Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)
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In contemporary research and clinical practice, Robert Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is the psycho-diagnostic tool most commonly used to assess Psychopathy. Because an individual's scores may have important consequences for his or her future, the potential for harm, if the test is used or administered incorrectly, is considerable, so that the test should only be considered valid if administered by a suitably qualified and experienced clinician under controlled conditions.
Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)
This is a clinical rating scale with 20 items. Each of the items in the PCL-R is scored on a three-point (0, 1, 2) scale according to specific criteria through file information and a semi-structured interview. The items are as follows:
- Glibness/superficial charm
- Grandiose sense of self-worth
- Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
- Pathological lying
- Conning/manipulative
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow affect
- Callous/lack of empathy
- Parasitic lifestyle
- Poor behavioral controls
- Promiscuous sexual behavior
- Early behavioral problems
- Lack of realistic, long-term goals
- Impulsivity
- Irresponsibility
- Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
- Many short-term marital relationships
- Juvenile delinquency
- Revocation of conditional release
- Criminal versatility
Statistical models of psychopathy
The current edition of the PCL-R officially lists four factors (1.a, 1.b, 2.a, and 2.b).
PCL-R Factor 1 is correlated with narcissistic personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. It is associated with extroversion and positive affect. Factor 1, the so-called core personality traits of psychopathy, may even be beneficial for the psychopath (in terms of nondeviant social functioning).
PCL-R Factor 2 is particularly strongly correlated to antisocial personality disorder and criminality and is associated with reactive anger, criminality, and impulsive violence.
Different researchers have come up with differing numbers of factors depending on their statistical analysis methods and data sample.
Traditional two-factor model of psychopathy
Factor 1: Aggressive narcissism
|
Factor 2: Socially deviant lifestyle
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Traits not associated with any factor
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Score 0 if the trait is absent, 1 if it is possibly or partially present and 2 if it is present. The item scores are summed to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 40 which is then considered to reflect the degree to which they resemble the prototypical psychopath. A score higher than 30 supports a diagnosis of psychopathy. Forensic studies of prison populations have reported average scores of around 22 on PCL-R; control "normal" populations show an average score of around 5.
PCL-R Factor 1 is correlated with narcissistic personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. PCL-R Factor 2 is particularly strongly correlated to antisocial personality disorder and criminality.
PCL-R Factor 2 is associated with reactive anger, anxiety, increased risk of suicide, criminality, and impulsive violence. PCL-R Factor 1, in contrast, is associated with extroversion and positive affect. Factor 1, the so-called core personality traits of psychopathy, may even be beneficial for the psychopath (in terms of nondeviant social functioning).
A three-factor model of psychopathy
Cooke and Michie eliminated criteria related to criminal incarceration and juvenile delinquency and statistically analyzed three factors of psychopathy. This allows for a conception of the psychopathic personality that is better applicable outside forensic populations.
Interpersonal
| Affective
| Lifestyle
|
(Cooke, Mitchie 2001)
A four-factor model of psychopathy
Hare, Neumann, Rogers, et al. have criticized the three-factor model for using questionable procedures and analyses to retain and omit items. They have provided strong evidence for a four-factor model of psychopathy. The four-factor model adds an Antisocial factor (early, persistent, serious rule-breaking) to the three-factor model:
Interpersonal
| Affective
| |
Lifestyle
| Antisocial
| |
Traits not associated with any factor
| ||
(Hare, 2003; Hare & Neumann, 2005; Neumann, Hare, Vitacco, & Wupperman,in press; Vitacco, Rogers,Neumann,Harrison,& Vincent,2005).
The four-factor model also fits the PCL: SV, which does not contain any criminal items. (Hill, Neumann, & Rogers, 2005; Vitacco, Neumann, & Jackson, 2005).
Original Psychopathy Checklist
Robert Hare originally developped his psychopathy checklist as consisting of twenty-two items, which were later reduced in the revised version to twenty.
- Glibness/superficial charm
- Previous diagnosis as psychopath
- Egocentricity/grandiose sense of worth
- Proneness to boredom/low frustration tolerance
- Pathological lying and deception
- Conning/lack of sincerity
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Lack of affect and emotional depth
- Callous/lack of empathy
- Parasitic life-style
- Short-tempered/poor behavioral controls
- Promiscuous sexual relations
- Early behavior problems
- Lack of realistic, long-term plans
- Impulsivity
- Irresponsible behavior as parent
- Frequent marital relationships
- Juvenile delinquency
- Poor probation or parole risk
- Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
- Many types of offense
- Drug or alcohol use not direct cause of antisocial behavior
See also
References
- Hare, R. D. (2003). "The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, 2nd Edition." Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.
- Hare, R.D. (1980). "A research scale for the assessment of psychopathy in criminal populations." Personality and Individual Differences. 1, 111-120.
- Hill, C. D., Neumann, C. S., & Rogers, R. (2004). "Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in Offenders with Axis I Disorders." Psychological Assessment, 16, 90-95.
- Vitacco, M. J., Neumann, C. S.,& Jackson, R.(2005). "Testing a four-factor model of psychopathy and its association with ethnicity, gender, intelligence, and violence." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 466-76.
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