title: Psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors: a comparison of self- and informant reports in the statistical prediction of externalizing behaviors.
abstract: It has long been assumed that features associated with psychopathy, such as a lack of insight and deceitfulness, may compromise the utility of self-report measures, particularly for understanding the relations between these traits and important outcomes (e.g., offending). Unfortunately, little research has explicitly examined the relations between self- and informant reports of psychopathy and their relations to these outcomes. The current study examined the incremental validity of self- and informant reports of psychopathic traits, assessed with 3 validated psychopathy measures, in the statistical prediction of externalizing behaviors (EBs). To reduce shared method variance, self- and informant reports of EBs (i.e., substance use, antisocial behavior, gambling, and intimate partner violence) were examined separately. Results indicate that both self- and informant reports of psychopathy are related to EBs and provide some degree of incremental validity, although self-reported psychopathy scores proved slightly more useful than other-reported psychopathy scores. These findings suggest that, in nonforensic settings, psychopathy data derived from both self- and other-reported psychopathy measures have utility in understanding the relations between psychopathic traits and EBs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-8100, USA. sjones9@usf.edu
authors.forename: Shayne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Joshua D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D015987:Effect Modifier, Epidemiologic; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept; D057566:Self Report; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult