Psychometric Assessment of Self-Report Measures of Psychopathy in a College Sample

Abstract

The personality disorder known as psychopathy describes a group of individuals that have tended to be persistently antisocial and more prone to violence, and demonstrate deficits in affective and interpersonal functioning. Further, the diagnosis of psychopathy (as defined by the PCL-R) reliably predicts recidivism, treatment nonresponse, and other socially important outcomes. Although a well-validated assessment methodology exits for adult correctional populations, more recent research has focused on assessment among adolescents (forensic and nonforensic) and community-based adult populations. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the most promising self-report measures, including their factor structures. Also explored were the unclear relationship between psychopathy and anxiety and related constructs, and the relatively low reliability of scale factors and subscales assessing callousness, a key component of the psychopathy construct, in the research to date.