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AJPSSI

Vol. 25 No.2 2022

CRIMINOLOGICAL RISK FACTORS, PARENTING STYLE, AND PARENTAL BONDING AS


PREDICTORS OF PSYCHOPATHY AMONG PRISON INMATES

ABIODUN, Yetunde Racheal, OSINOWO, Helen


Department of Psychology
University of Ibadan,
Ibadan, Nigeria
rachealyabiodun@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Crime and criminal activities have been increasing globally every day. Studies have shown an association between
psychopath and criminal conduct. In fact, adult psychopath have been shown to be responsible for a disproportionate
amount of crime in society and are among e most violent and persistent offenders. Studies on psychopath have
consistently focused on e prevalence of the act, not on the predictive factors that could lead o such behavioral
tendencies among the psycho path have not been adequately explored. The objective of this study therefore, was to
investigate the psychological (parenting bonding, parenting style) and criminological (gross income prior to
imprisonment, age of emancipation, numbers of times in prison) factors predicting psychopathy among prison inmates.
The study was anchored on attachments theory and the psychodynamic theory. The study was cross sectional survey
with ex-post factor design. 200 prison inmates were purposively sampled from Agodi prison, Ibadan participated in the
study. Data were collected using Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and Hare
Psychopathy checklist. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive, Anova, T Test and Hierarchical regression at
P<.01 and .05. Five hypotheses were tested in the study.
The 200 participants were 12 females and 188males with mean age (30.40 years, SD=9.32). The result shows that
criminological risk factors, parenting style and parenting bonding predict psychopathy (F(9,195)=2.76 P (0.001)
with 49% variance accounted for by joint prediction of criminological risk factors, parenting bonding and parenting style
in the study. Age of emancipation independently predict psychopathy ( =,09 P>0.05). Age of first imprisonment ( =.15,
P>0.05), authoritative parenting style ( =.04 P>0.05), authoritarian parenting style(=24, P>0.05) permissive parenting
style (=.06 P>0.05) and parental Bonding (=.06 P>0.05) do not independently predict psychopathy among prison
inmates.
Criminological risk factors, parenting bonding and parenting style were significantly predictors of Psychopathy among
prison inmates. These factors should be taken into consideration in the development of intervention programs for
psychopaths. The intervention program should also be among parents.

Keywords: Psychopathy, Criminological Risk Factors, Parental Bonding, and Parenting Styles

INTRODUCTION
The concept of psychopathy has a long history in clinical psychology research which has
fascinated researchers for many years. There has been much debate about what characteristics
make up a psychopathic personality. Current conceptualizations of psychopathy, based on both
clinical and empirical work, suggest that it is a personality disorder defined by a specific
constellation of interpersonal, affective, and behavioral characteristics (Hare, 1998, Hart & Hare,
1998). In adults based on both clinical and empirical work suggests that Psychopathy is a
personality disorder characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy, and bold
and egotistical traits. However, similar antisocial traits are also common, yet less pronounced, in
people who are well-off psychologically and socially. There is a strong association between
psychopathy and criminal conduct in adult. Psychopaths are responsible for a misappropriate
amount of crime in society and are among the most violent and persistent offenders (Fourth &
Burke 1998; Newman, Scmidt & Voss 1997). There is an unprecedented upsurge of violent crimes
and the gruesome killing of innocent people worldwide (Ayokunle 2020). The pervasive nature
and stability of psychopathic traits throughout adulthood have led some researchers to question
whether its origins lie within an earlier point of development. Psychopaths are rare among the
“normal population” found in perhaps 1% but represented 25% of prison inmates because of the
danger keeping them among the population, a diagnosable mental illness that afflicts about 25%

