The Integrated Psychosocial Model of Criminal Social Identity (IPM-CSI)

The integrated psychosocial model of criminal social identity attempts to synthesize, distil, and extend our knowledge and understanding of why people develop criminal social identity, with a particular focus on the psychological and social factors involved. We suggest that the development of criminal social identity results from a complex interplay of four important groups of psychosocial factors: (1) an identity crisis which results in weak bonds with society, peer rejection, and is associated with poor parental attachment and supervision; (2) exposure to a criminal/antisocial environment in the form of associations with criminal friends before, during, and/or after incarceration; (3) a need for identification with a criminal group in order to protect one’s self-esteem; and (4) the moderating role of personality traits in the relationship between criminal/antisocial environment and the development of criminal social identity. The model produces testable hypotheses and points to potential opportunities for intervention and prevention. Directions for future research are discussed

A Bifactorial Solution to the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version in a Sample of Civil Psychiatric Patients

Background There is considerable debate about the underlying factor structure of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV). An established view is that it reflects a unitary construct underpinned by two correlated factors. More recent research has, however, undermined this conceptualisation. Aims Our aim was to compare 10 competing models of the PCL: SV in a sample of civil psychiatric patients. Method Ten distinct factor models were specified and tested using conventional confirmatory factor analytic techniques, along with confirmatory bifactor modelling. Results A bifactor model, including two general factors (interpersonal–affective and antisocial–lifestyle), and four subordinate factors (interpersonal, affective, antisocial and lifestyle) provided the best fit to the data. The reliability of the conceptualisation was supported through the use of composite reliability, and the differential relationships exhibited between the general factors and measures of personality, impulsivity and mental health. Conclusions Our findings provide further weight to taking the two general psychopathy factors into account when interpreting the PCL: SV for clinical purposes

Psychopathy, Gang membership, And moral disengagement among juvenile offenders

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of psychopathy factors and gang membership on moral disengagement while controlling for age, ethnicity, having run away from home, family member and/or friend arrests, substance misuse, parental physical fights, violence exposure (victimization and witnessing), and maternal warmth and hostility. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on data collected from serious juvenile offenders (n=769) as part of the Pathways to Desistance Study. Findings – Six independent variables made a unique statistically significant contribution to the model: gang membership, age, gender, violence exposure, and psychopathy Factors 1 and 2. Psychopathy Factor 1 was the strongest predictor of moral disengagement. Originality/value – Results indicate that youth with heightened psychopathic traits make greater use of strategies to rationalize and justify their harmful behaviour against others. Implications in relation to theory and previous studies are discussed

Facets of Psychopathy in Relation to Trauma-Exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Symptomology in a Sample of Incarcerated Male Offenders

Purpose: The aim was to investigate the moderating role of psychopathy facets on the relationship between traumatic exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology. Design/methodology/approach: Participants were male prisoners incarcerated in the U.K. Findings: The analysis revealed differential associations between the two facets of psychopathy, with potentially traumatic events and symptoms of PTSD. Specifically, neither primary psychopathy nor trauma exposure were significantly related to PTSD, while secondary psychopathy was positively and significantly related with PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the effect of trauma exposure on PTSD was found to depend on the level of secondary psychopathy. More specifically, trauma exposure was strongly and positively associated with PTSD symptoms for low levels of secondary psychopathy and negatively associated with PTSD symptomology for individuals with high levels of secondary psychopathy. Originality/value: The findings clarify linkages among psychopathy facets, trauma, and PTSD, and extend our understanding of the presentation of PTSD in male prisoners

Gender Differences in Risk and Protective factors for Resolved Plans and Preparations for Suicide among University Students

Background. Identifying the psychological predictors of suicide risk is essential because these variables may be amenable to change in treatment, unlike demographic or historical factors. Aims. The aim of this study was to examine the predictors of past two-week suicidal ideation for males and females separately. Method. Participants were 1184 healthy adults who completed an online survey. Results. A significant association between suicidal ideation and gender was found, such that mean levels were significantly higher in females than males. Separate regression analyses accounted for significant amounts of variance in suicide ideation, 54% for males and 68% for females. Moreover, the analyses revealed that suicide resilience Factor 2 (Emotional Stability) was a protective factor for both males and females; however, defeat, goal disengagement, and depression were independently associated with suicide ideation in males but not females. By contrast, entrapment, perceived burdensomeness, and hopelessness Factor 3 (Future Expectations) were significant risk factors only in females. Conclusions. The findings have clinical and practical implications, which may guide future practice, and supports the notion of targeted prevention and intervention strategies

Comparison of person-centred and cumulative risk approaches in explaining the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and behavioural and emotional problems

Hales, G., Debowska, A., Rowe, R., Boduszek, D., & Levita, L., Comparison of person-centred and cumulative risk approaches in explaining the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and behavioural and emotional problems, Journal of Interpersonal Violence (Journal Volume Number and Issue Number) pp. xx-xx. Copyright © [2023] (The Author(s)). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) commonly co-occur, and researchers often estimate their impact using a cumulative risk approach. The person-centred approach offers another approach to operationalise the co-occurrence of ACEs. This study aims to estimate latent classes of ACEs in a sample of UK children, examine their relationship with emotional and behavioural problems, and compare the explanatory value of the latent classes to cumulative risk scores. Data were collected among a general population sample of British 10-year-old children extracted from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (N = 601). Seven items characterised ACEs, comprising parent-report physical discipline, emotional abuse, supervisory neglect, maternal psychological distress, and child-report parental educational disinterest, bullying victimisation, and adverse neighbourhood. Outcome measures were derived from the self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire including total difficulties, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, and prosocial behaviour. Latent class analysis resulted in a 3-class solution: low ACEs, household challenges, community challenges. Compared to the other classes, the community challenges class scored substantially worse on total difficulties, emotional symptoms, and peer subscales. The cumulative risk score was associated with all outcomes except prosocial behaviour. Cumulative risk models accounted for a larger proportion of variance compared with the latent class models, except for peer problems which the person-centred model explained better. This study confirms that ACEs are associated with impairment in child functioning, and that both person-centred and cumulative risk approaches can capture this relationship well. Specifically, the person-centred approach demonstrated how co-occurring risks factors in the community challenges class produced particularly poor internalising outcomes

