Nearly all of the research into sociopathy has involved evaluating the personality traits of adult men in prison. The reason for this is that researchers have easy access to adult prisoners and more prisoners are male. Think about it—how else would a researcher find sociopaths to study? The problem with studying sociopathy in male prisoners is that we learn nothing about sociopaths who never get arrested. We also don’t know if the research results apply to women.
There is actually very little research data available regarding sociopathy in non-criminals and in women. The little research that has been done reveals that sociopathy in women entails two or three main features that are similar to those found in men. Namely, female sociopaths lack empathy and enjoy manipulating and exploiting others. Violent and impulsive behavior is less common in sociopathic women. This fact may make them more dangerous, as they more easily blend in with the rest of society.
The key traits of sociopathic females
A recent study of adolescent girls in detention performed by Crystal L. Schrum, M.A. and Randall T. Salekin, Ph.D. of the University of Alabama and reported in Behavioral Sciences and the Law, revealed the core qualities that best described young female sociopaths. The teens were callous and lacked empathy, had a grandiose sense of self worth and were conning and manipulative. They were also likely to engage in impersonal sexual relationships. Importantly, the researchers revealed that female sociopaths did not necessarily have “shallow emotions.” Again the lack of impulsivity and shallow emotions may make a female sociopath more difficult to spot.
Please read the true Lovefraud story of Michelle Drake. Notice that female sociopaths victimize other women as well as men. This vignette illustrates many of the core qualities of a female sociopath. As I read this case, I was painfully reminded of the male sociopath who was once part of my life; so perhaps the similarities between male and female sociopaths are more important than the differences. What struck me about the story is the elaborate con she perpetrated for really very little money. This case illustrates something truly amazing about sociopaths—the degree to which they derive pleasure from conning others. Their hoaxes are often outlandish and grandiose.
A friend of mine, who was once in law enforcement, says that conning is the sociopath’s profession and that that he/she may not even do it for the money. Conning is instead the work they have a passion for. As my friend says, “When a sociopath wakes up and opens his eyes in the morning, it’s show time!” I can envision Michelle saying that to herself as she donned the fake pregnancy costume.
The public and the courts are sympathetic toward female sociopaths
The case of Michelle Drake also illustrates something else about female sociopaths. The courts are more likely to go easy on them. This attitude of the courts may reflect the fact that many people excuse the behavior of female sociopaths and feel sorry for them. Look at the cases of women in the news lately. We don’t know if the women involved are sociopaths, however, these cases do illustrate the double standard that exists in how we judge female as opposed to male antisocial behavior. Several women teachers have been found guilty of sexually exploiting students. They were treated very leniently for the same crimes that would have put a man in jail for many years.
The NASA astronaut arrested for attempted murder is another example of the way people treat women differently and don’t take their crimes seriously. This week, a restaurant owner in Florida held a benefit night to raise money for the astronaut’s family. News commentators have been quick to voice sympathy for the astronaut, yet I have not heard a one express sympathy for the victim. I remind you that it is alleged that the astronaut sprayed her victim with mace and planned to kill her.
In conclusion, sociopathy is less common in women. Women who are sociopaths may not appear as shallow as men who are sociopaths. They are also less angry and impulsive compared to men. Although violence is less commonly perpetrated by women, if you are the victim, these statistics don’t matter.
I take exception to your ending statement of this article.
“In conclusion, sociopathy is less common in women. Women who are sociopaths may not appear as shallow as men who are sociopaths. They are also less angry and impulsive compared to men. Although violence is less commonly perpetrated by women, if you are the victim, these statistics don’t matter.”
It is this myth that helps many female sociopaths to continue to prey on the public at large. This myth has been busted regularly but lives on with a life of its own.
An extensive scholarly summary of research on this article can be found at http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm
This is just one of several summaries which can direct to the actual studies. These are all peer reviewed and critiqued.
Also, the U.S. Dept of H&HS maintains a site with DV statistics and their data shows a much greater balance of DV and when the numbers include children who are DV victims, the figures on who perpetrates the majority of all DV becomes very difficult for some to comprehend in this period of time where the media and certain political ideologies maintain an anti-male witchhunt that makes Salem appear pale and un-inspired.
Violence is a human condition and for now we are finding it in all men where it exists in a minority, but excusing it for nearly all women. The first step to controlling DV is to level out the investigatory, prosecutorial, judicial, and sentencing guidelines to a gender neutral standard. As it is half of our society, women are immune except in the most extreme and even then as with the Tennessee Preachers wife and her shotgun, the penalties are shamefully lacking. This does nothing but perpetrate and actually multiply the incidences of children of both genders who grow up to be abusers. Giving a sociopath custody of children is not a very bright social policy. But we do it with socio/psychopathic women every day, all day in our family courts. As a matter of fact the more disturbed and willing to scream obscenities and make outrageous and improbable false allegations a woman is the more likely to obtain custody of children, property, and future income from some innocent man. I have seen one socio/psychopathic man win custody, property and income using this tactic and an attorney known for being sadistic in professional circles.
These myths hurt our society beyond measure as well as destroy individuals. I hope you research this further before making such claims about DV. This myth was originally perpetrated upon the media and Congress for the politcal advancement of certain supporters of an extreme misogynistic feminist movement. It was a mega-example of the method that works in court, scream obscenities and make improbable false allegations at the top of your voice long enough and someone begins to believe.
My ex and the mother of my daughter is a sociopath with psychotic episodes. I have spent 14 years of constant court activity just to protect my child from some of the more extreme abuses. My ex has been kept as sole managing conservator in spite of her open court admissions of felonies involving our child and the conviction of one of her family members for abusing our child and others. My chilid after 14 years of this, at the age of 16, thinks that her life is normal. She once told me that the individuals her mother openly admits to being child abusers in her family are “OK, and just people being people.” the courts ignore even my ex’s own litigation experts who give me glowing diagnosis and opinions.
As an activist court watcher, I am beginning to see more and more women become victims of this tactic that was once solely allowed to be used by women against men. When the pandora’s box of myths used as reality is opened, who will put each one of these evil demons back into the box?
Gender bias is the primary tool of female socio/psycho paths in maintaining a ‘business as usual’ abuse of others, even other women.
I can fully identify with glummerman as to the personal attacks of all categories, including murder attempts. It is the threats towards our child that are the most frightening. I, too, have been jailed on false allegations. The courts do not want to count the documented volume of allegations made by my ex against all who anger her. I have documented over 20 sex abuse allegations alone against over 12 people. And, she never has been held accountable. It has cost me well over 7 figures in 14 years to try to minimize the harm to my child and protect myself enough to be able to stay in touch with my child. The thousands of issues created and raised in the past 14 years since the divorce can fill volumes. The file in the court is contained in two boxes. Half of the court’s file is now “missing” some of the more graphic and revealing exhibits and filings. Some of the specific events of the past 14 years in my case have been documented in Dr. Stephen Baskerville’s new book, “Taken Into Custody”. I have watched even worse cases than mine as an activist court watcher in our local courts. The judges are very much aware of who the innocent and who the guilty are, but will laugh away from the courtroom about doing the PC thing when it comes to gender rulings. It is OK for others children but they would go ballistic if these things were happening to theirs. I have known people driven to suicide and self-destructive behavior after being hounded, stalked, and harassed for years in every aspect of their life by a sociopath/psychopath while the courts found humor and employment for their fellow attorneys.
