Two dopamine receptor genes (DRD2 and DRD4) predict psychopathic personality traits in a sample of American adults

• DRD2 and DRD4 positively correlated with a continuously coded psychopathic personality traits scale
• DRD4 was correlated with a dichotomously coded measure of psychopathic personality traits
• This study offers an initial assessment of the genetic linkages to psychopathic personality traits

PurposePsychopathy is often defined as a personality disorder that manifests as a constellation of characteristics including a lack of affective emotions, manipulative and irresponsible interpersonal reactions, and impulsive and sometimes violent behaviors. Prior studies have shown that genetic factors may have some influence on the etiology of psychopathy, but there is little evidence on which specific genes may play a role.MethodsThis study examines the correlation between three dopamine genes—DAT1, DRD2, and DRD4—and psychopathic personality traits.ResultsThe results of this study demonstrate that two of the examined genes predict psychopathic personality traits in the hypothesized direction (DRD2: b = .69 p < .05; DRD4: b = 1.02 p < .05).ConclusionsThese findings emphasize the importance of the dopaminergic system in the etiology of psychopathic personality traits, providing guidance for future researchers.