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of a nation’s population that translates to approximately 250,000 psychopaths. However, just as


only5% of these mentally ill populations are so severely impaired they cannot work, they are
dangerous, and their cruelty or desire to harm others may reflect more personality traits and
mental illness. The crimes of psychopaths are usually stone-cold, remorseless killings with no
apparent reason. These are people who cannot contain their urge to harm (kill) people for no
apparent reason and often suffer from some mental illness.
Psychopathy is an important forensic concept in the 21st century.
Psychopaths are wonderful at lying and manipulating, which allows them to gain the confidence
of future victims. In addition, these individuals are impulsive and seemingly strive for excitement
while disregarding any responsibility for their actions. This is often displayed through chronic
antisocial acts (those which deviate from the socially acceptable norms of society and violate the
right of others) because the psychopath also seems to lack the ability to conceptualize the
consequences of his or her actions. Yet, this does not mean that psychopaths do not know right
from wrong; it is more a matter of not caring whether it is right or wrong. Many of the concepts
presented thus far are also indicative of reactive attachment disorder, which may help explain
why psychopaths seem to have difficulty forming meaningful relationships with others. The lack
of attachments can often be seen in the lives of serial murderers through studies (Reseler et al.
1988) that have reported a high incidence of isolation, lack of significant relationships, or several
short–term relationships in the histories of these individuals
Other indicators of psychopathy include a parasitic lifestyle and the use of superficial charm to
succeed in these ventures. Although psychopaths have difficulties with relationships, they are
more than willing to put on their masks or criminal activities that require them to be charming or
demonstrate a sense of caring. Again, this is an act; one that can change very quickly because
psychopaths lack the behavioral cool over; they have sudden feelings of rage. Psychopathy is an
enduring pattern of behavior. The first signs of psychopathy may be seen in childhood with early
behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, and lack of long-term life goals or planning. This can
and does continue into adulthood where many will meet the criteria for Antisocial Personality
Disorder (ASPD) as indicated in DSM-5 section ll ASPD diagnosis.
Furthermore, most often in the literature, psychopathy is described as a pathology-a disorder that
has been linked to a variety of biological deficits and environmental risk factors like parenting
styles. Parenting style is a psychological construct representing standard strategies that parents
use in their child-rearing. Many parents create their style from a combination of factors, these may
evolve as children develop their personalities and move through life changes. A major risk factor
is parenting style, particularly harsh and inconsistent parenting, which research has shown is
associated with child behavior problems (Jennifer Cox & Megan Kopkin, 2018). Other factors that
feed into this, directly and indirectly, include domestic violence, parental drug abuse, maternal
depression, family poverty, parents with low education, stressed families, and single-parent status
(Webster-Stratton & Reid 2008).

Parents can vary on how overprotective or responsive they are to the needs and concerns of their
children. These parental practices can significantly affect the temperament, relationships,
personality, motivation, and progress of their children and these can persist throughout life. For
example, compared to individuals whose parents were inconsistent-occasionally supportive and
warm, but sometimes neglectful, critical, and unfair individuals whose parents are almost
supportive, war, and responsive to their needs and concerns are less sensitive to rejection.
Baumrind (1978) who is commonly considered a pioneer researcher into parenting styles,
introduced three parenting styles to describe differences in normal parenting behavior; the
authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles. Authoritative parenting as

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characterized by Baumrind (1978) is often demanding, manifesting elevated expectations and


standards for their children and encouraging compliance with their rules and directives.
Nevertheless, they encourage discussion about these rules as well as independence, autonomy,
and freedom inviting children to think about their own lives and behavior. The parents also exhibit
warmth and a responsive manner. That is, the parents are sensitive to the needs and concerns
of their children and forgiving when standards are not fulfilled.
Like authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting also coincides with expectations of
compliance with firm and high standards. However, in contrast to authoritative parenting,
authoritarian parents discourage dialogues about these rules, exhibiting rigidity and inflexibility.
They do not justify the rules with reason or argument. In addition, these parents are not responsive
to the needs and concerns of their children. The capacity of these children to reach suitable
decisions in social settings might also be impaired and they might merely follow social norms.
These problems might represent limited opportunities to choose which behaviors they would like
to pursue early in life. Rebellion might also be common in these children.
Permissive parents are not demanding and do not expect compliance with stringent rules or
elevated standards. These parents, however, are warm and responsible, usually sensitive to the
needs and concerns of their children. Often, these parents might be driven by a need to be liked
by their children. These children, purportedly, are often impulsive because they do not develop
the capacity to regulate their behavior effectively, especially in social relationships. These children
are more likely than their peers to be victimized at school. Later they might exhibit misconduct.
Also, other factors that have been seen to relate to the development of psychopathic behavior
include Parental Bonding. Parental Bonding refers to the inbuilt ability of humans to form strong
attachments of affection to significant others in their lives in infancy, adulthood as well as
childhood. The bonding system plays a significant role in maintaining proximity between an infant
and caregivers that protect them from danger and threats and thus increase the chance of
survival. Some parents tell their young sons “Don’t be a crying baby” if the children dry. Other
parents try to hide their feelings so the children grow up believing that any expression of true
feelings is somehow unacceptable. They learn to repress their feelings just like their parents had
done. Such people can arrive at a completely unfeeling state, at least as far as outward
manifestations are concerned.
Parental conflict and family disruption predicted the antisocial but not the affective component of
psychopathy (Farrigton, 2002). Several explanations have been advanced for the link between
family disruption and psychopathy. The first explanation states that this happens as the loss of a
parent can have damaging effects on the attachment between the lost parent and the child
(trauma theory). Life course theories state that multiple stressors like parental conflict and loss,
reduced economic circumstances, changes in parental figures, and maladaptive child-rearing
methods have adverse effects on the growing child, selection theories focus on the issue that
disrupted families produce such children because of pre-existing differences on various risk
factors.
METHOD

