois and Cathy Becker Breeze.
