Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Happiness Studies
Published in: Journal of Happiness Studies 6/2016

11-12-2015 | Research Paper

Can Romantic Relationship Quality Mediate the Relation Between Psychopathy and Subjective Well-Being?

Authors: Ashley B. Love, Mark D. Holder

Published in: Journal of Happiness Studies | Issue 6/2016

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

The relations between psychopathy, romantic relationships, and well-being were investigated in 431 undergraduates. For both males and females, various components of romantic relationship quality were positively correlated with subjective well-being (SWB) and negatively correlated with ill-being. However, only for females was overall romantic relationship quality positively correlated with life satisfaction, happiness and positive affect, and negatively correlated with negative affect and depression. High levels of psychopathy were found in 23.1 % of males and 7.4 % of females. Psychopathy accounted for significant variance in overall relationship quality (7.0 %), commitment (14.1 %), satisfaction (9.3 %), romance (10.7 %) and trust (6.4 %) in romantic relationships for males and in overall relationship quality (3.2 %), commitment (5.3 %), and trust (5.9 %) for females. Romantic relationship quality was able to mediate the relations between psychopathy and SWB and this mediation was moderated by gender.
previous article How Does the Life Satisfaction of the Poor, Least Educated, and Least Satisfied Change as Average Life Satisfaction Increases?
next article Children’s and Adolescents’ Conceptions of Happiness

