title: Mentalizing mediates the relationship between psychopathy and type of aggression in schizophrenia.
abstract: Convincing evidence demonstrates that psychopathy is associated with premeditated aggression. However, studies have failed to explain why this association exists and whether socio-cognitive functions, such as mentalizing, could explain the relation. This cross-sectional study investigates, in 108 patients with schizophrenia, the association of psychopathy and mentalizing abilities with premeditated and impulsive aggression and probes the nature of their influence on these specific aggression patterns. Patients' engagement in premeditated aggression was associated with diminishing mentalizing and increasing psychopathic tendencies. Moreover, mediation analyses reveal that the ability to attribute mental states to others mediates the relation between psychopathy and type of aggression. This mediation is facilitated by a specific mentalizing profile characterized by the presence of intact cognitive and deficient emotional mentalizing capacities. This study is the first to report a mediating effect of mentalizing on the relationship between psychopathy and type of aggression in schizophrenia. Implications of these results are discussed.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychiatric Research Unit, Region Zealand, Denmark; †School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; ‡Department of Child and Adolescence Psychiatry and Psychiatric Research Unit, Region Zealand, Denmark; §Early Psychosis Intervention Center, Region Zealand, Denmark; and ∥Psychoanalysis Unit, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Sune
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bo
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abu-Akel
authors.forename: Mickey
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kongerslev
authors.forename: Ulrik Helt
authors.initials: UH
authors.lastname: Haahr
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bateman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D056345:Theory of Mind; D006113:United Kingdom; D014888:Wechsler Scales