Self- and partner-reported psychopathic traits' relations with couples' communication, marital satisfaction trajectories, and divorce in a longitudinal sample

Abstract

Given that psychopathy is composed in large part by an antagonistic relational approach and is associated with many troubling interpersonally relevant outcomes, its role in romantic functioning warrants greater attention. The current study used data from a community sample of 172 newlywed couples to examine spouses' psychopathic traits in relation to their partners' psychopathic traits, observed communication, 4-year marital satisfaction trajectories, and 10-year divorce rates. Spouses reporting greater levels of psychopathic traits were married to partners reporting greater levels of psychopathic traits. Psychopathic traits were correlated cross-sectionally with more negative affect and less positive affect during conversations regarding sources of tension in the relationship. Longitudinally, hierarchical linear modeling of spouses' 4-year marital trajectories indicated that psychopathic traits generally predicted lower initial and sustained marital satisfaction for spouses and their partners over time. In addition, wives' ratings of husbands' psychopathic traits predicted declines in husbands' satisfaction over time and elevated 10-year divorce rates. These findings highlight the relationship impairment associated with psychopathic traits, indicate that this impairment is present from the beginning of couples' marital trajectories, and show that psychopathic traits predict divorce. Findings also suggest that partner-ratings of psychopathic traits provide substantial incremental validity in the prediction of marital functioning outcomes relative to self-ratings. Future research on the pathways by which psychopathic traits undermine relationship functioning over time would be valuable. (PsycINFO Database Record