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Psychopathy and Violence

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The Complexity of Psychopathy

Abstract

Psychopathy is well-established as a risk-factor and predictor of violent and aggressive behavior. Psychopathic individuals, though an estimably small portion of the population, comprise a large portion of all violent crime committed. Psychopathic individuals display not only criminal versatility, but versatility in their approaches to violent and aggressive behavior. This chapter argues that understanding the association between the distinct facets of psychopathy and types of violent behavior and the mechanisms linking psychopathy to violence, and further establishing evidence-based strategies for men and women, should be a global public health priority in order to effectively break the psychopathy-violence link. Within this chapter, the similarities and differences of violent and aggressive behavioral outcomes, their distinct relations to the construct of psychopathy, implications, and recommendations for future research are explored.

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Thomson, N.D., Kevorkian, S., Verdugo-Thomson, A.A. (2022). Psychopathy and Violence. In: Vitale, J.E. (eds) The Complexity of Psychopathy. Dangerous Behavior in Clinical and Forensic Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83156-1_5

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