Mary McMurran & Richard Howard 
Personality, Personality Disorder and Violence 
An Evidence Based Approach

Presents the evidence-base for links between personality traits,
psychological functioning, personality disorder and violence – with
a focus on assessment and treatment approaches that will help
clinicians to assess risk in this client group.

* An evidence-based examination of those personality traits and
types of psychological functioning that may contribute to
personality disorder and violence- and the links that can be made
between the two

* Each chapter tackles an area of personality or psychological
functioning and includes a developmental perspective, discussion of
how to gauge risk, and an outline of effective treatments

* Traits covered include impulsivity, aggressiveness, narcissism
and the ‘Big Five’ – neuroticism, extraversion,
openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness

* New for the prestigious Wiley Series in Forensic Clinical
Psychology, a market leader with more than 20, 000 books in
print

Table of Content

About the Editors vii

List of Contributors ix

Series Editors’ Preface xiii

Preface xvii

INTRODUCTION 1

1 Personality, Personality Disorder and Violence: An Introduction 3
Mary Mc Murran, University of Nottingham, UK

2 The ‘Functional Link’ Between Personality Disorder and Violence: A Critical Appraisal 19
Conor Duggan and Richard Howard, University of Nottingham, UK

PART I TRAITS 39

3 A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Childhood Impulsiveness and Later Violence 41
Darrick Jolliffe, University of Leicester, UK and David P Farrington, University of Cambridge, UK

4 The ‘Big Five’: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness as an Organisational Scheme for Thinking About Aggression and Violence 63
Vincent Egan, School of Psychology, University of Leicester, UK

5 Narcissism 85
Caroline Logan, Ashworth Hospital, UK

6 Subtypes of Psychopath 113
Ronald Blackburn, University of Liverpool, UK

7 Antisocial Personality Disorder 133
Stephane A De Brito and Sheilagh Hodgins, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, UK

PART II AFFECT 155

8 The Neurobiology of Affective Dyscontrol: Implications for Understanding ‘Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder’ 157
Rick Howard, University of Nottingham, UK

9 The Processing of Emotional Expression Information in Individuals with Psychopathy 175
R. James R. Blair, National Institute of Mental Health, USA

10 Angry Affect, Aggression and Personality Disorder 191
Kevin Howells, University of Nottingham, UK

11 Attachment Difficulties 213
Anthony R. Beech and Ian J. Mitchell, University of Birmingham, UK

12 Empathy and Offending Behavior 229
William L. Marshall, Liam E. Marshall and Geris A. Serran, Rockwood Psychological Services, Canada

PART III COGNITION 245

13 Psychopathic Violence: A Cognitive-Attention Perspective 247
Jennifer E. Vitale, Hampden-Sydney College, USA and Joseph P. Newman, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

14 Social Problem Solving, Personality Disorder and Violence 265
Mary Mc Murran, University of Nottingham, UK

15 Criminal Thinking 281
Glenn D. Walters, Federal Correctional Institution-Schuylkill, USA

CONCLUSION 297

16 Personality, Personality Disorder and Violence: Implications For Future Research and Practice 299
Mary Mc Murran and Richard Howard, University of Nottingham, UK

Index 313

About the author

Mary Mc Murran is Professor of Personality Disorder Research at the University of Nottingham. She is series editor for the Wiley Series in Forensic Clinical Psychology and her previous books include Motivating Offenders to Change, commended by the BMA. She is co-editor of Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health and associate editor of both The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology and Legal and Criminological Psychology. She received the Senior Award for Significant Lifetime Contribution from the British Psychological Society in 2005.

Richard Howard is Senior Research Fellow at The Peaks Academic and Research Unit at Rampton Hospital in the UK, and Reader in Personality Disorder Research at the University of Nottingham.