Object Relations in Criminal Psychopaths

Although many empirical studies have documented the range and severity of problems caused by psychopaths, considerably less attention has focused on understanding its origins. Efforts to treat this potentially dangerous population have been equally frustrating, as psychotherapeutic approaches have almost always proven ineffectual. Because of the limited understanding of the psychological and interpersonal dynamics underlying psychopathy, the authors sought to assess the extent to which object relations theory could inform our understanding of psychopathy. In addition to eliciting background information, 74 men sentenced to probation following a criminal conviction were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version, a clinician-rated measure of psychopathy, and were administered the BORI, a self-report measure of object relations. Results showed significant correlations between object relations dimensions, psychopathy scores, and childhood environment data. Furthermore, object relations scores added to the prediction of psychopathy even after demographic and behavioral variables were considered, suggesting that object relations deficits comprise a significant component of psychopathy. Results suggest that psychopaths harbor profound underlying psychosocial damage including intense anxiety, anger, bitterness, and resentment. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.