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Literature
Ali, F., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2010). The dark side of love and life satisfaction: Associations with intimate relationships, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 228–233.CrossRef
Arbuckle, N. L., & Cunnigham, W. A. (2012). Understanding everyday psychopathy: Shared group identity leads to increased concern for others among undergraduates higher in psychopathy. Social Cognition, 30(5), 564–583.CrossRef
Argyle, M., Martin, M., & Crossland, J. (1989). Happiness as a function of personality and social encounters. In J. P. Forgas & J. M. Innes (Eds.), Recent advances in social psychology: An international perspective (pp. 189–203). Amsterdam: North Holland, Elselvier Science.
Attridge, M., Berscheid, E., & Simpson, J. A. (1995). Predicting relationship stability from both partners versus one. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(2), 254–268.CrossRef
Banse, R. (2004). Adult attachment and marital satisfaction: Evidence for dyadic configuration effects. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21(2), 273–282.CrossRef
Barry, T. D., Barry, C. T., Deming, A. M., & Lochman, J. E. (2008). Stability of psychopathic characteristics in childhood: The influence of social relationships. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35(2), 244–262.CrossRef
Beekman, A. T. F., Deeg, D. J. H., Van Limbeek, J., Braam, A. W., De Vries, M. Z., & Van Tilburg, W. (1997). Criterion validity of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D): Results from a community-based sample of older subjects in the Netherlands. Psychological Medicine, 27, 231–235.CrossRef
Bouchard, S., Sabourin, S., Lussier, Y., & Villeneuve, E. (2009). Relationship quality and stability in couples when one partner suffers from borderline personality disorder. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 35(4), 446–455.CrossRef
Brinkley, C. A., Schmitt, W. A., Smith, S. S., & Newman, J. P. (2001). Construct validation of a self-report psychopathy scale: Does Levenson’s Self-Report Psychopathy Scale measure the same constructs as Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist-Revised? Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 1021–1038.CrossRef
Cramer, D., & Jowett, S. (2010). Perceived empathy, accurate empathy and relationship satisfaction in heterosexual couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27, 327–349.CrossRef
Crawford, J. R., & Henry, J. D. (2004). The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): Construct validity, measurement properties and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43, 245–265.CrossRef
Cuijpers, C., Boluijt, P., & van Straten, A. (2008). Screening of depression in adolescents through the internet. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 17, 32–38.CrossRef
Del Guidice, M. (2011). Sex differences in romantic attachment: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(2), 193–214.CrossRef
Demir, M. (2010). Close relationships and happiness among emerging adults. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11, 293–313.CrossRef
Demir, M., & Weitekamp, L. A. (2007). I am so happy cause today I found my friend: Friendship and personality as predictors of happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 8, 8181–8211.
Demirtas, S. C., & Tezer, E. (2012). Romantic relationship satisfaction, commitment to career choices, and subjective well-being. Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences, 46, 2542–2549.CrossRef
Diehl, M., Elrick, A. B., Bourbeau, L. S., & Labouvie-Vief, G. (1998). Adult attachment styles: Their relations to family context and personality. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 197–229.CrossRef
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.CrossRef
Drigotas, S. M., Rusbult, C. E., & Verette, J. (1999). Level of commitment, mutuality of commitment, and couple well-being. Personal Relationships, 6(3), 389–409.CrossRef
Dush, C. M. K., & Amato, P. R. (2005). Consequences of relationship status and quality for subjective well-being. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22(5), 607–627.CrossRef
Dyrdal, G. M., Røysamb, E., Nes, R. B., & Vittersø, J. (2011). Can a happy relationship predict a happy life? A population-based study of maternal well-being during the life transition of pregnancy, infancy, and toddlerhood. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12, 947–962.CrossRef
Fletcher, G. J. O., Simpson, J. A., & Thomas, G. (2000). The measurement of perceived relationship quality components: A confirmatory factor analytic approach. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 340–354.CrossRef
Francis, L. J., Brown, L. B., Lester, D., & Philipchalk, R. (1998). Happiness as stable extraversion: A cross-cultural examination of the reliability and validity of the Oxford Happiness Inventory among students in the U.K., U.S.A., Australia, and Canada. Personality and Individual Differences, 24(2), 167–171.CrossRef
Frick, P. J., O’Brien, P. S., Wootten, J. M., & McBurnett, K. (1994). Psychopathy and conduct problems in children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103(4), 700–707.CrossRef
Frodi, A., Dernevik, M., Sepa, A., Philipson, J., & Bragesjö, M. (2001). Current attachment representations of incarcerated offenders varying in degrees of psychopathy. Attachment and Human Development, 3(3), 269–283.CrossRef
Furnham, A., & Petrides, K. V. (2003). Trait emotional intelligence and happiness. Social Behavior and Personality, 31(8), 815–824.CrossRef
Hare, R. D. (1999). Psychopathy as a risk for violence. Psychiatric Quarterly, 70(3), 181–197.CrossRef
Hare, R. D., Harupr, T. J., Hakstian, A. R., Forth, A. E., Hart, S. D., & Newman, J. P. (1990). The revised pscyhopathy checklist: Reliability and factor structure. Psychological Assessment, 2(3), 338–341.CrossRef
