PSYCHOPATHY and ATTACHMENT 1 Clarifying the Associations
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Running Head: PSYCHOPATHY AND ATTACHMENT 1 Clarifying the Associations between Psychopathy and Attachment in Adult Non-Institutionalised Samples Elliott Christian February 2017 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology) at The Australian National University. © Copyright by Elliott Christian 2017 All Rights Reserved PSYCHOPATHY AND ATTACHMENT 2 Declaration of Contribution to Thesis I declare that the following thesis, which is composed of four manuscripts, is my own work. The research presented was conducted primarily under the supervision of Dr. Martin Sellbom and Dr. Ross Wilkinson. Their contributions to the manuscripts are acknowledged by their shared authorship for each of the manuscripts. Contributions from Dr. Sellbom and Dr. Wilkinson have included advice regarding the nature of the constructs investigated and their literatures, advice regarding statistical analyses, and comment regarding the drafted versions of the manuscripts. All writing and analyses were conducted by myself with the aforementioned guidance. While the nature of the ideas that began this thesis are my own, they have undoubted been influenced by my supervisors through our discussions. It should also be noted that as the manuscripts included in this thesis are in various stages of peer review, ideas from reviewers and editors have been incorporated into the manuscripts, though these ideas have not qualitatively altered the nature of the ideas originality presented. _____________________ Date: 9 February 2017 Elliott Christian ______________________ Date: 9 February 2017 Dr. Martin Sellbom PSYCHOPATHY AND ATTACHMENT 3 Acknowledgements There are a number of people I have to thank for helping me complete this project. First and foremost, my supervisor Dr. Martin Sellbom, who rejuvenated my thesis with guidance, advice and support. His contribution to my intellectual development has been immeasurable. Second, my supervisor Dr. Ross Wilkinson, who first introduced me to attachment theory and allowed me the freedom to explore it. Third, my partner Laura Jean King, whose support and dedication has been invaluable to me not only in my studies but in every aspect of my life. She has, and always will be, my centre. Fourth, my close friend Elizabeth Huxley, whose company and comments I have greatly appreciated. I consider our bond to have been forged in the fire of graduate studies. Finally, my family, in which I also include my partner’s family, who have all supported me in their own ways through this process, particularly my parents, who financially supported me. There is not enough that I could give to thank them. PSYCHOPATHY AND ATTACHMENT 4 Dedication To my partner, Laura Jean King, for your seemingly endless love and support. I could not have done this without you & To my grandfather and grandmother, Heric and Lorna Christian, who always encouraged my education, I wish you could have been here to see this. PSYCHOPATHY AND ATTACHMENT 5 Abstract Psychopathy is a personality construct characterised by a range of destructive and disruptive interpersonal behaviours, however, there is limited information regarding how this construct relates to behaviour within intimate social relationships. One theory which could be useful in understanding not only the interpersonal processes of psychopathy, but potentially its etiology, is attachment theory. While a small literature regarding the association between psychopathy and attachment has been developed in recent years, there have been a number of discrepancies between studies and a number of areas of attachment theory left unexplored. Across a series of studies we investigated the associations between psychopathy and general attachment styles, attachment styles in specific normative relationships (e.g., mother, father, romantic partner and friends), and the actual presence of attachment bonds in large, adult, non-institutionalised samples using self-report measures. In our results, we demonstrated that there are consistent associations between individual differences in attachment styles and psychopathy, which tend to differ depending on the attachment dimension, component of psychopathy or specific attachment relationship under consideration. We also found deficits in the presence of attachment bonds associated with psychopathy, as indicated by reports of less attachment behaviour within one’s intimate social network, smaller intimate social network size and differences in social network composition. While this finding is consistent with theoretical descriptions of psychopathy, the effect sizes were small. Overall, our results are supportive of the application of attachment theory to understand the interpersonal processes of psychopathy and provide preliminary support for further consideration of attachment theory in psychopathy’s etiology. Given that we only found limited deficits regarding the capacity to form an attachment bond, taken together, our results suggest that it may be more important to examine the quality of bonds formed in psychopathic individuals rather than the mere presence or absence of bonds. PSYCHOPATHY AND ATTACHMENT 6 Table of Contents Declaration of Contribution to Thesis…………………………………………………………2 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 3 Dedication .................................................................................................................................. 4 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Table of Contents………………………...……………………………………………………6 List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... 10 List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... 13 A Brief Note Regarding Formatting ........................................................................................ 14 General Introduction ................................................................................................................ 15 Psychopathy: Conceptualisation and Nomothetic Network ................................................. 16 Latent Factor Models in Incarcerated Populations ........................................................... 16 Non-Institutionalised Populations: Expansion and Latent Factor Models ....................... 18 Triarchic Theory of Psychopathy ..................................................................................... 21 Current Role of Relational Theories and Experiences in Psychopathy Research ............ 22 Attachment Theory: A Brief Background and Overview .................................................... 23 Individual Differences in Attachment .............................................................................. 25 Attachment in Adulthood ................................................................................................. 27 Context of Attachment Relationships ............................................................................... 31 Psychopathy and Attachment: Theoretical and Nomothetic Associations ....................... 32 Psychopathy and Individual Differences in General Attachment .................................... 36 Psychopathy and Individual Differences in Attachment in Specific Relationships ......... 39 Psychopathy and the Presence of Attachment Bonds ....................................................... 45 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 46 Aims of Doctorial Project ........................................................................................................ 48 Manuscript 1: Development and Validation of an Expanded Version of the Three-Factor ........ Levenson Self Report Psychopathy Scale................................................................................ 50 Foreword .............................................................................................................................. 50 Title Page.............................................................................................................................. 52 Abstract ................................................................................................................................ 53 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 49 Measurement of Psychopathy ........................................................................................... 49 Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale. ....................................................................... 55 This Study ......................................................................................................................... 59 PSYCHOPATHY AND ATTACHMENT 7 Study 1: Testing the feasibility of additional items.............................................................. 60 within the three-factor LSRP................................................................................................ 60 Method .............................................................................................................................. 60 Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................