Design: The study utilized a non-experimental study that adopted a cross-sectional survey with
an ex-post factor research design. The design examines multiple independent variables as
predictors of one dependent variable while it controls for the extraneous variable. Non -
experimental research is utilized, with no manipulation of the independent variable. The
independent variables are parental bonding, parental style, criminological risk factor; the age of
first imprisonment, age of the first imprisonment, age of emancipation, time spent in prison,
number of times in prison, the severity of offense, income, and length of sentence. The dependent

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variable is psychopathy. A purposive sampling technique was employed for this study. The
sample for the study was drawn from the prison inmates of Agodi prison. The choice of the
sampling technique was a result of the representative sample which is a large population (prison
inmates) and it is not possible to specify which of the large population psychopaths are, thereby
it is using the member of the population that is available.

Measures:

Demographic Information:

The demographics of the respondents include sex, age, marital status, and religion.

Criminological risk factors; The following items were used to measure criminological risk
factors; gross income before imprisonment, years of sentence, age of emancipation, the severity
of the offense, number of times in prison and number of years in prison.

Parental style

The Parental style of mothers

This questionnaire was developed my Buri (1991) to measure parental style of mothers. It is a 30
items scale. The scale is a self-report questionnaire eliciting information on how a person
perceives the parenting style of his/her mother developed by Buri (1991) which are rated on a
five- point Likert scale ranging from “Disagree Strongly=`” to “Agree strongly=5. Various studies
have established the Cronbach alpha at 0.77.

The Parental style of fathers


This questionnaire was developed by Buri (1991) to measure the parental style of fathers. It is a
30 items scale. The scale is a self-report questionnaire eliciting information on the bow a person
perceives the parenting style of his/her father developed by Buri (1991) which is rated on a five-
point Likert scale ranging from ‘Disagree strongly=1 to Agree strongly =5. Various studies have
established the Cronbach alpha at 0.77

Parental bonding scale


This questionnaire was developed by researcher to measure parental bonding. It is a 20 item
scale. The scale is a self-report questionnaire eliciting information on how a person perceives the
level of bond to his/her parents. It is rated on a five-point scale ranging from “Disagree strongly=1
to Agree strongly=5 reliability coefficient of the scale was high with Cronbach Alpha 0.72.
Psychopathy scale
This questionnaire was developed to measure psychopathic behavior. It is 36 items scale. The
items in this scale cover the affective and interpersonal dimensions of Hare’s Revised
Psychopathy checklist, which possess a very high Alpha coefficient (a = .84) (Hare, 2003). This
checklist is lowly correlated (r < .30) with intelligence, anxiety and depression tests. This is
indicative of the instrument’s validity and reliability (Campbell & Russo, 2001; Gracia-Cadena
2009)

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RESULTS
TABLE 1 SUMMARY OF T-TEST OF INDEPENDENCE SHOWING SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
OLDER AND YOUNGER INMATES ON PSYCHOPATHY
Years N X SD df T P
Long stayed 78 90.15 12.39
90.15 1.91 >.05
Short Stayed 122 93.56 12.22

