Female Psychopaths
General Overview
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“Can women have strong psychopathic traits?”
The answer is – yes. A woman can have an emotional processing disorder that is reflected in disturbed character, emotions, morals, and attachment abilities ~ Psychopathy.
Cluster B personality disorders are present across both genders.
Psychopathy is suspected to be more common among males, however females can have symptoms of the disorder as well. The condition can be demonstrated differently from what we find within the male population.
“… it may be that conceptualizations of psychopathy are characterized by an overreliance on masculine experiences and expressions of the disorder (e.g., other-directed violence) and have failed to adequately capture experiences that best represent psychopathy in women.” (Sprague, 2012 p. 4).”
Non-psychopathic women tend to focus more on relationships (intimate and community) and this same pattern has been found amongst some psychopathic women as well. Learn more about female psychopaths in the video above. We summarize recent research findings and describe common behaviors within this group.
References Go
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References
Aharoni E, Sinnott-Armstrong W, and Kiehl K. (2012). Can psychopathic offenders discern moral wrongs? A new look at the moral/conventional distinction. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. May; 121(2): 484–497.
Charles NE, Acheson A, Mathias CW, Michael F., and Dougherty DM. (2012). Psychopathic traits and their association with adjustment problems in girls. Behavioral Sciences and the Law. Sep-Oct; 30(5): 631-42.
Hicks BM, Vaidyanathan U, and Patrick CJ. (2010). Validating female psychopathy subtypes: Differences in personality, antisocial and violent behavior, substance abuse, trauma, and mental health. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, & Treatment. 1:38–57.
Muñoz, L.C., Khan, R., and Cordwell, L. (2011). Sexually coercive tactics used by university students: A clear role for primary psychopathy. Journal of Personality Disorders. Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 28-40.
Sprague J, Javdani S, Sadeh N, Newman J, and Verona E. (2012). Borderline personality disorder as a female phenotypic expression of psychopathy? Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, Vol 3(2), Apr, 127-139.
Warren JI, Burnette ML, South SC, Chauhan P, Bale R, Friend R, and Van Patten I. (2003). Psychopathy in women: Structural modeling and comorbidity. International Journal of Law & Psychiatry. May-Jun; 26(3): 223-42.
Wynn R, Høiseth M, and Pettersen G. (2012). Psychopathy in women: Theoretical and clinical perspectives. International Journal of Women’s Health. 4, 257–263.
Yildirim B. and Derksen J. (2012). A review on the relationship between testosterone and the interpersonal/affective facet of psychopathy, Psychiatry Res. (May),Volume 197, Issue 3, Pages 181-198.