Relationships between parenting styles and psychopathic traits in childhood

During the last decade, a growing interest has been generated in the analysis and understanding of etiological mechanisms related to the development of psychopathic traits in childhood. Although contextual factors have been poorly studied, some approaches suggest that certain environmental factors, namely parenting practices, may play an important role in the development and expressions of psychopathic personality. In this line, this study aims to analyze, firstly, the relationship between psychopathic traits and parenting practices and, secondly, to what extent the different styles of parental socialization are related to psychopathic personality in childhood. To achieve this objective, data were collected from parents (173) and teachers (113) about 192 children (aged 6-11 years). The results show the existence of statistically significant relationships between parenting practices/styles, and the presence of psychopathic traits, both affective-interpersonal and behavioral, at early ages.