I did my own research on female and male anti-social personalities as they came in and out of my 52 years. I always asked the victims of female anti-socials (that I knew were of this making), that’s after they licked their wounds and brushed themselves off and picked their lives out of the gutters to start life all over again … about their sex life with a female anti-social. First thing out of a man’s life was the sex. Not the love making … the sex. The sex with these women were intense. I then asked how was the “love making”, for which most responses were “what LOVE making”? If they had to look back and answer this question truthfully, they realized their was no love making what-so-ever with an anti-social personality. It’s all show, it’s all intense, it’s all done to make you feel like you are the most important man in her life. I worked with many anti-social women who hated decent bosses that believed in God, believed in their wives and home life, believed in truth and justice … that they did everything to ensure those bosses were out the doors and soon. These women detested working for decent bosses that they could not manipulate first sexually. After manipulating sexually, all the other tricks to their trades came out to play and every one is fair game to them. Lies are told behind everyone’s back to ensure they get their own way. I remember telling several of them (after they jumped into my life and snared me into friendships with them for years) that friends like you, I don’t need any enemies. Answer from the lead anti-social personality that controlled and manipulated all the other anti-social female personalities in our work place “she’ll be back, just wait”. I never gave my response directly to them … but my response got back to them “they don’t own me, I owe them nothing, I can’t change them, I can’t fix them, I send them love and peace, but I am not staying involved with any of them … they are on the wrong path in life”. Well, you never tell an anti-social personality that they are jerks, because, they are jerks. Jerks that jerk your life into the ground. The rest is history, this conversation took place in 1988 … they worked all the years from 1988 on to nail me… which started the beginning and the end of my career in 1998 until I retired in 2004. Six years of enduring the wrath of all the anti-social personalities that booted all the decent managers out of their positions and installed their anti-social cronies in their places and all the checks and balances were gone. To run that place through CHAOS, anti-social CHAOS. To say or do anything they wanted, when they wanted. Many people lost their careers during this time, but those anti-social women are still there, still allowed to weave their dark evil magic on all the new comers, still collecting paychecks, still getting promotions, still destroying careers and personal lives, still sleeping with bosses, still running the show from behind the scenes … and then some, still keeping the chaos growing. Bottom line, who in position of power does NOT read their Bibles. Who in the court systems doesn’t read their Bibles. And the chaotic saga continues until we ensure those we in trust with authority over our lives … Read the word of God.
2nd final note … Do not underestimate anti-social personalities … they are very good at putting a thought into a person of power’s mind … then backing off for years … out of sight and allowing this dark suggestion to flourish. Do not think they are up front and in the spotlight for anything destructive that they do … and they all have their fall person(s) to take the hit for them. That is their specialty. Planting the dark seed and allowing it to grow … and stepping back into the shadows to watch the fireworks that they lit the match years ago.
3rd Note … quotes from female anti-social personalities that I personally knew “I hate nice guys, they make me sick, they make my skin crawl”.
I once had a female psychologist, Dr. Anne Wheeler, tell me that evey man she knew had at least one brush with one of these women (with no boundaries they can cover a lot of ground) but most managed to get disentangled before too much damage was done. She also used the analogy of why these wome are so successful is what she called the “intense spotlight of their attention that can blind you of all else” until too late. Over more than a decade of now informed observation, I find her observation more revealing now than then. I was one of those deer in the spotlight of a poacher. Who warns us of these types of people? No one. Women are taught the signs of an abusive man. Men and boys are taught that all women are innocent, until too late.
Dear Free, My child is girl in high school. They have had programs for years for the girls, talking to them about abuse and spotting abusive males. There is nothing in the schools. Yes, I generalized. I admit. There will be a minority who do receive some formal presentation on how to spot a female abuser. But as with your son, who was lucky to get off so light, most of us have to learn the hard way (me for one). I grew up in a relatively happy and non-abusive home. Women as abusers were a real world shock. At 60 years of age, I have watched the steady degradation of women’s roles in our society from decent, caring, responsible citizens to an position of super rights and privileges for the least lawful and most abusive. I am amazed at the volume of young women who are now beginning to reject this concept and are working to regain their decency and to help men recover a position of full rights as citizens. Many of these good women are working to normalize or societies views of gender at great cost to themselves. It is my generation, the youth of the 60’s, who planted the seeds of feminism, based on the mythical generalization that all men were abusers for which we all are now harvesting.
