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CROSS ETHNIC EXAMINATION OF PSYCHOPATHIC TRAITS AMONG
PAKISTANI INDIVIDUALS
DR. SHER DIL
Assistant Professor Department of Psychology Hazara University Mansehra
Pakistan ORCID 0000-0002-5165-5707 [email protected] 00923459588066
Abstract
As a forensic concept, psychopathy has received the greatest attention in the present century. Crime, hostility, violence, and personality traits are just a few of the areas that researchers have found psychopathy to be associated with. The purpose of the current research was to examine the link between psychopathy and ethnic diversity among young Pakistanis. Its secondary objective was to evaluate these factors considering demographic data (age, gender). This study used the demographics form and the Urdu Psychopathy Scale (Dil & Kazmi, 2016). Six hundred eighty-seven people were asked to participate. There are substantial disparities in the prevalence of psychopathy between the sexes. The results of an ANOVA test showed that there are statistically significant racial disparities in psychopathy.
Key Words: Psychopathy, Ethnic Differences, Gender Differences,
INTRODUCTION
According to Babiak and Hare (2006), psychopaths may be found in all walks of life, from CEOs to politicians to professors. Dutton (2012) noted that there are signs of a psychopath's presence in managerial and executive positions. Managers and CEOs have a larger risk of being labelled as psychopaths than the general population. He said that the success of so-called "functional psychopaths" may be attributed to their "disinterested," "unwavering," and "charismatic" dispositions. According to Ronson (2012), psychopaths may thrive in some careers more than others. This indicates that the more "psychopathic" they are, the better their chances of achieving their goals. Based on characteristics including callousness, lack of empathy, irresponsibility, and a propensity for reckless or illegal activity, Babiak et al. (2010) established the psychopathic concept. Interpersonal and emotional impairments, impulsivity, and a lack of regard for the rights of others and social norms were the criteria used by Neumann and Hare (2008) to operationalize psychopathy.
Psychopaths, say Halty and Prieto-Ursa (2015), commit a disproportionate share of the world's most heinous crimes. They harm society emotionally and socially in addition to physically. People from all walks of life are vulnerable to psychopaths. It is possible to find psychopaths among repeat criminals, drug traffickers, sexual offenders, scam artists, dishonest business owners, terrorist leaders, and religious figures.
Psychopathy was defined by Wynn, Hiseth, and Pettersen (2012) in terms of emotional characteristics like egocentrism, dull affect, lack of empathy, remorse, and guilt; interpersonal characteristics like carelessness, impulsiveness, arrogance, sense of grandiosity, and ability to manipulate; and behavioural characteristics like disregard for societal norms and rules, irresponsibility, scary, and fierce behaviour.
According to Edens et al. (2006), those with antisocial personality disorder were considered to have psychopathy while studying forensic samples. The existence of psychopathic tendencies in the general population was proposed by Edens et al. Studies with the general population, according to Ishikawa et al. (2010), have shown that psychopathic tendencies occur on a spectrum. According to Ishikawa et al., who analysed data from a community sample, unethical actions are correlated
with psychopathy. According to Bailey (2010), psychopaths are responsible for almost half of all violent crimes. A psychopath's damage may be both material and intangible. According to the research of Skeem et al. (2004), psychopathy is evident in both forensic and normative samples. Earlier, Neumann and Hare (2008) noted that psychopathy scales are applicable to many populations.
Ronson (2011 ) made the connection between psychopathy and criminality. He pointed out that although psychopathy affects just around 1% of the world's population overall, it affects 25% of the jail population and 4% of business CEOs. While these numbers provide credence to the idea that psychopathy and criminality are linked, further study is required to draw firm conclusions in this area.
Forouzan and Cooke found that psychopathic tendencies varied by gender. Behavior, interpersonal features, causal psychological processes, and social norms are four important areas in which disparities are most evident. They further contended that psychopathy manifested itself and interpersonal qualities manifested differently in people of different sexes. The data revealed that women were more likely to flirt, whereas males were more likely to perpetrate cons and fraud. Women who score high on the psychopathy scale are more likely to run away and engage in self-harming behaviours (as cited in Wynn et al. 2012). According to Harris et al. (2007), female criminals are more likely to engage in theft and fraud than their male counterparts, who are more likely to engage in violent crime. Women have been shown to have lower rates of criminal behaviour and to have scored lower on psychopathy assessments, as was noted by Carroll et al. (2010). (see also Penney & Moretti, 2007).
According to the findings provided by Dotterer (2014), there was no racial or ethnic difference in psychopathy scores. Core psychopathic qualities are not related to race, according to a meta-analysis conducted by Skeem, Edens, Camp, and Colwell (2004). In a similar vein, Zuckerman (2003) found no ethnic variations in psychopathy- and sensation-seeking-related personality characteristics. Lynn (2002), on the other hand, found that the prevalence of psychopathy varied significantly among racial groups, with African-Americans having the highest prevalence, followed by Hispanics, Whites, and Asians.
METHOD
Objectives
1. The study aimed to assess levels of psychopathy among different ethnic groups participants
2. The study also focused on assessing gender and ethnic differences with respect to psychopathy. Hypotheses
To fulfil the objectives of the current study following hypotheses were formulated.
1. Male will have higher levels of psychopathy as compared to females.
2. Ethnic differences exist with respect to psychopathy. Sample
For the current study a sample 687 individuals was approached, age range of 13-40, both males and females. The sample comprised of the individuals who volunteered for the participation. The sample was taken from schools, colleges, universities and organizations from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The sample comprised of the non-clinical, non-incarcerated individuals from Pakistan.
