Linking childhood adversity to psychopathic traits and empathy in incarcerated women: the role of executive functioning and emotional processing

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with emotional dysregulation and antisocial behavior, yet the pathways linking early adversity to psychopathic traits in women remain insufficiently understood. This study examined how ACEs relate to psychopathic traits in incarcerated women, based on theoretically derived hypotheses, by analyzing associations with executive functioning (EF), emotional processing (EP), and affective versus cognitive empathy in a sample of 164 incarcerated women (Mage = 38.75 years, SDage= 11.99). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test hypothesized relationships. ACEs were associated with higher EF and lower emotional valence and dominance, but not with arousal. EF was associated with fewer EP difficulties, which, in turn, showed a marginal positive association with higher psychopathic traits. Psychopathy was linked to reduced affective, but not cognitive empathy. The findings provide tentative support for the regulatory mechanisms linking early adversity to psychopathic traits and seem consistent with adaptive recalibration perspectives. Specifically, the results suggest that ACEs may be associated with relatively preserved cognitive functioning alongside emotional constraints; however, a substantial variance remains unexplained. These findings should be interpreted with caution and underscore the need for further research to clarify sex-specific pathways connecting early adversity and psychopathy.