Psychopatia i sadyzm seksualny w kontekście opiniowania sądowo-psychologicznego
Wybierz format
RIS BIB ENDNOTEData publikacji: 17.06.2026
Problems of Forensic Sciences (Z Zagadnień Nauk Sądowych), 2025, 144, s. 229-242
https://doi.org/10.4467/12307483PFS.25.011.23646Autorzy
Psychopathy and sexual sadism in the context of forensic and psychological evaluations
The objective of the present article is to provide an examination of the interrelationships between sexual sadism, psychopathy, and violence. Sexual sadism and psychopathy are frequently regarded as synonymous with sexual criminality. Psychopathy is a severe form of antisocial personality disorder (AS PD) characterised by a lack of empathy and remorse, high self-esteem, a manipulative interpersonal style, and poor behavioural control [1]. Furthermore, individuals diagnosed with psychopathy are more likely to commit violent or sexual crimes and have a higher rate of recidivism in comparison to individuals not diagnosed with psychopathy [2, 3]. Conversely, sexual sadism is predominantly associated with a need for control, sexual paraphilias, and atypical behaviours observed at the crime scene. However, it should be noted that the actual prevalence of sexual sadism (and its variants, such as sadistic violence) among sex offenders is unknown [4]. Research has indicated a moderate yet statistically significant correlation between psychopathy and sexual sadism in sex offenders and sexual murderers [5]. A review of the extant literature in this area reveals that few studies have sought to ascertain the comorbidity of these two concepts, and even fewer have addressed the conceptualisation of similarities in predicting violence in each of them. Consequently, an analysis of the current debate regarding their role in the origins of criminal behaviour is of significant importance for theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications in the field of forensic science.
1. Hare RD. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R). Toronto: Multi-Health Systems; 2003.
2. Hare RD. Psychopathy: a clinical construct whose time has come. Crim Justice Behav. 1996;23:25–54.
3. Kiehl KA , Hoffman MB. The criminal psychopath: history, neuroscience, treatment, and economics. Jurimetrics. 2011;51:355–397.
4. Marshall WL, Marshall LE. Sexual sadism. In: Zeigler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, editors. Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences. Cham: Springer; 2016.
5. Papagathonikou T, Marono A. The relationship between psychopathy and sexual sadism: a mixed-methods study. J Forensic Psychiatry Psychol. 2025;36(3):407–429.
6. Knight RA, Guay JP. The role of psychopathy in sexual coercion against women. In: Patrick CJ , editor. Handbook of psychopathy. New York: Guilford Press; 2006. p. 512–532.
7. Stefanska EB, Nitschke J, Carter AJ , Mokros A. Sadism among sexual homicide offenders: validation of the Sexual Sadism Scale. Psychol Assess. 2019;31(1):132–137.
8. Pastwa-Wojciechowska B. Naruszanie norm prawnych w psychopatii. Analiza kryminologiczno-psychologiczna. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego; 2004.
9. Stout M. The ice people: living among us are people with no conscience, no emotions and no conception of love. Psychol Today. 2005:72–76.
10. Paulhus DL, Williams KM. The Dark Triad of personality: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. J Res Pers. 2002;36:556–563.
11. Paulhus DL, Westlake BG, Calvez SS , Harms PD. Self-presentation style in job interviews: the role of personality and culture. J Appl Soc Psychol. 2013;43(10):2042–2059.
12. Chabrol H, Van Leeuwen N, Rodgers R, Séjourné N. Contributions of psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic personality traits to juvenile delinquency. Pers Individ Dif. 2009;47(7):734–739.
13. Pfattheicher S, Keller J, Knezevic G. Destroying things for pleasure: on the relation of sadism and vandalism. Pers Individ Dif. 2019;140:52–56.
14. Russell TD, Doan CM, King AR. Sexually violent women: the PID-5, everyday sadism, and adversarial sexual attitudes predict female sexual aggression and coercion against male victims. Pers Individ Dif. 2017;111:242–249.
15. Kowalski CM, Rogoza R, Saklofske DH, Schermer JA . Dark triads, tetrads, tents, and cores. Acta Psychol (Amst). 2021;221:103455.
16. Paulhus DL, Buckels EE , Trapnell PD, Jones DN. Screening for dark personalities: the Short Dark Tetrad (SD4). Eur J Psychol Assess. 2021;37:208–222.
17. Međedović J. Aberrations in emotional processing of violence-dependent stimuli are the core features of sadism. Motiv Emot. 2017;41:273–283.
18. Robertson CA , Knight RA. Relating sexual sadism and psychopathy to one another, non‐sexual violence, and sexual crime behaviors. Aggressive Behavior. 2013 Sep 6;40(1):12–23.
19. Darjee R. Sexual sadism and psychopathy in sexual homicide offenders. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2019;63(9):1738–1765.
20. Meloy JR. The nature and dynamics of sexual homicide. Aggress Violent Behav. 2000;5(1):1–22.
21. Pastwa-Wojciechowska B. Psychopaci. Sprawcy przestępstw seksualnych. Gdańsk: Grupa Wydawnicza Harmonia; 2013.
22. Hare RD, Neumann CS . Psychopathy: assessment and forensic implications. In: Malatesti L, McMillan J, editors. Responsibility and Psychopathy. New York: Oxford University Press; 2010. p. 93–123.
23. Blair RJR, Mitchell DGV. Psychopathy, attention and emotion. Psychol Med. 2009;39(4):543–555.
24. Viding E, Blair RJR, Moffitt TE, Plomin R. Evidence for substantial genetic risk for psychopathy in 7-year-olds. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2005;46(6):592–597.
25. Blackburn R. Personality disorder and psychopathy. Psychol Crime Law. 2007;13(1):7–18.
26. Walsh Z, Kosson DS. Psychopathy and violence. Psychol Assess. 2008;20(2):114–120.
27. Porter S, Porter S. Psychopathy and violent crime. In: Hervé H, Yuille JC , editors. The Psychopath. Mahwah (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2007. p. 287–300.
28. Garofalo C, Neumann CS , Velotti P. Psychopathy and aggression. J Interpers Violence. 2021;36(23–24):NP12640–NP12664.
29. Casey H, Rogers RD, Burns T, Yiend J. Emotion regulation in psychopathy. Biol Psychol. 2013;92(3):541–548.
30. Burns T, Fazel S, Fahy T, Fitzpatrick R, Rogers R, Sinclair J, et al. Dangerous severe personality disordered patients. Int J Forensic Ment Health. 2011;10(2):127–136.
31. Lee Y, Kim J. Psychopathic traits and different types of criminal behavior. J Crim Justice. 2022;80:101772.
32. Harris GT, Rice ME, Hilton NZ, Lalumière ML, Quinsey VL. Coercive and precocious sexuality as a fundamental aspect of psychopathy. J Pers Disord. 2007;21(1):1–27.
33. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Arlington: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
34. World Health Organization. International Classification of Diseases for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics (11th Revision). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018.
35. Consigliere L, Kneißler LZM, Nanev A, Davis M, Darjee R. Assessing sexual sadism in sexual homicide offenders. Sex Offending. 2025;20:e14281.
36. Darjee R, Davis MR. Clinical versus criminal sexual sadism. In: Tully R, Prescott D, Bohal G, editors. Best Practices in Sexual Offender Assessment and Management. Cham: Springer; 2025. p. 273–367.
37. Meloy JR. The Psychopathic Mind. Northvale (NJ): Jason Aronson; 2002.
38. Millon T, Davis R. Zaburzenia osobowości we współczesnym świecie. Warszawa: Instytut Psychologii Zdrowia; 2005.
39. Juni S. The role of sexuality in sadism. Am J Psychoanal. 2009;69(4):314–329.
40. Murphy C, Vess J. Subtypes of psychopathy. Psychiatr Q. 2003;74(1):11–29.
41. Holt SE , Meloy JR, Strack S. Sadism and psychopathy in violent offenders. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 1999;27(1):23–32.
42. Stone M. The personalities of murderers. In: Skodol AE , editor. Psychopathology and Violent Crime. Washington (DC): American Psychiatric Press; 1998.
43. Knight RA, Guay JP. The role of psychopathy in sexual coercion against women. In: Patrick CJ , editor. Handbook of Psychopathy. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford Press; 2018. p. 662–681.
44. Meloy JR. The psychology of wickedness. Psychiatr Ann. 1997;27(9):630–633.
45. Robertson CA , Knight RA. Relating sexual sadism and psychopathy to one another, non-sexual violence, and sexual crime behaviors. Aggress Behav. 2014;40(1):12–23.
46. Porter S, Woodworth M, Earle J, Drugge J, Boer DP. Characteristics of violent behavior during sexual homicides. Law Hum Behav. 2003;27(5):459–470.
Informacje: Problems of Forensic Sciences (Z Zagadnień Nauk Sądowych), 2025, 144, s. 229-242
Typ artykułu: Oryginalny artykuł naukowy
Tytuły:
Publikacja: 17.06.2026
Otrzymano: 06.02.2026
Zaakceptowano: 23.02.2026
Status artykułu: Otwarte
Licencja: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Udział procentowy autorów:
Korekty artykułu:
-Języki publikacji:
Angielski, PolskiLiczba wyświetleń: 102
Liczba pobrań: 82