Table 1
Distribution of Sample on the Basis of Demographic (N = 687) Characteristic F %
""Age Min Max
Family Income Min Max
13 40
10000 200000
Did not Specify 10
Gender
Male 354 51.5
Female 333 48.5
Ethnicity
Pathan 262 38.1
Awan 115 16.7
Sardar 84 12.2
Swati 76 11.1
Syed 62 9.0
Tanoli 50 7.3
Qureshi 38 5.5
Note. Descriptive Stats for sample distribution.
DEFINITION OF VARIABLES Psychopathy. Pathological lying, a lack of remorse or empathy, a desire for stimulation, the willingness to manipulate others to achieve one's own ends, a lack of self-control when angry, a lack of long-term goals, a lack of responsibility, an inability to take charge, an absence of responsibility in interpersonal relationships, a propensity for serious criminal behaviour, and a high degree of criminal versatility are all hallmarks of the psychopath personality type (Hare, 2006). In the present investigation, its operational definition relied on the results of the psychopathy scale (Dil & Kazmi, 2016). A greater degree of psychopathy corresponds to higher scores. Instruments
Urdu Psychopathy Scale. The level of psychopathy is evaluated by the Urdu Psychopathy Scale (Dil & Kazmi, 2016). There were 70 questions on the scale. Items are graded on a five-point likert scale, with answers ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." Five indicates extreme agreement, four indicates agreement, three indicates uncertainty, two indicates disagreement, and one indicates serious disagreement. For questions 7, 9, 12, 16, 17, 25, 36, 37, 39, 42, 52, 55, and 59, the scores are inverted, such that 5 indicates significant disagreement and so forth.
RESEARCH DESIGN
In current study, correlational research design was used to collect data through cross-sectional survey.
Procedure
A total of 687 participants from various cultural backgrounds participated in the research. The vast majority were addressed in clusters. Others were contacted on an individual basis from various institutions of higher education and non-profit groups. They were given information about the study and how they may voluntarily take part in it. The need of keeping data private was also discussed with them. Participants were assured that the information collected from them would be kept confidential and used exclusively for the study's intended purpose. The form had to be filled out thoroughly, with each question answered. The volunteers were applauded for their time and effort.
RESULTS Table 2
Gender differences in Psychopathy (N = 687)
Male Female
(n=354) (n=333) Cohen's
Variable M SD M SD t(685) p d
UPS 198.09 34.41 189.53 28.64 3.53 <.001 .28
Note. UPS = Urdu Psychopathy Scale
The results in table 2 indicate that there are significant gender differences in psychopathy. Male scored significantly higher as compared to the females.
Table 3
One way ANOVA and follow up multiple comparison showing Mean, Standard deviation, and F-values on Psychopathy with respect to ethnic differences (N=653)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Pathan Awan Sardar Swati Syed Tanoli Qureshi
(n = 262) (n = 115) (n = 84) (n = 76) (n = 62) (n = 50) (n = 38)
Scale M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD F n2
PS 192 29. 195 33. 191 33. 185 33. 201 34. 200 30. 20 29.0 2.60** .02
7 7 7 7 7 6 3
Note. PS = Psychopathy Scale.
The results in above table indicate that there are significant differences in psychopathy with respect to ethnicity. Qureshi scored highest on psychopathy, followed by Syed and Tanoli. Swati score lowest on psychopathy.
DISCUSSION
The current study represents a step forward in deciphering racial distinctions in psychopathy. The theoretical framework that has been so successful in measuring crime and violence.
It was speculated that males would do better on psychopathy tests than females. Psychopathy levels were shown to be significantly different across sexes, with men scoring lower than females (t = 3.53, p .001). The findings are consistent with the research that has come before. Female inmates are statistically less likely to be psychopaths than their male counterparts, according to research by Warren et al. (2003). Total and aspect psychopathy ratings were found to be greater in men than in women, as reported by Dotterer (2014). Women scored much lower than males on the psychopathy scale, according to research by Rogstad and Rogers (2008). Females were found to have less psychopathic characteristics, as stated by Jackson et al. (2002). Borroni et al. (2014) found that men exhibit more psychopathy than females.
Table 3 shows that there is a statistically significant difference in psychopathy by race (F = 2.60, p .01). Racial disparities in psychopathy severity were discovered by Lynn (2002). His research revealed that African Americans had greater rates of psychopathy than Hispanics or Whites, while Asians had the lowest rates.
According to the findings provided by Dotterer (2014), there was no racial or ethnic difference in psychopathy scores. Core psychopathic qualities were not observed to vary by race in a meta-analysis conducted by Skeem et al. (2004). In a similar vein, Zuckerman (2003) found no ethnic variations in psychopathy- and sensation-seeking-related personality characteristics.
CONCLUSION
The study provided an insight into ethnic differences that exist with respect to psychopathy and concluded that ethnic differences exists. Study also concluded males have higher levels of psychopathy as compared to females.
LIMITATION AND SUGGESTIONS
As in the case of social science researches, present study has following limitations
1. Self-report measures were used in current study, that may have effect on social desirability. Other techniques such as criminal records, projective techniques should be used to assess the variables.
2. The present study accessed only literate population who can read and write Urdu. For further studies it is recommended that illiterate population be included to get more diversity in population thus increasing its generalizability.
3. Due to financial limitations and time limits, population was taken from Kyber Pakhtoonkhaw only.
Including other areas will have more insight into the factors.
4. Due to limited access to criminal population, the criminals were not studied. Future study should be
conducted on normal as well as incarcerated individuals to compare both.
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