Journal of Child and Family Studies https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1057-9 ORIGINAL PAPER The Relationship Between Parental Psychopathic Traits and Parenting Style Jennifer Cox 1 ● Megan R. Kopkin 1 ● James A. Rankin 1 ● Theodore S. Tomeny 1 ● C. Adam Coffey 1 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Surprisingly little research has examined the role of parental psychopathic traits in the parent-child relationship. We aimed to gain a better understanding of how parental psychopathic traits are related to parenting style and to determine whether specific parental psychopathic traits are differentially related to parenting behaviors. A sample of male and female parents from a community population completed the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) as well as a modified version of the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ). Path analyses predicting PAQ subscales from PPI-R factors indicated poor model fit. However, path analyses examining PAQ and PPI-R subscales indicated good model fit, with PPI-R subscales explaining 20–25% of variance in PAQ subscale scores. Surprisingly, PAQ Authoritative parenting was significantly predicted by the greatest number of PPI-R facets, including Carefree Nonplanfulness, Coldheartedness, Rebellious Nonconformity (all positive) and Fearlessness (negative). Rebellious Nonconformity also positively predicted PAQ Permissive parenting, and negatively predicted PAQ Authoritative Parenting. Results suggest parental psychopathic traits may be associated with specific parenting styles, although future research should consider potential moderating variables. Keywords Psychopathy ● Psychopathic traits ● Parenting style ● Fearless dominance ● Self-centered impulsivity Introduction Psychopathy is generally conceptualized as a constellation of personality traits including impulsivity, callousness, manipulativeness, and egocentricity (Hare 2003; Patrick et al. 2009). Psychopathy has robust relationships with violence and aggression (Asscher et al. 2011; Blais et al. 2014), criminal activity and recidivism (Walters 2003), and substance abuse (Taylor and Lang 2006). With these cor- relates, researchers have historically focused on psycho- pathy in clinical and forensic contexts. However, the first clinical portrayals of psychopathy were not based on observations of forensic samples. Cleckley (1941) studied psychopathic personality traits in non-criminal, psychiatric patients and described psychopaths as individuals who did not necessarily engage in criminal behavior. Rather, Cleckley (1941) defined the typical psychopath as super- ficially charming, insincere, and as having affective deficits. He detailed the psychopath’s tendency to be unreliable, impulsive, and egotistical. In the 16 criteria Cleckley (1941) used to define psychopathy, criminality is never mentioned. Although the vast majority of research on psychopathic traits has focused on incarcerated male samples (Hall and Benning 2006) and callous/unemotional (CU) traits in chil- dren and adolescents (Salekin 2006), due in part to an effort to return to Cleckley’s original theory (Skeem and Cooke 2010), researchers have also explored psychopathic traits in noncriminal, community adult populations (Coffey et al. 2017; DeMatteo et al. 2005; Mullins-Nelson et al. 2006). Data suggest psychopathic traits are related to a number of social behaviors and interactions (Coffey et al. 2017; Darkea et al. 1998; Mathieu et al. 2014; Rilling et al. 2007). How- ever, very little research has explored the relationship between parental psychopathic traits and parenting behaviors, particularly in regard to the parent-child relationship. Baumrind (1971) described parenting as existing on two basic dimensions. All parents display a certain degree of warmth and responsiveness, along with a particular level of control, when interacting with their children. Baumrind * Jennifer Cox Jennifer.m.cox@ua.edu 1 Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA 1234567890();,: