Bold, mean and disinhibited: getting specific about the mediating role of self-control and antisocial outcomes in youth

Pechorro, Pedro; DeLisi, Matt; Gonçalves, Rui Abrunhosa; Marôco, J. P.

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.12/8391

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Authors

Pechorro, Pedro

DeLisi, Matt

Gonçalves, Rui Abrunhosa

Marôco, J. P.

Abstract(s)

Self-control and psychopathy are correlated with antisocial behaviors among diverse samples, and a spate of recent studies examined their direct associations with criminal outcomes. However, research has largely overlooked mediation effects between psychopathy, self-control and deviant outcomes. The current study examined self-control mediation effects related to the triarchic psychopathy construct and juvenile delinquency, crime seriousness, conduct disorder (CD), and aggression outcomes. The sample consisted of N ¼ 567 (M ¼ 15.91 years, SD ¼ 0.99, range ¼ 14–18 years) southern-European youth from Portugal. Study design was cross-sectional, quantitative and non-experimental. Mediation analysis using path analysis procedures indicated that low self-control mediates the relation between the Boldness, Disinhibition and Meanness factors of the triarchic psychopathy construct and the delinquency, crime seriousness, CD and aggression outcomes. Findings suggest that self-control is a mediator of triarchic psychopathic features and diverse externalizing behavior outcomes, which adds specificity to their interrelationship as general predictors of antisocial behavior.