Somatic marker functioning during recovery from a romantic relationship with a psychopathic abuser

416 Pages·2017·4.23 MB·English

by  Carleton University

SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS

Somatic marker functioning during recovery from a romantic
relationship with a psychopathic abuser: An examination of mental
health, resilience, and post-traumatic growth
in social decision making

by

Courtney Meagan Humeny

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral
Affiars in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

in

Cognitive Science

Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario

© 2017
Courtney Humeny
SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS ii

Abstract
Damasio’s (1994) Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH) proposes a system in the brain that
creates somatic markers, a mechanism which assists in integrating emotional information
to aid in everyday functioning, including social decision making. Survivors of domestic
abuse commonly experience mental health impairments that are associated with
abnormalities in the somatic marker circuitry. These abnormalities are made apparent in
deficits in facial affect processing and social impairments that contribute to the
maintenance of these disorders. Whiffen and MacIntosh (2005) propose that the strategies
survivors use to cope with distress can perpetuate and extend impairments to mental
health by diminishing their ability to maintain supportive relationships. However, some
survivors demonstrate growth or resilience despite their experiences, and utilize social
support relatively well. The purpose of my research is to provide a conceptual
investigation of the neuropsychological underpinnings of Whiffen and MacIntosh’s
pathway by utilizing Damasio’s SMH. I examine survivors who identified as having a
prior romantic relationship with a psychopathic abuser. Survivors of psychopathic
abusers have received limited attention from researchers, but suggestions have been made
regarding profound declines to emotional and interpersonal functioning (Pagliaro, 2009).
Two studies were conducted to examine the association between abusers’ ascribed level
of psychopathic traits, and survivors’ abuse experiences and recovery outcomes (e.g.,
mental health impairments, resilience). Participants (N = 105 and N = 392) were recruited
from domestic abuse survivor support websites and completed a series of close and open-
ended questionnaires, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), and a facial affect recognition task.
A series of correlation and regression analyses revealed that abusers’ ascribed levels of
SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS iii

psychopathic traits were predicted by survivors’ experiences of abuse that was frequent,
physically harmful, and versatile (i.e., physical, financial, sexual, and property abuse),
and survivors diminished positive emotional experiences and elevated post-traumatic
stress symptoms (Study 1a and 2). While frequent and physically harmful abuse were
predictive of abusers’ ascribed Factor 1 and Factor 2 psychopathy scores, survivors’
experiences of anxiety was also predictive of their ratings of abusers’ ascribed Factor 1
psychopathy scores (Study 1a). Thematic and linguistic analysis (n = 7) suggests that
psychopathic traits can enhance abusers’ ability to use various linguistic tactics to
gaslight their victims; a form of emotional abuse that severely impact victims’ mental
health and interpersonal relationships (Study 1b). No evidence was found for the role of
somatic markers in Whiffen and MacIntosh’s feedback pathway: mixed ANOVAs
revealed no differences on task performance in relation to survivors’ recovery outcomes
(Study 2). Regression analyses revealed that survivors’ mental health impairments were
predicted by perceiving the abusive relationship to have a greater negative impact on
mental health, more recent contact with the abuser, and a greater reception of social
support (Study 2). In terms of survivors’ positive outcomes, resilience was predicted by a
higher reception of social support and lower levels of mental health impairments (Study
2). Post-traumatic growth was predicted by being in the abusive relationship for a longer
duration, less recent contact with the abuser, higher levels of resilience and received
social support, and lower levels of perceived emotional support and mental health
impairments (Study 2). Discussion centers on the theoretical and practical implications of
Whiffen and MacIntosh’s feedback pathway in the context of recovery from
psychopathic abusers during romantic relationships.
SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS iv

Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank the survivors who participated in my studies, those who
shared my recruitment announcements to spread the word of my research, who contacted
me personally about their experiences, and those who continued to request updates on my
research over the course of this five-year project.
I would like to acknowledge the tremendous amount of support I received from my
committee, who were able to provide comments from different perspectives: Dr. Adelle
Forth from Psychology and her expertise in psychopathy and survivors of psychopathy,
Dr. Katharine Kelly from Gender Studies and Sociology with her expertise on violence
against women, and Dr. Kasia Muldner from the Institute of Cognitive Science with
expertise in cognition and decision making. I would like to thank my External Examiner,
Dr. Kasia Uzieblo from Thomas More University College in Antwerp, Belgium. As a
fellow researcher of the emerging area of psychopath survivors, your questions and
insight into my thesis meant a lot to me. All together, I will continue to use the insights
from my committee as I prepare my results for journal submission.
I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. John Logan for taking on a second-year doctoral
student with no project and an interest in a research area that, at the time was very new to
both of us. Thank you for all your work in reading various iterations of Ethics
applications and thesis drafts, your openness with the project, and supporting my side
interests/research projects, which facilitated my ability to carry out the first doctoral
thesis on surivovrs of psychopaths.
SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS v

I would like to thank Dr. Ian Broom for introducing me to the research world of
psychopathy, and for giving me an opportunity to gain experience in this area and present
at my first conference, the 2011 Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy. It was at
this conference that I met with researchers in this new area and learned of the Aftermath:
Surviving Psychopathy Foundation. I would like to thank the volunteers and the Board of
Directors at Aftermath for promoting the importance of this research area, and for
providing me with moral and financial support in the form of a research grant in 2011 and
a research award in 2016. I would also like to express thanks to other agencies that
funded my research. These include the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council, Ontario Graduate Scholarship program, and the donors for internal awards at
Carleton University, particularly the New Sun Award for Aboriginal Students.
I would like to thank my web developer/programmer Rufino Ansara for his loyalty and
perseverance; working side-by-side with me on numerous occasions to develop, pilot,
and update the website through various iterations of Ethics clearance over the years.
Lastly, I would like to thank my non-academic support system. Dr. Nalini Ramlakhan,
thank you for being one of the first fans of my research, being on the same page as me
throughout our graduate degree, and providing an unwavering source of support and
positive energy. I would like to thank my family, my brother Matthew Humeny and my
Dad, Randy Humeny, who taught me the importance of work ethic, modesty, and
dreaming big. I would also like to thank my fiancé Jean-Pierre Beaulieu, for providing
me and my baby, Maibelle, a forever home, for taking me to the lab on weekends,
making sure I was fed, and for ensuring that I talked to someone other than the person
who works at the coffee shop on my writing days.
SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS vi

Dedication

I dedicate this dissertation to my dad, Randy Humeny.
SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS vii

Table of Contents
Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii
Dedication ............................................................................................................................v
List of Figures ....................................................................................................................xv
List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xvi
List of Appendices .............................................................................................................xx
List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... xxii
Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1
Somatic Marker Hypothesis .................................................................................................9
Iowa Gambling Task ..............................................................................................11
Criticisms of the Somatic Marker Hypothesis .......................................................13
Are Somatic Markers Impaired in Survivor Populations? .................................................19
Common Reactions Associated with Domestic Abuse ..........................................22
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder .............................................................................24
Neural correlates of cognitive and emotional difficulties ..........................25
Cognitive and emotional processes in domestic abuse survivors ..............27
Facial affect recognition ............................................................................29
Depression and Anxiety .........................................................................................32
Psychopathy .......................................................................................................................35
Factor Structure Underlying Assessments of Psychopathy ...................................37
Theories of Psychopathy ........................................................................................40
Response Modulation Hypothesis..............................................................40
SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS viii

Violence Inhibition Mechanism Model .....................................................41
Language Use.........................................................................................................43
Psychopathy and Crime .........................................................................................47
Emotion Deficits ....................................................................................................47
Psychopathy and Domestic Abuse .........................................................................49
Facial affect recognition in psychopathic abusers .....................................52
Psychopathy and Victim Selection ........................................................................55
Survivors of Psychopathic Abusers ...................................................................................59
Positive Outcomes Following Trauma...............................................................................66
Correlates of Resilience .........................................................................................68
Emotion and resilience ...............................................................................69
Correlates of Post-Traumatic Growth ....................................................................71
Post-traumatic growth and mental health impairments .............................71
Social Support ........................................................................................................74
Overview of Studies ...........................................................................................................78
Study 1 ...........................................................................................................................79
Method ...................................................................................................................89
Participants .................................................................................................89
Procedure ...................................................................................................90
Measures ....................................................................................................91
1) Demographics ................................................................................91
2) Victimization Screening Survey ....................................................92
3) Modified Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-Short ............................93
SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS ix

Validity of the SRP-III and SRP-SF ..................................94
Potential limitations and strengths .....................................95
4) Affect Intensity Measure................................................................97
5) Impact of Events Scale Revised .....................................................99
6) Ego Resilience Scale ....................................................................100
7) Symptom Checklist-90 Revised ...................................................100
8) Open-Ended Questions ................................................................102
Data Analysis .......................................................................................................102
Study1a ....................................................................................................102
Descriptive statistics ....................................................................102
Regression analyses .....................................................................103
Correlational analyses ..................................................................105
Study1b ....................................................................................................106
Descriptive statistics ....................................................................106
Applied linguistics .......................................................................106
Qualitative methods .....................................................................107
Thematic analysis.............................................................108
Sample size ..........................................................111
Inter-rater reliability .............................................111
Results ..........................................................................................................................112
Data Treatment.....................................................................................................112
Quantitative Data Cleaning ..................................................................................113
Missing data .............................................................................................114
SOMATIC MARKERS IN PSYCHOPATH SURVIVORS x

Identification of univariate outliers ..........................................................115
Normality .................................................................................................115
Multicollinearity ......................................................................................116
Regression diagnostics .............................................................................116
Qualitative Data Cleaning. ...................................................................................117
Study 1a .......................................................................................................................118
Reliability Checks ................................................................................................118
Descriptive Statistics ............................................................................................118
Research Question One: Do survivors who experience abuse that is more
versatile, physically harmful, and frequent ascribe higher levels of psychopathic
traits in their abusers (Study 1a)?.........................................................................123
Research Question Two: Do survivors’ current experiences of emotional
functioning influence the level of psychopathic traits they ascribe to their abusers
(Study 1a)? ...........................................................................................................126
Research Question Three: Do survivors’ abuse experiences and current mental
health impairments affect their ratings of specific categorizations of psychopathic
traits (e.g., Factor 1, lifestyle facet, etc; Study 1a)? .............................................128
Discussion- Study 1a....................................................................................................134
Psychopathic Traits and Abuse Experiences .......................................................135
Emotional Functioning During Recovery from a Psychopathic Abuser .............138
The Factors and Facets of Psychopathy ...............................................................140
Theoretical and Practical Implications.................................................................145
Study 1b ...........................................................................................................................149