This result shows that There is a significant difference between long stayed and short stayed
prison inmate on psychopathy T (198) = -. (198) = 1.91; P>.05. The mean score of long stayed
inmate was (X=90.15) while that of the short-stayed inmates was (X=93.56) while that of the short
stayed was (X=93.56). This shows that there will be a significant influence of age of emancipation
on psychopathy. This means short stayed prison inmates have more psychopathic behavior than
long stayed prison inmates.
TABLE 2 SUMMARY OF T-TEST OF INDEPENDENCE SHOWING SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
EARLY SEPARATION FROM PARENT (S) AND LATE SEPARATION FROM PARENT(S) ON PSYCHOPATHY
Separation from N X SD df T P
parent
Early 73 92.96 11.23
170 1.43 <0.05
Lately 99 90.22 13.23

In the result above, there was a significant difference between early and lately separation from
parent(s) on psychopathy t(170)-1.43; P>.05. The mean score of early separation (X=92.96) while
that of the late separation was (X=90.22). This means that prison inmates that leaves parent early
are more psychopathic than prison inmates that leaves lately.
TABLE 3 SHOWING TABLE 3 THE DESCRIPTIVE OF ONE TIME, TWO TIMES AND THREE TIMES IN PRISON
ON PSYCHOPATHY
X SD N
First time prison inmate 88.51 12.99 73
Two -time prison inmate 12.28 12.28 22
Three-time prison inmate 7.60 7.59 10
Total 89.00 12.36 105

TABLE 4 SHOWS THE EFFECT NUMBERS OF TIME IN PRISON ON PSYCHOPATHY


Psychopathy SS DF MS F P
Between Group 66.99 2 33.50 216 <.05
Within group 15829.01 102 155.17
Total 15896.00

The tables above shows that numbers of times in prison have a significant effect on psychopathy
f(2,102)=216 p>.05. However, the descriptive statistics shows that first time prison inmate
(X=88.51, SD=12.00) have more psychopathic behavior than two times prison inmates (X=12.28,
SD=12.28) and three times prison inmates (X=7.60, SD=7.59).

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TABLE 5 SUMMARY OF HIERACHICAL REGRESSION SHOWING CRIMINOLOGICAL RISK FACTORS,
PARENTAL BONDING AND PARENTING STYLE ON PSYTCHOPATHY
Variables
B SE B B R R R F
Block 1 .43 .19 .14 3.82***
Criminological risk factors
Age of Emancipation -0.83 .29 -.33***
No. of time in prison -1.45 1.45 -.11
Age of first imprisonment -0.33 .24 -.15
Time spent in prison 1.25 6.5 .20
Severity of offense -.50 .58 -0.9
BLOCK 2 .48 .23 .16 3.10***
Parental style
Age of Emancipation -.83 .29 -.33***
No. of time in prison -1.78 1.45 -.13
Age of first imprisonment -.33 .25 -.15
Time spent in prison 1.10 .66 .17
Severity of offense -.54 .57 -.10
Authoritarian Parenting style 4.12 2.25 .25
Authoritative Parenting Style -.34 1.81 -.02
Permissive Parenting style -.04 .17 -.03
BLOCK .49 .24 .15 2.76***
Parental Bonding
Age of Emancipation -.80 2.9 -.31**
No. of time in prison -1.59 1.49 -.12
Age of first imprisonment -.33 2.5 -1.5
Time spent in prison 1.15 .67 .18
Severity of offense -.52 .58 -.09
Authoritarian Parenting style 3.94 2.28 .24
Authoritative Parenting Style -.62 1.87 -.04
Permissive Parenting style -.08 .19 -.06
Parental Bonding .09 .14 .08

Result in table 5 above shows that criminological risk factors identified in the study significantly
and jointly predict psychopathy (F (5,195)-3.82, P<0.001). However, 43% variance observed
among psychopathic prison inmates are accounted for by the criminological risk factors identified
in the study. Also, the table revealed that age of emancipation independently predicts
psychopathy (β=.33, p<0.001) while numbers of time imprisoned (β.11, p>0.05), age of first
imprisonment (β=.15, p>0.05), time spent in prison (β=.20, p>0.05) and severity of offence (β=.09,
p>0.05) do not independently predict psychopathy
Furthermore, in block B of the table above shows that criminological risk factors and parenting
style identifies in the study significantly and jointly predict psychopathy among prison inmate (F
(8,195)=3.10, p<0.0001).. However, 48% variance observed among psychopathic prison inmates
are accounted for by the criminological risk factors and parenting style in the study. Also, the table
revealed that age of emancipation independently predicts psychopathy (β =.33 p<0.001), while
numbers of time imprisoned (β=.13, p>0.05), age of first imprisonment (β=15, p>0.05), time spent
in prison (β.17, p > 0.05), and severity of offence (β=.01, p>0.05), authoritarian parenting style
(β=.25 p>0.05), authoritative parenting style, (β=.02 p>0.05), and permissive parenting style,
(β=.03, p>0.05), do no independently predict psychopathy among prison inmate
Also, in block C of the table above shows that criminological risk factors, parenting style and
parental bonding identified in the study significantly and jointly predict psychopathy among prison
inmates (F (9,195)=2.26 p<0.0021). However, 49% variance observed among psychopathic
prison inmates are accounted for by the criminological risk factors, parenting style and parental
bonding in the study. Also, the table revealed that age of emancipation independently predicts
psychopathy(β=.31, p<0.0001), while numbers of time imprisoned(β=.12, p>0.05), age of first

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imprisonment(β=.15, p>0.05, time spent in prison(β=.18, p>0.05 and severity of offense(β=.09,


p>0.05, authoritarian parenting style(β=.24, p>0.05) authoritative parenting style(β=.04, p>0.05),
permissive parenting style(β=.06, p>0.05) and parental bonding(β=.08, p>0.05 do not
independently predict psychopathy.
In sum, this shows that criminological risk factors, parental bonding and parenting style will jointly
and independently predict psychopathy but that only age of emancipation individually predict
psychopathy.

TABLE 6 SHOWING THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN LEVEL OF PSYCHOPATHY BETWEEN INMATE WITH
LOW PARENTAL BONDING AND HIGH PARENTAL BONDING
DV Parental Bond N X SD df t P
Low 117 89.44 10.01
psychopath 198 2.82 <.05
High 83 94.36 14.73

T test table above shows that there is a significant difference in the level of psychopath between
prison inmate with high parental bond and inmates with low parental bond (T (198) = 2.83, P<.05).
However, the mean scores in the table shows inmates with high parental bonding(X=89.44).

Table 7 DESCRIPTIVE STATICTICS SHOWING THE DEMOGRAPHIS VARIABLES OF THE PARTICIPANTS


Variables X SD N N%
Age 30.40 9.32
Minimum 17
Maximum 77
Total 200
Gender 1.06 0.24
Male 188 94%
Female 12 6%
Total 200 100%
Marital status 1.94 0.97
Single 72 35.8%
Married 80 40.0%
Divorced 28 14.0%
Separated 20 10%
total 200 100%
Religion 1.56 0.65
Christian 104 52.05
Muslim 78 39.0%
Traditional 17 8.5%
Total 199 99%
Source; field study survey in Nigeria Prison, Agodi, Ibadan, Oyo state 2013

Two hundred participants used in the study responded to the demographic information presented
in the descriptive table. This table showed that none of them was below 17years and above
77years. The age descriptive statistics showed that the participant minimum age was 17 and the
maximum age is 77, the mean age is 30.40. The gender distribution in the study involves 12
females (6%) and 188 males (94%). 72 participants were identified as single (35.8%) by marital
status, 80 participants were married (0.0%), 28 participants were divorced (14.0%), 20
participants were separated (10%). The religion distribution shows that 104 participants were
Christian by religion (52.0%), 78 participants were Muslim (39.0%) 17 participants were identified
as traditional (8.5%).

