Title: The Female Psychopath | RealClearScience
Headings: The Female Psychopath
The Female Psychopath
Content: Indeed, the form of aggression that is displayed appears to differ between the sexes. Although the results are divergent and inconclusive, some studies have suggested that while men more often show physical aggression, women more often display a more relational and verbal form of aggression. This may, for instance, occur through manipulation of social networks in attempting to exclude the victim from a community. Alternatively, it may take the form of threats of self-injury, with consequences for family and friends. Just like in men, psychopathy in women develops as a result of "complex interactions between biological and temperamental predispositions as well as social and environmental influences." Female psychopaths may have been abused as children, subjected to abandonment, or perhaps suffered some sort of head trauma. WHO ARE FEMALE psychopaths? That's a tricky question to answer -- demographic studies on female psychopaths are scarce, to the point of nonexistence. We know that roughly 16% of incarcerated women are psychopaths, while rates among men are much higher. Clearly, a higher proportion of female psychopaths are functional, perhaps even quite successful, members of society.