The role of psychopathy and childhood experiences in rape myth acceptance in a sample of prisoners and non-prisoners

Due to the lack of a suitable measure of psychopathy to be used with Polish participants, the focus of the first empirical chapter was to translate the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP-III) into Polish with the aim to test construct validity and dimensionality, incremental validity, and composite reliability of the measure in a sample of working adults (N = 319). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the best fitting model was the bifactor conceptualisation containing two general factors and four grouping factors represented by interpersonal, affective, antisocial, and lifestyle latent variables. This measure was then applied in further chapters to examine the role of psychopathy in rape myth acceptance.

Based on a sample of Polish non-offending adults (n = 319) and a sample of prisoners (n = 129), the second empirical chapter investigated the direct effects of four psychopathy dimensions (Interpersonal Manipulation, Callous Affect, Erratic Lifestyle and Antisocial Behaviour), exposure to violence, relationship status, age, gender, and type of data (prisoners vs. non-prisoners) on rape myth acceptance. A model of rape myth acceptance was estimated and assessed in AMOS, using structural equation modelling. Results indicated that Callous Affect and childhood exposure to violence had a significant positive effect on attitudes towards rape.

The aim of the third empirical chapter was to extend the findings of the earlier study by including additional psychological variables into the earlier specified model of rape myth acceptance. The study considered the role of psychopathy, aggression, and adverse childhood experiences in rape myth acceptance using a sample of prisoners (n = 98) and non-prisoners (n = 98). This research employed a quasi-experimental design with propensity score matching in order to control for selection bias. Post-matching regression results indicated that maternal anxious and avoidant attachment, Callous Affect, and aggression were significant predictors of rape myth acceptance.