Hare, R. D., & Neumann, C. S. (2005). Structural models of psychopathy. Current Psychiatry Reports, 7, 57–64.CrossRef
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression based approach. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Hayes, A. F., Preacher, K. J., & Myers, T. A. (2010). Mediation and the estimation of indirect effects in political communication research. In E. P. Bucy & R. L. Holbert (Eds.), Sourcebook for political communication research: Methods, measures, and analytical techniques. New York: Routledge.
Hazen, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511–554.CrossRef
Holder, M. D., Love, A. B., & Timoney, L. (2014). The poor subjective well-being associated with alexithymia is mediated by romantic relationships. Journal of Happiness Studies, 66, 112–117. doi:10.​1007/​s10902-014-9500-0.
Howell, R. T., Rodzon, K. S., Kurai, M., & Sanchez, A. H. (2010). A validation of well-being and happiness surveys for administration via the Internet. Behavior Research Methods, 42(3), 775–784.CrossRef
Joiner, T. E., Sandín, B., Chorot, P., Lostao, L., & Marquina, G. (1997). Development and factor analytic validation of the SPANAS among women in Spain: (More) cross-cultural convergence in the structure of mood. Journal of Personality Assessment, 68(3), 600–615.CrossRef
Jonason, P. K., Luevano, V. X., & Adams, H. M. (2012). How the Dark Triad traits predict relationship choices. Personality and Individual Differences, 53, 180–184.CrossRef
Jonason, P. K., & Schmitt, D. P. (2012). What have you done for me lately? Friendship-selection in the shadow of the Dark Triad traits. Evolutionary Psychology, 10(3), 400–421.CrossRef
Jonason, P. K., Valentine, K. A., Li, N. P., & Harbeson, C. L. (2011). Mate-selection and the Dark Triad: Facilitating a short-term mating strategy and creating a volatile environment. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 759–763.CrossRef
Kashdan, T. B. (2004). The assessment of subjective well-being (issues raised by the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire). Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 1225–1232.CrossRef
Keelan, J. P. R., Dion, K. L., & Dion, K. K. (1994). Attachment style and heterosexual relationships among young adults: A short-term panel study. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 201–214.CrossRef
Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Davis, K. E. (1994). Attachment style, gender, and relationship stability: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(3), 502–512.CrossRef
Kreis, M. K. F., & Cooke, D. J. (2011). Capturing the psychopathic female: A prototypicality analysis of the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathy (CAPP) across gender. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 29(5), 634–648.CrossRef
Levenson, M. R., Kiehl, K. A., & Fitzpatrick, C. M. (1995). Assessing psychopathic attributes in a noninstitutionalized population. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(1), 151–158.CrossRef
Li, T., & Fung, H. H. (2014). How avoidant attachment influences subjective well-being: An investigation about the age and gender differences. Aging and Mental Health, 18(1), 4–10.CrossRef
Love, A. B., & Holder, M. D. (2014). Psychopathy and subjective well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 66, 112–117.CrossRef
Luce, K. H., Winzelberg, A. J., Das, S., Osborne, M. I., Bryson, S. W., & Taylor, C. B. (2005). Reliability of self-report: Paper versus online administration. Computers in Human Behavior, 23, 1384–1389.CrossRef
Lynam, D. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2007). Longitudinal evidence that psychopathy scores in early adolescence predict adult psychopathy. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116(1), 155–165.CrossRef
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005a). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803–855.CrossRef
Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137–155.CrossRef
Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005b). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111–131.CrossRef
Mack, T. D., Hackney, A. A., & Pyle, M. (2011). The relationship between psychopathic traits and attachment behavior in a non-clinical population. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 584–588.CrossRef
Martens, M. P., Parker, J. C., Smarr, K. L., Hewett, J. E., Slaughter, J. R., & Walker, S. E. (2006). Assessment of depression in rheumatoid arthritis: A modified version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 49(4), 549–555.CrossRef
Maxwell, S. E., Cole, D. A., & Mitchell, M. A. (2011). Bias in cross-sectional analysis of longitudinal mediation: Partial and complete mediation under an autoregressive model. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 46(5), 816–841.CrossRef
McLennan, J., Bates, G. W., Johnson, E., Lavery, A. R., & Horne, D. D. (1993). The death fantasy scale: A measure based on metaphors of one’s personal death. The Journal of Psychology, 126(7), 619–624.CrossRef
Mikulincer, M., Shaver, P. R., & Pereg, D. (2003). Attachment theory and affect regulation: The dynamics, development, and cognitive consequences of attachment-related strategies. Motivation and Emotion, 27(2), 77–102.CrossRef
Miller, J. D., Watts, A., & Jones, S. E. (2011). Does psychopathy manifest divergent relationships with components of its nomological network depending on gender? Personality and Individual Differences, 50(5), 564–569.CrossRef
Monahan, K. C., Dmitrieva, J., & Cauffman, E. (2014). Bad romance: Sex differences in the longitudinal association between romantic relationships and deviant behavior. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 24(1), 12–26.CrossRef
