Adverse Childhood Experiences in Relation to Psychopathy
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Authors
Mahoney, Allie
Issue Date
2024-04-04
Type
Language
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Abstract
"Psychopathic behavior seems to pique the interest of many researchers throughout time. Not only is the context of the psychopathic behavior interesting, but also the explanations behind it. Being able to understand what leads an individual to engage in deviant behavior may be able to better help researchers manage the behavior before it affects those around them. This research examines the relationship between adverse childhood experiences in relation to psychopathy within a sample of U.S. undergraduate college students. The stress undergraduate college students face can be related to their previous childhood experiences. Research conducted in 2013, (Mersky et al., 2013), emphasizes that there is a relationship between adverse childhood experiences on health, mental health, and substance use within early childhood. Other research suggests that there is a relationship between adverse childhood experiences and psychopathic features amongst university students, (Karatekin, 2018). A survey was used to assess an undergraduate student's Adverse Childhood Experiences score. The DAST10, a drug abuse screening test was used to assess an undergraduate’s experiences with substances. The final scale used within this study was the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale, used to assess psychopathic behaviors. Data was collected through Qualtrics and promoted through social media platforms for undergraduate students to complete.
Correlation and regression analyses will be used to examine variables of interest. It is expected that adverse childhood experiences are related to both increased substance use and psychopathic traits in undergraduate students. Furthering this research may better help researchers prevent psychopathic behavior before it harms the individual or others around them."