VICTIMIZATION IN CHILDHOOD AND THE DISPLAY OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN PSYCHOPATHY IN ADULTHOOD

Abstract

Previous research suggests that childhood victimization is associated with an increased risk of antisocial behavior and psychopathic characteristics. Hence, this study's aim was to replicate this previous research with a sample of college students, to show that severity of childhood maltreatment is associated with more antisocial behavior and psychopathic characteristics in young adulthood. More specifically, this study utilized a retrospective self-report survey to assess the association between child abuse and neglect on antisocial behavior and psychopathy in young adulthood. Results indicated that childhood victimization was not significantly associated with antisocial behavior or psychopathy among a sample of young adults enrolled in college, thus not supporting the main study hypotheses. However, results did suggest that men tend to report more symptoms of antisocial behavior than women, supporting previous research examining gender differences. Future studies should look at the potential mediating and moderating factors that may influence these higher patterns of risk for victims of childhood maltreatment in order to inform intervention programs that target such victims in efforts to reduce rates of antisocial behavior and psychopathic characteristics, which end up being very costly to society.