Neumann, C. S., Hare, R. D., & Newman, J. P. (2007). The super-ordinate nature of the psychopathy checklist-revised. Journal of Personality Disorders, 21(2), 102–117.CrossRef
O’Connor, B. P., Crawford, M. R., & Holder, M. D. (2014). An item response theory analysis of the Subjective Happiness Scale. Social Indicators Research,. doi:10.​1007/​s11205-014-0773-9.
Pinquart, M., & Sörensen, S. (2000). Influences of socioeconomic status, social network, and competence on subjective well-being in later life: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 15, 187–224.CrossRef
Polaschek, D. L. L., & Daly, T. E. (2013). Treatment and psychopathy in forensic settings. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18(5), 592–603.CrossRef
Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., & Hayes, A. F. (2007). Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioural Research, 42(1), 185–227.CrossRef
Proulx, C. M., Helms, H. M., & Buehler, C. (2007). Marital quality and personal well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 576–593.CrossRef
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385–401.CrossRef
Radloff, L. S. (1991). The use of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale in adolescents and young adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20(2), 149–166.CrossRef
Romans, S. E., Tyas, J., Cohen, M. M., & Silverstone, T. (2007). Gender differences in the symptoms of major depressive disorder. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195(11), 905–911.CrossRef
Salekin, R. T., & Frick, P. J. (2005). Psychopathy in children and adolescents: The need for a developmental perspective. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33(4), 403–409.CrossRef
Savard, C., Sabourin, S., & Lussier, Y. (2011). Correlates of psychopathic personality traits in community couples. Personality and Mental Health, 5(3), 186–199.CrossRef
Schiffrin, H. H. (2014). Positive psychology and attachment: Positive affect as a mediator of developmental outcomes. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23, 1062–1072.CrossRef
Schneider, L., & Schimmack, U. (2009). Self-informant agreement in well-being ratings: A meta-analysis. Social Indicators Research, 94, 363–376.CrossRef
Simpson, J. A. (1990). Influence of attachment styles on romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(5), 971–980.CrossRef
Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirski, S. (2009). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice-friendly meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65, 467–487.CrossRef
Skorikov, V. B., & Vandervoort, D. J. (2009). Relationships between the underlying constructs of the Beck Depression Inventory and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63(2), 319–335.CrossRef
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon.
Terracciano, A., McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (2003). Factorial and construct validity of the Italian positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 19(2), 131–141.CrossRef
Timoney, L., & Holder, M. D. (2013). Emotional processing deficits and happiness: Assessing the measurement, correlates, and well-being of people with alexithymia (pp. 1–90). Berlin: Springer Publishing.
Uysal, A., Lin, H. L., & Bush, A. L. (2012). The reciprocal cycle of self-concealment and trust in romantic relationships. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 844–851.CrossRef
Vallejo, M. A., Jordàn, C. M., Diaz, M. I., Comeche, M. I., & Ortega, J. (2007). Psychological assessment via the internet: A reliability and validity study of online (vs. paper-and-pencil) version of the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and the Symptoms Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Journal of Medical Internet Research, 9(1), 1–10.CrossRef
Vujeva, H. M., & Furman, W. (2011). Depressive symptoms and romantic relationship qualities from adolescence through emerging adulthood: A longitudinal examination of influences. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40(1), 123–135.CrossRef
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070.CrossRef
Whitton, S. W., & Kuryluk, A. D. (2012). Relationship satisfaction and depressive symptoms in emerging adults: Cross-sectional associations and moderating effects of relationship characteristics. Journal of Family Psychology, 26(2), 226–235.CrossRef
Yang, A., Wang, D., Li, T., & Teng, F. (2008). The impact of adult attachment and parental rearing on subjective well-being in Chinese late adolescents. Social Behavior and Personality, 36(10), 1365–1378.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Can Romantic Relationship Quality Mediate the Relation Between Psychopathy and Subjective Well-Being?
Authors
Ashley B. Love
Mark D. Holder
Publication date
11-12-2015
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Journal of Happiness Studies / Issue 6/2016
Print ISSN: 1389-4978
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7780
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-015-9700-2

Other articles of this Issue 6/2016

Journal of Happiness Studies 6/2016 Go to the issue

Research Paper

Long-Term Development of Employee Well-Being: A Latent Transition Approach

Research Paper

The Life Satisfaction of Dual-Earner Mothers and Fathers: Does Flexible Scheduling Matter?

Research Paper

Your Strengths are Calling: Preliminary Results of a Web-Based Strengths Intervention to Increase Calling

Research Paper

Dark Storm Clouds and Rays of Sunshine: Profiles of Negative and Positive Rumination About Daily Hassles and Uplifts

Research Paper

Which Attitudes Will Make us Individually and Socially Happier and Healthier? A Cross-Culture and Cross-Development Analytical Model

Research Paper

Implicit Theories of Well-Being Predict Well-Being and the Endorsement of Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes