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The "polymorphously perverse" psychopath: understanding a strong empirical relationship.

J Reid Meloy1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA. jrmeloy@san.rr.com

Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic
|November 27, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Psychopathy is linked to sexual offending, but the reasons remain unclear. This study explores nine potential explanations, including lack of empathy and sensation-seeking, to understand this complex relationship.

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Area of Science:

  • Forensic Psychology
  • Psychopathology
  • Criminology

Background:

  • The empirical link between psychopathy and sexual offending is well-documented.
  • However, the underlying mechanisms driving this relationship are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose and conceptualize nine distinct explanations for the relationship between psychopathy and sexual offending.
  • To provide a theoretical framework for understanding the sexual behaviors associated with psychopathy.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review integrating research from anthropology, psychobiology, attachment theory, psychoanalysis, and aggression research.
  • Conceptual analysis to develop nine explanatory hypotheses.

Main Results:

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  • Nine proposed explanations include: search polygyny, callousness/lack of empathy, lack of attachment, sensation seeking due to cortical underarousal, grandiosity, entitlement, part-object relations, predatory violence, and partner abandonment.
  • These explanations are supported by existing empirical evidence, both direct and indirect.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed explanations offer a multi-faceted conceptual basis for the established empirical link between psychopathy and sexual offending.
  • These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the "polymorphously perverse" sexual patterns observed in individuals with psychopathy.