Psychopathic Traits and Violent Co-Offending in Adolescence: A Narrative Review of Peer Influence, Group Dynamics, and Moral Disengagement
Abstract
Adolescent violence often occurs in social settings rather than as an isolated individual act. This narrative review examines how adolescent psychopathic traits may contribute to violent co-offending through peer selection, peer influence, group-role differentiation, and moral disengagement. The reviewed literature supports a multidimensional interpretation of psychopathic traits. Callous-unemotional traits are most consistently linked to persistent and severe antisocial behavior, especially among high-risk youths with early conduct problems. Grandiose-manipulative traits may increase social influence within delinquent peer networks and help explain why some adolescents become more central, directive, or instigating in group offending. Impulsive-irresponsible traits appear especially relevant to opportunity-driven offending, gang involvement, and rapid escalation under weak supervision. Moral disengagement provides a cognitive pathway through which adolescents justify harm, minimize responsibility, and neutralize guilt. However, the evidence base remains uneven: many studies are cross-sectional, male-dominated, and focused on serious offenders; direct research on psychopathic traits within violent co-offending events remains limited. A more precise developmental model should integrate individual traits with peer-network structure, situational opportunity, leadership roles, and moral cognition. Future work should use longitudinal, multi-informant, event-level, and…
Read the paper
Related studies
- The neurocircuitry of addiction: an overview
- Gender Differences in Human Brain: A Review
- Stratified medicine for mental disorders
- The neurobiology of drug addiction: cross-species insights into the dysfunction and recovery of the prefrontal cortex
- Annual Research Review: DNA methylation as a mediator in the association between risk exposure and child and adolescent psychopathology
- Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.