Summary
"Psychopathy research neglects victimcentric studies. Hypotheses on psychological consequences, deception, distress predictors, psychopathy severity, coping, and social support were tested. Adult survivors of psychopaths (N= 490-707) recruited from support groups and professional referrals completed web-based questionnaires. Survivors experienced physiological, psychological, and interpersonal consequences, but victim status affected distress similarly. Delayed-path psychopaths were closely and frequently involved with victims, but were similar to shortcut-path psychopaths in psychopathic traits. Distress predictors included closer relationships, frequent exposures, increased physical injury severity, and physically violent crimes. Problem- and avoidance-focused coping and psychopathy severity were associated with increases in distress and decreases in social support. Emotion-focused coping and social support were negatively related to distress. Survivors who used emotion-focused coping techniques had more social support. Knowledge of the victimization experiences of survivors and psychopathic deception could encourage ideas for predictive, preventative, and treatment measures."--Page ii.