Page 178 - ILIAS ATHANASIADIS AKA RO1

Psychopathy and Violence

When most people think of psychopaths, they envision a serial killer in the movies. And
while some psychopaths may murder, most of them don’t. This doesn’t mean they aren’t

dangerous, however.

Some literature suggests that psychopaths may be more likely to be violent than the
general population.

But not all psychopaths are violent. Some studies have found there are “successful

psychopaths” who are more likely to get promoted to leadership positions and less likely
to serve time behind bars.

Successful psychopaths may rank higher in certain traits, such as conscientious traits,

and this may help them manage their antisocial impulses better than those who end up
convicted of serious crimes.

Treatments

Whether psychopaths are able to be treated is a widely debated issue. Some researchers
report that treatment doesn’t help. Others argue that specific treatments can reduce

certain behaviors, such as violence.

A 2018 review of the literature found that many of the studies conducted on treatment
effectiveness only applied to specific populations, such as sex offenders. So the

treatments that work with that population may not work for other psychopaths.8

Similarly, female psychopaths may require a different approach. In general, they tend to
be less violent than men, so their treatment might be slightly different.

The same literature review found that cognitive behavioral therapy may be effective in

some cases.

But further research is needed to identify which cognitive restructuring strategies work
best and how to use them with specific populations.