Long-term patterns in interpersonal behaviouramongst psychopathic patients in secureinpatient treatment: A follow-up study

Authors: Draycott, S., Short, R. and Kirkpatrick, T.

Journal: Personality and Mental Health: multidisciplinary studies from personality dysfunction to criminal behaviour

Volume: 9

Pages: 124-132

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

ISSN: 1932-8621

DOI: 10.1002/pmh.1292

Abstract:

Psychopathy is a disorder that is partly defined by with maladaptive interpersonal behaviour and has significanteffects on treatment outcomes. A previous study (Draycott et al., 2011) found that higher levels of psychopathyled to a specific interpersonal‘trajectory’amongst patients in a secure psychiatric treatment programme during thefirst 9months of their admission. In that programme, more psychopathic patients became increasingly dominantover time, and less psychopathic patients became increasingly hostile. This study is a longer-term follow-up andextension of that study, extending the window of observation to 33months of treatment. It was found that themore psychopathic patients’increased dominance returned to baseline levels by 33months, as did the less psycho-pathic patients’increased hostility. This suggests that treatment for this group is not idiopathic but leaves unan-swered the question as to what these divergent trajectories represent.

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Source: Manual