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Criminal Justice and Behavior
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Phenotypic and Aetiological Associations Between Psychopathic Tendencies, Autistic Traits, and Emotion Attribution

Alice P. Jones

University College London, King's College London

Henrik Larsson

Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Angelica Ronald

Birkbeck, University of London; King's College London

Fruhling Rijsdijk

King's College London

Patricia Busfield

King's College London

Andrew Mcmillan

King's College London

Robert Plomin

King's College London

Essi Viding

University College London, King's College London, e.viding{at}ucl.ac.uk

Some behavioural overlap exists between psychopathic tendencies and autistic traits, and both phenotypes are thought to be associated with problems in empathy. However, the broad behavioural profiles and the cognitive-affective deficits associated with the two conditions are at least partly separable. The main aim of this study was to assess the extent to which the aetiology of psychopathic tendencies is independent of autistic traits. A secondary aim was to study the aetiology of emotion attribution ability and its association with psychopathic tendencies and autistic traits. Based on data from a sample of 642 twin pairs, the genetic and nonshared environmental influences related to psychopathic tendencies were largely unique to each phenotype. Common environmental influences between psychopathic tendencies and autistic traits overlapped. Poorer emotion attribution ability was associated with increased psychopathic tendencies and autistic traits, and these associations were mainly explained by common genetic factors.

Key Words: psychopathy • autism • empathy • twins • genetics

Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 36, No. 11, 1198-1212 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0093854809342949
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