You may want to look up ifeminist.com. Wendy McElroy is just one of these strong voices speaking to return to sanity and to stop putting our female sociopaths into a special privilege category that gives them blanket immunity to harm men, children, and even other women.
There are some very destructive male sociopaths, but our laws and society put up more than a few obstacles for these guys.
Incomplete third sentence in my post above. “There is nothing in the schools for boys on spotting female abusers.”
Just to clarify.
Free,
I like your screen name. After many years of being entangled with a s/p-path because of my precious daughter, I wake up each morning grateful that I am both “Free and Alive”. I thank God each morning for those two things. That would sound overly dramatic to anyone who has not survived these wars. But it is so very true.
Hi,
I’m hoping that someone out there can help me with my female sociopathic neighbour.
She portrays herself as wonderful to my neighbours, while constantly harassing us when no one is looking. She constantly throws debris on our property, steals from us, damages our plants, smashes her car or lawnmower into our fence, throws excrement on our property all the while trashing me verbally to my neighbours. ( I suspect that she is accusing me to my neighbours of doing these things too her.) Three of my immediate neighbours no longer talk to me(which i don’t really care about)but what bothers me is that she interferes with our enjoyment of our property and is hell bent without conscience on screwing us over.
Once i threw the stuff back, and she called the police, and she portrayed herself as a damsel and convinced the cop that she had to fear for her personal safety. we took this woman in when she moved here, gave her a key to our house, and made her meals while her home was being renovated and in return she calls the cops who threaten to charge me with criminal mischief! she took photos of my husband talking to the cop so she could tell her stories around the neighbourhood.
I’ve tried ignoring her as she is just trying to provoke us, but I feel victimized in my own home. We’ve tried talking to her, but she denies there is a problem. Last weekend I photographed her while she was smashing her lawnmower into our fence and she looked around to see if anyone was looking and dropped her drawers.
We just want to live here in peace and hey, if you don’t like us, you live on your property and we’ll live on ours…but this woman is hell bent on destroying us.
Please help by sharing your opinion and advice as to how to deal with this situation please.
Dear Scout,
I wish I could tell you that there was a way to reason with this woman.
My suggestion is to install video survelience cameras (they make them small now and ones that even “see” and record in the DARK. Point them in the direction that will best catch her at her mischief and then RECORD the action.
I would also get a small pocket sized voice recorder and keep in ON and in my pocket if you ever have to talk to her, or if she starts screaming at you then you can push “record”
With this EVIDENCE you should be able to prosecute her with the LAW which should get your neighbors off your case as well.
This woman may be a psychopath or she may be mentally disordered or ill, but the problem doesn’t matter, it is causing you grief.
PROOF beyond a shadow of a doubt is I think your only option.
The price of the equipment to get PROOF is coming down and you can either install it yourself or get someone else to do so. It can even be disguised in light fixtures or other “normal” things, so it doesn’t look like cameras.
Good luck!
Thanks OxDrover for your suggestions. I’ve been thinking of cameras…whether they should be obvious or hidden but i’m leaning towards obvious as a deterrent.
I know that this woman hates exposure which is why she is so sneaky and an incorrigible liar.
She may be mentally disordered or ill or a sociopath, but one thing is sure; she is able to pick and choose her victims, is able to fool others with her lies, and is able to control when she chooses to act ( at night or out of the sight of neighbours) which indicates to me that she intends to target me, is aware that it is socially unacceptable and doesn’t want others to know. She has discredited me to everyone already, as I can see in their changed behaviour towards me that they believe her lies even though they have never seen me do anything to validate this.
Ugh, I’m frustrated and just need to vent to someone who has an idea what people like this are REALLY like. Damn, they could win an Academy Award for Acting. And those that suspect she is malicious and dishonest are too intimidated to say anything because they’re afraid she’ll turn her wrath on them.