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DISCUSSION
The study investigated parenting style, parenting bonding and criminological factors as predictors
of psychopathy. The independent variables of the study were parenting style, parenting bonding
and criminological risk factors. Parenting bonding has two levels; the two levels are High and low,
parenting style has three dimensions authoritative parenting style authoritarian parenting style,
permissive parenting style, and authoritative parenting style. Criminological risk factors is of seven
dimensions level of sentence, age of emancipation, age of first imprisonment, severity of offence,
length of sentence, numbers of times in prison times spent in prison early
Five hypotheses were tested in the study. There are several other findings as presented earlier
in Chapter four; this chapter is therefore to discuss the findings in line with each of hypotheses.
Apart from this, the summary, conclusion, implication of findings, recommendations, limitation of
study and suggestion for further studies were made in this chapter.
Times spent in prison and psychopathy
The hypothesis which states that long stayed prison inmate will have a significant higher score on
psychopathy than short stayed prison inmate was not supported. The result of the findings shows
that short stayed prison inmate scored higher than long stayed prison inmate. This shows that
short stayed prison inmate have psychopathic behavior than long stayed prison inmate. This
reveals that times spent in prison inhibit psychopathy.
Separation from parents on Psychopathy
The outcome of hypothesis two shows that there is a significant difference in the level of
psychopathy between prison inmate with early separation from parents and inmates with late
separation from parents. However, prison inmate with early separation from parents ha significant
higher score on psychopathy than prison inmate with late separation from patents which
supported the stated hypothesis two. This shows that inmates who separated early from parents
have more psychopathic behavior than those who separated from their parent lately.
This is in support of saltaris (2002) he found out that insights from clinical accounts suggest that
the emotional detachment shown by psychopathic individuals is so fundamental and pervasive
that it is likely to originate from the first few months of a child's life, and that it is relatively
independent of later inadequacies in the rearing environment (Saltaris, 2002). In particular
insecure avoidant and disorganized attachments have been linked to early hostile behavior
problems (Lyons-Ruth, Alpern & Repacholi, 1993). Furthermore, the relationship between
avoidant attachment and antisocial behavior has been shown to be stronger in high-risk samples
of children than in low risk samples (Greenberg, Speltz, & Deklyen, 1993).
Most explanations of personality disorders focus on early stages of development and assume
problems in child rearing and family structure that resulted from the loss of one of the parents
through divorce or death (Rutter, 2005). According to attachment theory, children lacking the
attachment to a significant adult figure are unable to empathize and care about others (Van der
Horst, 2011). It is difficult to objectively track down early experiences and even more difficult to
measure the effects of those experiences on people's current thoughts and feelings. This study
found a significant association between the age at which prison inmates left their parents’ home
and psychopathy among a group of prison inmates in a medium security prison in Apodaca,
Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Findings suggest that the lesser the time subjects spent in at their homes
of origin, the higher their level of diagnosed as psychopathy will be. The subgroup of subjects’
psychopaths lived at their homes of origin an average of 13 years while inmates not psychopaths
lived at their homes of origin an average of 18 years. This finding suggests the possibility that the
previously mentioned 5 year difference enabled inmates without psychopathy to develop the
capacity to empathize and care about others, even though there study design does not enable to
form a clearly establish cause and effect relationships. It is possible that separating too early from
the protection of one's family of origin may be a risk factor for psychopathology and more
specifically for psychopathy. It would be worth discovering to what extent the prolonged lack of
access of children to attachment figures may contribute to psychopathy and to what extent

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psychopathy may lead to criminal behavior. By attachment figures we mean persons to which
normally children become attached and who children prefer over other individuals. Links have
been made between avoidant attachments and conduct problems and disorganized attachment
and aggression (Carlson, Sampson, & Sroufe, 2003; Sroufe, 2005). Furthermore, research has
shown a link between attachment classification and specific DSM-IV diagnoses (American
Psychiatric Association, 1994) of personality disorders (Fonagy et al., 1996).

Numbers Of Times In Prison On Psychopathy


The research outcome of the third hypothesis shows that numbers of times in prison has
significant influence on psychopathy. However, first time prison inmate exhibit high psychopathy
than two and three times prison inmates, which confirmed the stated hypothesis three.
This is also on agreement with Mokri (2002), in his study in Iran prison. he reported about 20% of
prison inmates are sentenced for violent crimes which constitute 1-2% of the general population,
he believed that this is because many of them possess psychopathic trait that could make them
too dangerous to the society if place in among the normal population he also said that prisoners
with 'immoral act' sentences are the smallest group, constituting 4% of inmates and that is the
very much reason why some inmates stays longer than the other in the prison and if some are
released they still have to detain them back because they are very dangerous to the society. Cirilo
H. Garcia et al, (2012) found and reported that there is a significant positive association between
psychopathy and frequency of imprisonment, they reported that frequency in imprisonment and
also the in and out of some inmates in the prison is because they possess psychopathic behaviour
and traits which makes some to come in and out of the prison.
The findings of this study about number of times in prison is also against studies conducted in
English speaking countries showing a negative association between age of initial imprisonment
and the degree of psychopathy, and a positive association between psychopathy and the number
of imprisonments and the recidivism of juvenile delinquency (Hart & Hare, 1997, Hemphill, Hare,
& Wong, 1998
There is a strong association between psychopathy and criminal conduct (Blackburn, 1998). In
fact adult psychopaths have been shown to be responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime
in society and are amongst the most violent and persistent offenders (Fourth & Burke 1998;
Newman, Schmidt, & Voss, 1997)

