# Differential associations between mentalizing dimensions and psychopathy subtypes: the moderating role of borderline personality traits

## TL;DR

The study explores how mentalizing abilities relate to different types of psychopathy and how borderline personality traits influence these relationships.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific mentalizing dimensions that uniquely predict psychopathy subtypes and reveals a moderating role of borderline personality traits in primary psychopathy.

## Key findings

- Higher motivation and self-related mentalizing are linked to lower primary psychopathy.
- Borderline personality traits moderate the relationship between motivation to mentalize and primary psychopathy.
- Other-related mentalizing does not uniquely predict either psychopathy subtype.

## Abstract

Psychopathy comprises primary and secondary subtypes with distinct affective–interpersonal profiles. Mentalizing, i.e., the capacity to understand one’s own and others’ mental states, may help explain this heterogeneity. This study tested how three mentalizing dimensions (Self-Related, Other-Related, and Motivation to Mentalize) relate to psychopathy subtypes and whether borderline personality traits (BPTs) moderate these associations.

Adults from a community sample (N = 953) completed validated measures of psychopathy, mentalizing, and BPTs. BPTs were modeled as a continuous variable. Multivariable linear regressions predicted primary and secondary psychopathy from the three mentalizing facets while adjusting for age, gender, socioeconomic status, and psychiatric diagnosis. Moderation was examined via interaction terms between each mentalizing facet and BPTs; significant interactions were probed at −1/0/+1 SD of BPT scores.

Higher Motivation to Mentalize and greater Self-Related Mentalizing were uniquely associated with lower primary psychopathy; Other-Related Mentalizing was not a unique predictor. For secondary psychopathy, Self-Related Mentalizing and, to a lesser extent, Motivation to Mentalize were inversely associated; Other-Related Mentalizing was not significant. BPTs significantly moderated only the association between Motivation to Mentalize and primary psychopathy (stronger inverse association at higher BPTs); no moderation effects emerged for secondary psychopathy.

Findings indicate that motivation and self-related aspects of mentalizing are protective correlates of psychopathic traits, with moderation by BPTs limited to primary psychopathy. Targeting motivation to consider mental states and strengthening self-reflective capacity may enhance psychological intervention strategies, particularly for individuals high in primary psychopathy with elevated borderline features.