title: The impact of psychopathy on violence among the household population of Great Britain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The public health impact of psychopathy on violence has not previously been measured in the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychopathy was measured using the Psychopathy Checklist:Screening Version (PCL:SV) in adults 16-74 years (n = 638) in households in England, Scotland and Wales in a two-phase survey which included self-reported measures of violence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants with PCL:SV scores 11 or above demonstrated a prevalence of 2.1% (95% CI 1.2, 3.8) but accounted for 18.7% of violent incidents, a population-attributable risk of 16.6%, and demonstrated an exponential rise in reported violent incidents. Psychopathic traits correlated with victim injury, multiple victim subtypes and locations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psychopathy makes a substantial impact on violence among the general population despite a low prevalence. Explanations of this association include interpersonal difficulties due to psychopathic traits, fearlessness, thrill seeking, and antisocial lifestyle, but not impulsivity independent of antisocial lifestyle.
authors.affiliation: Queen Mary University of London, William Harvey House, 61 Bartholomew Close, London, EC1A 7BE, UK. j.w.coid@qmul.ac.uk
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coid
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D057189:Checklist; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003625:Data Collection; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology