Psychopathic women: what are they like?

Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, Hannibal Lecter… When we say the word “psychopath,” male names almost always come to mind., but aren’t there also psychopathic women? Studies and the history of criminology itself tell us yes, but its behavior is quite different from what the world of cinema or literature has been able to teach us.

If you take a walk (that is to say) through male and female penitentiary institutions, you will discover that The male prison population is often double the female prison population.. Among these male inmates, a good part of those who have committed violent acts have a notable clinical history, in which psychopathic personality disorder often appears.

Studies, such as the one carried out at the Department of Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Tromsø (Norway), tell us that 30% of male prisoners meet the clinical profile of a psychopath. In the case of women, it is estimated that the percentage reaches 17%. These data already give us a clue to something that experts point out to us: psychopathy appears to a lesser degree in the female gender.

Now, there is another fact to consider and that, without a doubt, is important. Not all psychopaths commit violent acts, not all kill or carry out behaviors for which they are legally prosecuted. For its part, identifying female psychopathy, with its unique nuances, can be of interest and also help.

Psychopathic women: traits and behaviors

Caroline Logan, a forensic psychologist at the University of Manchester (United Kingdom) conducted an interesting study describing the characteristics and behaviors of psychopathic women. Something that this work makes clear to us is that, On average, there are many myths and misconceptions.

We often associate them with the classic femme fatale. In addition, fictional figures such as Annie Wilkies, from the book Misery by Stephen King, have contributed to drawing in our minds the classic brutal and vengeful woman. However, something that Dr. Logan points out to us is that the behavior of psychopathic women has, above all, a serious impact at the family level and with those closest to them.

Let’s see therefore what are the most classic dimensions that define them.

A more discreet and sibylline narcissism

Narcissism is one of the defining characteristics of psychopathic personality disorder. Now, in the case of men, it is common for them to openly express their feeling of superiority, to not hesitate to boast, to humiliate others, to boast of their achievements, exploits and virtues.

For its part, Psychopathic women act in a more covert way. They rarely exalt themselves or boast openly. What they frequently do is praise others, reinforce other people’s self-esteem in order to control those around them.

They perceive themselves as superior to anyonebut they understand that, if they treat their partner, friends or co-workers in a positive and attentive way, they can earn your trust and put yourself in a very favorable position to manipulate them as you wish.

A more biting, silent and destructive type of aggressiveness

If the male psychopath resorts to violence, this will be a behavioral norm. For example, it is common that in childhood, they begin their psychopathic behavior by torturing or attacking animals. As they grow up, that violence can extend to people physically.

In the case of psychopathic women, the issue runs in other ways. Aggression is not behavioral, it is psychological. For example, they are skilled at spreading rumors. They are very effective in deploying the art of manipulation, blackmail, control, humiliation… They can psychologically wear down their victims in an almost devastating way.

Emotional disorders and problems in emotional relationships

Studies and works as interesting as the one carried out at the Center for Criminological and Psychosocial Research, at the University of Örebro, in Sweden, indicate something also characteristic. Female psychopaths also tend to suffer more emotional disorders than male psychopaths.

They present, on average, less emotional regulation. They suffer greater anxiety, stress, depression… Much of that emotionality impacts on a relational level. It is common, for example, for their emotional relationships to be violent and also traumatic.

Likewise, something that made this work by Dr. Oliver F. Collins relevant is that Psychopathic women often have a history of sexual abuse and assault.

Psychopathic women who kill

As we noted at the beginning, the percentage of psychopathic women who commit violent acts is much lower than that of men. However, the data is there. 17% of inmates with crimes of assault and/or murder have a psychopathic personality disorder.

Psychologist Marvin Zuckerman highlights 64 cases in a special way. There are a number of women who, due to the seriousness of the acts committed, have gone down in the annals of criminology under the label of “psychopathic women.” Thus, the most striking – and at the same time sad – part of these reports is that 44% of them murdered their own children.

This is the case, for example, of Nannie Doss, from Blue Mountain, Alabama. Also known as “Giggling Granny” this woman spent nearly 30 years of her life murdering her family members with arsenic. She killed her four husbands, her mother, her children and also her grandchildren. One of the many stories that show us that violence has no gender, just like mental illness.