(PS4-B49) Examining Personality as a Protective Factor Against Delinquent Acts in At-risk Adolescents

Dark triad factors are associated with higher levels of delinquency in adolescents (Ali, 2020). In addition, psychopathy (Schraft et al., 2013) and narcissism (Burack, 2006) in adolescence have both been associated with childhood violence exposure. More specific conceptualization of both constructs have been developed. Callous-unemotional (CU) traits were initially considered an affective component of psychopathy in adolescents and have recently been studied independently as a personality construct (Frick & Ray, 2015). CU traits specifically appear to relate to adolescent delinquency (Ansel et al., 2014). Communal narcissism has similarly been discussed as the specific application of narcissism to communal domains (Gebauer et al., 2012) and has been related to peer-reported aggression in at-risk adolescents (Barry et al., 2017). One recent study found that adolescents with higher psychopathy and violence exposure are at greater risk for antisocial behaviors (Estrada et al., 2022). However, another study did not find support for exposure to violence as a moderator between CU traits and delinquent and aggressive behaviors, although direct relations were observed (Joyner & Beaver, 2023). Empathy has been considered protective against aggression for adolescents exposed to community violence (Sams & Truscott, 2004). This study considers whether distinct profiles of CU traits, communal narcissism, and empathy moderate the relation between exposure to violence and delinquent acts in at-risk adolescents.

The sample consisted of 311 participants ages 16-19 recruited from a 22-week quasi-military residential program. Participants completed the Self-Report of Delinquency Scale (SRD; Elliott & Ageton, 1985), Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU; Frick, 2004), Communal Narcissism Inventory (CNI; Gebauer et al., 2012), Basic Empathy Scale (BES; Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006), and exposure to violence questions developed from the Brief Trauma Questionnaire (Schnurr et al., 1999).

Consistent with prior studies, greater exposure to violence predicted higher levels of violent (β = .57, p < .001), property (β = .33, p < .001), and drug (β = .49, p < .001) delinquent acts. A latent class analysis was performed using total scores of the ICU, CNI, and BES. Three classes were supported by the data: a high CU class (CU), a high communal narcissism and empathy class (NE), and a class moderate on all variables (M). The NE class reported significantly fewer violent delinquent acts than both the CU (p = .02) and M (p = .04) classes and had significantly fewer property delinquent acts than the CU (p = .046) class. There were no significant differences on drug-related acts. A regression was run with class dummy coded and demonstrated that exposure to violence predicts significantly more violent delinquent acts for the M (β = .51, p= .003) and CU (β = .31, p = .03) classes than the NE class. Class membership did not moderate the relation between exposure to violence and delinquent property acts. Communal narcissism and empathy, therefore, appear to serve as protective factors against performing violent delinquent acts for adolescents who were exposed to significant violence in childhood, which has implications for intervening with youth exposed to violence.