Psychopathic Traits and Conduct Problems in Children: Effects of Collective Efficacy, Heart Rate, and Sex

Despite the widely held belief that psychopathic traits are influenced by biological factors, there is growing evidence that environmental factors may also contribute to the development of psychopathy. However, not all children who are exposed to adverse environments develop negative outcomes. According to the biological sensitivity to context theory, some children are biologically more susceptible to environmental influences. Furthermore, biological sensitivity may be expressed differently in boys and girls. In the current study, the moderating effects of resting heart rate (a measure of biological sensitivity) and sex on the relationships between neighborhood collective efficacy, psychopathic traits and antisocial behaviors were examined in a sample of 245 8–11 year-old boys and girls. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that both grandiose-manipulative and callous-unemotional traits were associated with neighborhood social processes, but the relationship varied by child’s sex and heart rate level. Daring-impulsive traits were not associated with either social processes or heart rate. In addition, aggression and delinquency were associated with social control, and the relationship was moderated by heart rate and sex. Findings suggest that neighborhood social processes are distinctly associated with the three dimensions of childhood psychopathy and with conduct problems in children with a specific psychophysiological profile, and that these relationships are further differentiated by sex.