An empirical investigation of psychopathy in a noninstitutionalized and noncriminal sample.
This study examined the construct of psychopathy using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) in 54 participants from the general population. To obtain a sample of community participants with psychopathic characteristics, participants were recruited using advertisements for a "personality study" that incorporated the characteristics of psychopathy in a nonpejorative manner. The methodology successfully recruited community participants with moderately elevated PCL-R scores. Participants exhibited the personality features of psychopathy (Factor 1) to a greater extent than the behavioral features (Factor 2), which is consistent with the results obtained with the PCL-R normative samples. Roughly 40% of the sample reported no history of involvement with the criminal justice system, yet these participants exhibited moderately elevated PCL-R scores. Moreover, a sizeable portion of the noncriminal participants reported a substantial history of violent behavior. Comparisons of PCL-R scores between participants with and without a criminal history suggest that these two groups differ in ways unrelated to criminal justice system involvement.
DeMatteo
David
D
Treatment Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania, 150 South Independence Mall West, 600 Public Ledger Building, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3475, USA. ddematteo@tresearch.org
Heilbrun
Kirk
K
Marczyk
Geoffrey
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D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015143:Philadelphia; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D011581:Psychological Tests