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ACaffeinatedWandress t1_iryblzb wrote

Not surprising at all, considering that engaging in high-risk behaviors is common for psychopaths. I would expect mortality rates for both genders to be higher than non-psychopathic peers in the non-institutionalized population, too.

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amadeupidentity t1_irxq7al wrote

anyone know what the numbers are like for male psychopaths?

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Otterfan t1_iry9nt3 wrote

Another study by the same researchers found that psychopathic male offenders had five to nine times higher mortality risk compared to the general population.

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aimeed72 t1_iryz1gx wrote

The discrepancy between male and female mortality is probably that female risk taking behaviors expose them to additional risks beyond the risks posed by the acts themselves. Risky sex, for example is significantly riskier for females than it is for males.

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godlords t1_irz6z7p wrote

I highly doubt that's the primary reason. Men die at younger ages, largely due to greater risk-seeking behavior. I find it far more likely that the average man is engaged in more high risk activities than the average woman, and as such a psychopathic man who is extremely risk-seeking will not be as different to an average man than an extremely risk-seeking psychopathic female is to an average woman.

Psychopaths, male or female risk seeking score: 10

Typical female risk seeking score: 1

Typical male risk seeking score: 2

Numbers made up obviously.

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Paleovegan t1_irz96fu wrote

I agree with this interpretation. Men as a population have a higher baseline risk. They are already far more likely to die due to homicide (close to 80% of homicide victims are male) or misadventure than women. Also generally adhere less to a constellation of healthy lifestyle behaviors.

As you say, a woman who has undergone psychiatric evaluation for “severe crimes” and is categorized as highly psychopathic would probably diverge more from other women in those respects than a male counterpart, which would explain a higher relative risk of mortality.

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aimeed72 t1_irz97bi wrote

But that supposition fits nicely with the numbers given, that female psychopath mortality risk is tenfold over typical females, whereas male psychopath mortality risk is fivefold over typical males. It’s not that female psychopaths behave in riskier ways than than male psychopaths do; it’s that normal males behave in riskier ways than normal females do. The normal male risk is closer to the psychopathic male risk than the normal female risk is to the psychopathic female risk.

I would guess that make psychopaths engage in more risky acts than female psychopaths do, yet females have higher relative mortality risk per risky act, if such a thing can be measured.

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bjornartl t1_irzybbx wrote

And its not just "risk seeking" behavior. Im not sure how wide that term is but not just risk seeking in terms of like pursuing it for excitement. Culturally there's more pressure, expectations and status towards men being providers/having money. So men are more likely to take on more dangerous work roles, not necessarily just dangerous while on the clock but risks of long term health problems that can shorten their lifespans.

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godlords t1_is14o0d wrote

Risk seeking is an economic term, literally defined as a higher tolerance for outcome uncertainty in return for higher expected returns (or sometimes simply higher maximal returns). It can be applied in a more sociological manner as well.

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hassi44 t1_irz7veg wrote

It's also worth noting that antisocial behaviors that do not involve physical aggression, notably manipulation and verbal antagonism, are more likely to lead to unexpected outcomes that complicate a situation, leaving the antagonist vulnerable to retaliation. With physical dominance, the number of variable outcomes can at least be somewhat controlled, but with verbal attacks and failed attempts at manipulation, physical prowess is close to being a prerequisite for avoiding or tackling retaliation.

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[deleted] t1_iryb757 wrote

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[deleted] t1_irytwco wrote

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corvaxia t1_irz2c0p wrote

After reading the abstract, I'm not impressed with this paper.

A sample subset of 16 females that underwent forensic psychiatric assessment and scored a 25+ (what is being used to classify them as psychopathic). One died from suicide, one from drowning. The paper then does its best to connect health related fatalities (e.g. cancer/heart disease) to riskier/unhealthy behavior.

The other 41 participants were inmates that scored below the threshold.

It sounds like it's also getting the 12 fold when comparing to the general Finnish population of females, not the female prison population (they only used the 41 that scored less than 25 on the fpa).

Great headline but man does it feel like it was stretching to get a result.

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Trancetastic16 t1_irzsfj6 wrote

>Great headline but man does it feel like it was stretching to get a result.

That’s all Psypost.com articles, the standard for science on this sub.

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JuliaHelexalim t1_is06bpb wrote

That happens if the someone with the power to control what gets admitted has a vested interest in a journal and the control organs are either non existent or fail.

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sam_likes_beagles t1_irzm5if wrote

12 fold compared to regular people, regular female offenders, psychopathic male offenders, or pyschopathic female non-offenders?

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General-Syrup t1_is05739 wrote

57 Finnish women for the study that were in prison. Hardly representative of the title.

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davtruss t1_is09r1u wrote

As I skimmed the topic, the article, and the comments so far, I still had to read slowly to understand WHOSE mortality risk. For a moment, i thought I was reading about how much deadlier female psychopaths can be. :)

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[deleted] t1_irxdku8 wrote

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candidateforhumanity t1_irxft5r wrote

This is mortality risk of psychopathic women compared to the general population, not psychopathic men.

Men are much more likely to die from self harm than women.

Edit: to clarify my point and end the ridiculous discussion that somehow my comment gave origin to, i'm using the term self harm as all acts of self-poisoning or self-injury, irrespective of the degree of suicidal attempt [intent]. My phrasing, specifically "die from self harm", was (apparently) ambiguous. "Successful suicide attempt" is a term that is discouraged by mental health professionals for associating suicide with success, so it's common in the case of intentional suicidal attempt to make the distinction between unsuccessful attempt as "self harm" or just "attempt" and successful attempt as just "suicide". The literature is clear on this whichever way you choose to interpret it, but I don't understand how "die from self harm" leaves much room for interpretation.

I made the mistake to assume that my point was obvious in context. Not that I think it matters here. It sickens me that people treat this as some sort of competition.

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ACaffeinatedWandress t1_irybdgm wrote

Psychopaths are more likely to participate in high risk behaviors (it’s a big diagnostic criterion), so I am assuming they have higher mortality in non-institutionalized populations relative to non-psychopaths of their gender.

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LorenzoStomp t1_iryb99s wrote

More like they have more concern for leaving a big mess for someone else to clean up, something men are also less likely to consider.

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