Interpersonal and Affective Traits of Psychopathy in Child Sexual Abusers: Evidence from a Pilot Study Sample of Italian Offenders

It has been demonstrated that psychopathy is a crucial construct for the understanding of criminal and violent behavior. However, research on psychopathic traits among child sexual abusers is still scant. In this study, the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised was used to assess psychopathy in a group of 87 Italian, male inmates who were convicted of violent crimes. Child sexual abusers (N = 23) scored higher on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised interpersonal-affective factor compared to participants who did not perpetrate child sexual abuse. Notably, child sexual abusers showed a very high average score on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised affective dimension; furthermore, they showed high scores on the two Psychopathy Checklist-Revised items excluded from its two factors-four facets structure (i.e., the items denoting devaluation of intimate relationships). The results of this study may positively inform the development of treatment strategies for child sexual abusers.