A new study examined the link between psychopaths’ psychological traits and their number of children.
- 4.5% of adults are psychopaths, according to a recent meta-analysis.
- Psychopathy is generally defined as “a type of personality disorder characterized, among other important characteristics, by the presence of behaviors that are in conflict with the social, moral or legal norms of society, giving rise in many cases to clearly criminal behavior.
- One study found that psychopathy was associated with having more children in men (but not women).
A new study examined the link between psychopathic traits and the number of children in a sample of adults. It found that psychopathy was associated with having more children in men, but not in women.
This research was published in the journal Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences.
Psychopath: what are his psychological traits?
To reach these conclusions, researchers Kristopher Brazil and Anthony Volk recruited 253 young men and 243 young women aged 24 to 35 to participate in an online survey. Participants were asked to provide demographic information such as their age, relationship status, and income. They were also asked to indicate the number of children they had, with response options ranging from zero to three or more children.
In addition to this, participants completed an abbreviated version of the Psychopathy Self-Assessment, which has 29 items rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). .
This measurement scale makes it possible to assess psychopathy in several aspects, including personal traits (for example, “I’ve pretended to be someone else to get something.”), affective characteristics (e.g., “I never feel guilty about hurting others”), lifestyle trends (e.g. “I like to do wild things”) and antisocial behavior (e.g., “I have ever broken into a building or vehicle to steal something or vandalize”).
Psychopathy is generally defined as “a type of personality disorder characterized, among other important characteristics, by the presence of behaviors that are in conflict with the social, moral, or legal norms of society, giving rise in many cases to clearly criminal behavior.”.
Why do psychopathic men have more children?
Results of the analysis of the data obtained: psychopathic traits of men, but not women, were associated with having more children. However, it should be noted that this study has some limitations. First, the researchers did not distinguish between biological children and children of previous partners. However, previous research has suggested that psychopathic men involved in the justice system may be more inclined to form relationships with women who already have offspring, which could influence the number of children observed. Additionally, the study was limited to a specific sample of young adults, which limits its generalizability to other age groups.
Although the exact reasons for this association between psychopathy and number of children in men remain to be explored, it is possible that certain psychopathic characteristics, such as self-confidence, manipulation and lack of guilt could explain this correlation.
About 4.5% of adults are psychopaths, according to a recent meta-analysis.
