David D. Vachon

Research Areas:

Clinical Psychology | Social & Personality | Developmental Science

Research Summary:

My research examines the contribution of individual differences to deviance across the lifespan. Within this general area I am developing two related programs of research. The first program uses a developmental psychopathology approach to understand the role of personality in the etiology of externalizing disorders (psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, narcissism, and disorders of conduct and impulse control). In the second program of research, I construe unhealthy and deviant behaviors (substance use, risky sex, gambling, aggression, crime, etc.) as natural outcomes in the absence of specific internal controls, such as constraint and empathy.

Selected References:

Vachon, D.D., Krueger, R.F., Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. (in press). Different kinds of child maltreatment have comparable consequences among children from low-income families. JAMA Psychiatry

Vachon, D.D., Lynam, D.R., & Johnson, J.A. (2014). The (non)relation between empathy and aggression: Surprising findings from a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 751-773.

Vachon, D.D., Lynam, D.R., Widiger, T.A., Miller, J.D., McCrae, R.R., & Costa, P.T. (2013). Using basic traits to predict personality disorder prevalence over the lifespan: The example of psychopathy. Psychological Science, 24, 698-705.

Vachon, D.D., Lynam, D.R, Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2012). Generalizing the nomological network of psychopathy across populations differing on race and criminal status. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121, 263-269.

Lynam, D.R., & Vachon, D.D. (2012). Antisocial Personality Disorder in DSM-5: Missteps and Missed Opportunities. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 3, 483-495.