title: Convergence and divergence among self-report psychopathy measures: a personality-based approach.
abstract: The study examined, in a sample of 346 undergraduates, the convergence and divergence of three self-report measures of psychopathy; the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (Lillienfeld & Andrews, 1996), the Self-Report Psychopathy scale (Hare, Harpur, & Hemphill, 1989), and the Five Factor Psychopathy Index (Miller, Lynam, Widiger, & Leukefeld, 2001). Measures demonstrated strong convergence at the total score level, but weak convergence at the factor level. Correlations with domains and facets of the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (Costa & McCrae, 1992) provided personality parsings of each measure. Across measures, psychopathy was composed of low Agreeableness, low Conscientiousness and a blend of high and low facets of Neuroticism and Extraversion. Divergence among subscales was due to differences in personality characteristics assessed. Additionally, the potential moderating effects of sex were also examined, but very few were identified. Implications of these results and future directions are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506-0044, USA.
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Derefinko
authors.forename: Donald R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Lynam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires