Psychopathic Traits, Antisocial Behavior, and Maladaptive Beliefs of Young Adults

Abstract: Psychopathy, as conceptualized by the dimensional approach, is a set of disruptive personality traits, such as lack of empathy or irresponsibility that can negatively impact several dimensions of people’s life, including in young adults. However, the relationship between psychopathic traits, antisocial behaviors, and maladaptivity at this age remains poorly understood. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to understand the impact of psychopathic traits, as assessed by dimensional measures such as the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), on maladaptive beliefs and antisocial behaviors in young adults (18–35 years old). Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic search was conducted in three electronic databases: EBSCOhost, PubMed, and Web of Science, in October 2022. Fifteen studies were selected from 1,096 retrieved studies, and 6 additional ones after manual research. Published between 2011 and 2022, the studies had to include maladaptive beliefs and/or antisocial behaviors in young adults within a dimensional approach to psychopathy. The year of publication, country of origin and authors, objectives, sample data (e.g., mean age), instruments used, results, and main conclusions were extracted from each study. Regarding results, the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure, which is easy to use and understand, was the most used instrument to assess psychopathic traits. Highly psychopathic traits appear to be strongly and positively associated with antisocial behavior, an association that can be mediated by maladaptive beliefs. Future research should focus, for instance, on studies carried out based on a categorical perspective of psychopathy.