Brief Report: Interaction between social class and risky decision-making in children with psychopathic tendencies

Adult psychopaths are thought to have risky decision-making and behavioral disinhibition, but little is known about the moderating effects of psychosocial factors and whether these associations can be observed in children with psychopathic tendencies. This study tests the biosocial hypothesis that social class will moderate psychopathy-neurocognition relationships, with these effects being stronger in children from high social classes.

Preadolescent community twins (N=298) were assessed on decision-making (Iowa Gambling) and behavior inhibition (Porteus Maze) tasks, while psychopathic tendencies and socioeconomic status were assessed by the child's caregiver.

A significant interaction was observed whereby risky decision-making was associated with psychopathic tendencies only in children from benign home environments.

Findings support a biosocial interaction perspective on child psychopathy, suggesting that risky decision-making may particularly predispose to psychopathic traits in children from benign home backgrounds.