To better understand the link between psychopathy and antisocial behavior: moderation by dispositional mindfulness

Jonathan Bronchain , Benoit Monié , Sophie Becquié , Henri Chabrol , Patrick Raynal (1)

1 CERPPS - Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches en Psychopathologie et Psychologie de la Santé

Background: Dispositional mindfulness deficits and psychopathic personality traits have been shown to be closely associated and independent predictors of antisocial behaviors in young adults. However, the interaction effects of these two factors have not yet been explored. The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of dispositional mindfulness and psychopathic traits to antisocial behaviors in a college student sample. Methods: Participants were 1572 students from different French universities who completed self-report questionnaires. Regression analyses were conducted in order to test a moderation model between psychopathic traits and antisocial behaviors. Results: Moderation analyses revealed that dispositional mindfulness interacted with psychopathic personality traits in predicting antisocial behaviors. In males with high levels of dispositional mindfulness, as psychopathic traits increased, antisocial behaviors increased less than in males with low levels of dispositional mindfulness. Conclusions: The present study suggests possible implications for prevention and treatment of antisocial behaviors among non-clinical young adults with relatively high psychopathic traits.

Keywords: dispositional mindfulness; antisocial behavior; psychopathic personality traits; psychopathy

Domains: Humanities and Social Sciences

Jonathan Bronchain, Benoit Monié, Sophie Becquié, Henri Chabrol, Patrick Raynal. To better understand the link between psychopathy and antisocial behavior: moderation by dispositional mindfulness. Psychopathology, 2019, 52 (3), pp.191-197. ⟨10.1159/000499663⟩. ⟨hal-03201644⟩