title: Predicting recidivism with the Psychopathy Checklist: are factor score composites really necessary?
abstract: In two previous studies on general and violent recidivism (Walters & Heilbrun, 2010; Walters, Knight, Grann, & Dahle, 2008), the summed composite antisocial facet of the Psychopathy Checklist displayed incremental validity relative to the other 3 facets (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle), whereas the other 3 facets generally failed to demonstrate incremental validity relative to the antisocial facet. Because summed composite scores do not account for ordinal item distributions, the 6 Walters et al. (2008) samples were reanalyzed with factor score composites derived from a 4-factor confirmatory factor analysis. The results, however, showed little change from what had been obtained earlier with summed composite scores. Two additional samples not previously included in any incremental validity analyses of the Psychopathy Checklist evidenced a 3-factor structure, with the lifestyle and antisocial facets merged into a single factor. This single factor displayed incremental validity relative to the interpersonal and affective facets, but the reverse was not true regardless of whether summed composite scores or factor score composites were used. A comparison of zero-order correlations from all 8 samples revealed that the antisocial summed composite score predicted significantly better than the summed composite scores for the other 3 facets and that a superordinate factor failed to improve on the performance of either the antisocial summed composite score or the antisocial factor score composite.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Services, Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, USA. gwalters@bop.gov
authors.forename: Glenn D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.forename: Nick J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Anthony J J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Glover
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D057189:Checklist; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012008:Recurrence; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology