title: An examination of the structure of self-report psychopathy measures and their relations with general traits and externalizing behaviors.
abstract: Self-report assessment of psychopathy is plagued by inconsistencies among the relations of the various psychopathy factors. We examined the factor structure of 3 prominent self-report measures of psychopathy-the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-III (SRP-III; Williams, Paulhus, & Hare, 2007), the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP; Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995), and the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-R (PPI-R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005). A coherent 4-factor structure resulted from conducting an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the psychopathy subscales along with the domains from the five-factor model. Two of these factors were consistent with traditional conceptualizations of a 2-factor structure of psychopathy (i.e., Factor 1, which loaded negatively with Agreeableness; Factor 2, which loaded negatively with Conscientiousness), while 2 additional factors emerged, 1 of which emphasized low Neuroticism and 1 of which emphasized traits related to novelty/reward-seeking and dominance-related personality traits (high Extraversion). We also investigated the relations of these factors with a variety of externalizing behaviors (EB). The psychopathy scales indicative of interpersonal antagonism (i.e., Factor 1) were most consistently and strongly related to EB. Our findings are discussed in terms of the importance of a trait-based perspective in the assessment of psychopathy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: L Alana
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Seibert
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Joshua D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Lauren R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Few
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Amos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zeichner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences.
authors.forename: Donald R
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8306-498X
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Lynam
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D057189:Checklist; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010551:Personality / Q000145:classification*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D057566:Self Report / Q000592:standards*; D012647:Self-Assessment; D055815:Young Adult