title: Identifying subtypes of criminal psychopaths: A replication and extension.
abstract: Psychopathy is an important construct in offender classification. Although several studies have suggested that there are two distinct subtypes of psychopaths, these studies have considerable limitations, including reliance on self-report measures, a failure to adequately address heterogeneity within the construct of psychopathy, and predictor-criterion contamination. A recent taxonomic study identified four subgroups of offenders, including primary and secondary psychopaths. We used cluster analysis to replicate and extend those findings to: 1) an independent sample; and 2) a PCL-R factor model that reduces predictor-criterion contamination. Additionally, we validated initial results using a novel clustering method. Results show that psychopathy subtypes are replicable across methods. Moreover, comparisons on other variables provide external validation of the subtypes consistent with prior theoretical conceptualizations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Marc T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Swogger
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kosson