Criminological Risk Factors, Parenting Style And Parental Bonding On Psychopathy


The outcome of the study also shows that criminological risk factors parenting style and parental
bonding jointly predicts psychopath among prison inmate, contrary to the independent prediction,
the findings revealed that age of emancipation times spent in prison, severity of offence, number
of times in prison, age of first imprisonment, authoritative parenting style, authoritarian parenting
style, authoritative parenting style and parental bonding jointly predict psychopathy, but only age
of emancipation independently predict psychopathy.
The findings about the negative associations between psychopathy and the severity of criminal
offenses, the length of the sentence, and the actual length of time spent in prison are consistent
with those reported by Verona et al. (2004) and support their conclusions that there is no cause
and effect relationship between psychopathy and violence, that the delinquent acts of
psychopaths tend to be instrumental in nature and they do not necessarily cause harm to their
victims.
The findings of this study also support studies conducted in English-speaking countries showing
a negative association between the age of initial imprisonment and the degree of psychopathy,
and a positive association between psychopathy and the number of imprisonments and the
recidivism of juvenile delinquency (Hart & Hare, 1997, Hemphill, Hare, & Wong, 1998). However,
the age of emancipation shows a significant predicts psychopathy, this shows that the age at
which inmates leave last with parents have a lot to do with what they become in life, the moral, -

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social support and all the various types of parental support they need are not well embedded in
them before they got separated from them. With this, it could lead to very severe risk for them
because the environment in which they find themselves could inculcate another behavior in them
which will make them have psychopathic traits and behavior.

Parental Bonding and Psychopathy


The result shows that inmates with high parental bonding score higher on psychopathy than
inmates with low parental bonding. The study found that high maternal care was the aspect of
bonding most associated with psychopathic traits. This study is in support of Kirshenbaum.
Farber. & Sroufe, 1989, the key finding from the study was that disrupted parental bonding was
significantly associated with an increased level of adult psychopathic personality. Research has
shown that familial influences may be more relevant to the interpersonal affective features of
psychopathy, with societal influences being more relevant to antisocial lifestyle and behavioral
features (Marshal & Cooke, 1999).
It is against Lyons-Ruth, Alpern & Repacholi 1993 that found that Low maternal care was the
aspect of bonding most associated with psychopathic traits. This was true for total psychopathy
scores and both interpersonal/affective and behavioral/antisocial psychopathy scores. These
associations remained significant following analysis to control for the effects of sex, social
adversity, ethnicity, and history of physical abuse. In contrast, there were no significant
associations between paternal care and psychopathy. However, low paternal overprotection was
significantly associated with both total psychopathy scores and the emotional detachment factor
of psychopathy. These results remained significant even after the effects of maternal care were
accounted for.
These results are also against Flight and Forth (2007) who found that antisocial boy's lack of
attachment with the father was most associated with psychopathic traits. One of the strengths of
this study was that it looked at the impact of both maternal and paternal care on the development
of psychopathic traits. Results indicate that low maternal care was the parental variable most
strongly associated with both factors of psychopathy, perhaps an indication of the relatively
greater impact of mothers on infants' emotional development. However, results also highlighted
the potential role of paternal involvement in the development of psychopathic traits. Low paternal
overprotection scores, which were associated with psychopathic traits in this study, reflect a lack
of paternal supervision, monitoring and involvement. Such factors have previously been
associated with the affective component of psychopathy (Farrington, 2006). Gao et al (2010)
proposed that lack of involvement and monitoring might impair the child's capacity for bonding.
Further, they suggest that the experience of a protective father may aid the emotional connection
between father and child, which in turn may act as a protective factor in relation to the
development of affective psychopathic traits.

Summary
The study provided a means of finding answers to the problem identified in the beginning of this
study. The cause of psychopathy was investigated, criminological risk factors, parental bonding
an parenting style were tested using five hypothesis, three of them was upheld, one was partially
accepted and one was not supported by the findings. The study shows that short stayed prison
inmate have more psychopathic behavior than long stayed prison inmate, prison inmate with early
separation from parents are more psychopathy than prison inmate with late separation from
parents, first time prison inmate exhibit high psychopathy than two and three times prison inmates,
the study shows that age of emancipation has a significant relationship on psychopathy,
criminological risk factors, parenting style and parental bonding jointly predict psychopathy

Conclusion

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The study concludes that long stayed prison inmate have significant high score on psychopathy
than short stayed prison inmate. The result of the findings further shows that short stayed prison
inmate scored higher than long stayed prison inmate. This shows that short stayed prison inmate
have psychopathic behavior than long stayed prison inmate. Meanwhile, the study also shows
that there is a significant difference in the level of psychopathy between prison inmate with early
separation from parents and inmates with late separation from parents. However, prison inmate
with early separation from parent has significant higher score on psychopathy than prison inmate
with late separation from parent. The study further evaluates the influence of frequency criminal
behavior on psychopathy, numbers of times in prison was found to have significant influence on
psychopathy. Furthermore, various independent variables such as criminological risk factors,
parenting style and parental bonding was showed to have jointly predicts psychopath among
prison inmate, independently, the findings revealed that age of emancipation, times spent in
prison, severity of offence, number of times in prison, age of first imprisonment, authoritative
parenting style, authoritarian parenting style, authoritative parenting style and parental bonding
jointly predict psychopathy, but only age of emancipation independently predict psychopathy.
Finally, parental bonding was found to have significantly predicted increase of adult psychopathic
personality. The study found that high maternal care was the aspect of bonding most associated
with psychopathic traits.

Implication of the Findings


The findings of this study seem to have profound implications for clinical psychology and forensic
disciplines on one hand, as well as care givers on the other hand. From the findings, age of
emancipation is a strong predictor of psychopathy because it is discovered that age at which an
individual stops living with parent will result into psychopathy, parents and caregivers must ensure
that they train their child appropriately and shouldn't leave allow them to decide to leave a solitary
life at a very tender age and they shouldn't be neglected. The study will bring to the knowledge of
the parents how separation timing between them and the children affects the psychological
functioning of the child in the later future.
Another implication of the study is that inmates who have just been imprisoned are more
psychopathy, counseling sessions should be organized in the prison among the prison inmates
for those who have just been imprisoned so as to decrease the psychopathic behavior in them.
Also parental bond tends to influence psychopathy. This study discovered that the extreme end
of parental bonding influence psychopathy, therefore parent should learn, how correct when
necessary and also appreciate when things are done appropriately.
Another implication of this study is that parenting style thus predict psychopathy, this by
implication means that parenting shouldn't be too authoritative but also learn to balance between
and also listen to their child opinion.

Recommendation
There are important implications of these findings for both researchers and practitioners with
respect to attempting to ameliorate the negative trajectory associated with psychopathy. It is
critical to pay attention to and work with children and adolescents, especially boys, who have had
early disruption to parental care giving arrangements. Additionally, it is equally important to work
with to-be adoptive or foster parents on how to handle and support potentially emotionally
damaged children.
Therapy sessions such as Group therapy; Group psychotherapy is intended to provide education,
encouragement and support for inmates who are psychopathy so as to secure an environment in
which information can be exchanged and opinions heard, with this, inmates will be able to
examine their difficulties in a situation reflecting the family and the social networks in which their
problem developed so that a solid emotional and interpersonal foundation could be improved on
which psychopathy inmates really need.

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Behaviour therapy or the use of behaviour modification techniques which is an attempt to apply
the results of learning theory and experimental psychology to the problems of maladaptive
behaviour

Limitation of the Study


•The findings of the current study may not generalize to other populations, including students,
psychiatric patients and also non-Africa prison inmates because of cultural differences. i.e. the
findings is restrictive to Nigeria prison inmates.
•The sample size used in the study is relatively too small to the general population of prison
inmates in Ibadan. Therefore, subsequent researchers should as much as possible integrate
much population to the study to have a sizable sample size.
•The scale used for the study is relatively standardized to Nigeria context, researchers are implore
to utilize the use of the scales into other population and not limited to prison inmates.
Despite the limitations described above, the-current study contributes new information to our
understanding of psychopathy among prison inmates and forensic vulnerability among youths in
Nigeria.

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