Bidirectional Relationships Between Childhood Adversities and Psychosocial Outcomes: A Cross-Lagged Panel Study from Childhood to Adolescence

© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University PressChildhood adversities have been linked to psychosocial outcomes, but it remains uncertain whether subtypes of adversity exert different effects on outcomes. Research is also needed to explore the dynamic interplay between adversity and psychosocial outcomes from childhood to mid-adolescence. This study aimed to investigate these relationships and their role in shaping adolescent wellbeing. Data were extracted from three timepoints of the UK Household Longitudinal Survey when participants ( = 646) were aged 10-15. Cross-lagged panel models were used to explore the relationship between cumulative adversities, and separately non-household (i.e., bullying victimization and adverse neighborhood) and household (i.e., sibling victimization, quarrelsome relationship with parents, financial struggles, and maternal psychological distress) adversities, and psychosocial outcomes (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems, delinquency, and life satisfaction). Our results revealed that heightened cumulative adversity predicted psychosocial outcomes from childhood to mid-adolescence. Increased levels of household adversity predicted psychosocial outcomes throughout early to mid-adolescence, while non-household adversity only predicted psychosocial outcomes in early adolescence. Furthermore, worse psychosocial outcomes predicted higher levels of adversities during adolescence, highlighting bidirectionality between adversity and psychosocial outcomes. These findings underscore the varying impacts of adversity subtypes and the mutually reinforcing effects of adversities and psychosocial functioning from childhood to mid-adolescence.Economic and Social Research Council Grant (2100320

Links of adversity in childhood with mental and physical health outcomes: A systematic review of longitudinal mediating and moderating mechanisms

Hales, G. K., Saribaz, Z. E., Debowska, A., & Rowe, R., Links of adversity in childhood with mental and physical health outcomes: A systematic review of longitudinal mediating and moderating mechanisms, Trauma, Violence, and Abuse (Journal Volume Number and Issue Number) pp. xx-xx. Copyright © [2022] (The Authors). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with causes of early death, addiction, mental illness, and poor health. However, studies investigating underlying mechanisms often rely on cross-sectional data or inappropriate study designs. To prevent the negative sequelae associated with ACEs, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms underlying the prospective relationship. The aim of this present review was to provide a synthesis and critical evaluation of the literature regarding the mechanisms underlying this relationship. A search in SCOPUS, MedLine via Ovid, PsycINFO via Ovid, and Web of Science was performed. Studies that utilised a prospective design assessing ACEs in childhood or adolescence, outcomes in adulthood, and analysed either a mediating or moderating relationship were included, unless the study relied on informant report or official records to assess childhood maltreatment types of ACEs. Twenty-two studies examining a longitudinal mediation or moderation were included in a systematic review. A review of the studies found links to psychopathology, delinquent and problem behaviours, poor physical health, and poor socioeconomic outcomes. A clear image of underlying mechanisms is not forthcoming due to (a) poor study design in relation to assessing longitudinal mechanisms, and (b) heterogeneity in the adversities, mechanisms, and outcomes assessed. Based on the review, several gaps and limitations are highlighted and discussed

Can we use Hare’s psychopathy model within forensic and non-forensic populations? An empirical investigation

Although psychopathy construct (SRP-SF) was assessed among various samples, prior research did not investigate whether the model proposed by Hare and colleagues can be used to capture psychopathy scores derived from forensic and non-forensic populations. The main objective of the current study was to test dimensionality, construct validity, and factorial invariance of the SRP-SF within prison (N = 730) and student (N = 2,506) samples. Our results indicate that the SRP-SF measure cannot be used in the same way within forensic and non-forensic samples, which may be due to the inclusion of criminal/antisocial traits as an integral part of psychopathy

Gender Differences in Risk and Protective factors for Resolved Plans and Preparations for Suicide among University Students

Background. Identifying the psychological predictors of suicide risk is essential because these variables may be amenable to change in treatment, unlike demographic or historical factors. Aims. The aim of this study was to examine the predictors of past two-week suicidal ideation for males and females separately. Method. Participants were 1184 healthy adults who completed an online survey. Results. A significant association between suicidal ideation and gender was found, such that mean levels were significantly higher in females than males. Separate regression analyses accounted for significant amounts of variance in suicide ideation, 54% for males and 68% for females. Moreover, the analyses revealed that suicide resilience Factor 2 (Emotional Stability) was a protective factor for both males and females; however, defeat, goal disengagement, and depression were independently associated with suicide ideation in males but not females. By contrast, entrapment, perceived burdensomeness, and hopelessness Factor 3 (Future Expectations) were significant risk factors only in females. Conclusions. The findings have clinical and practical implications, which may guide future practice, and supports the notion of targeted prevention and intervention strategies