title: Evaluator differences in Psychopathy Checklist-Revised factor and facet scores.
abstract: Recent research suggests that the reliability of some measures used in forensic assessments--such as Hare's (2003) Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)--tends to be weaker when applied in the field, as compared with formal research studies. Specifically, some of the score variability in the field is attributable to evaluators themselves, rather than the offenders they evaluate. We studied evaluator differences in PCL-R scoring among 558 offenders (14 evaluators) and found evidence of large evaluator differences in scoring for each PCL-R factor and facet, even after controlling for offenders' self-reported antisocial traits. There was less evidence of evaluator differences when we limited analyses to the 11 evaluators who reported having completed a PCL-R training workshop. Findings provide indirect but positive support for the benefits of PCL-R training, but also suggest that evaluator differences may be evident to some extent in many field settings, even among trained evaluators.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department.
authors.forename: Marcus T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Boccaccini
authors.affiliation: Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, University of Virginia.
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Murrie
authors.affiliation: Baylor College of Medicine/The Menninger Clinic.
authors.forename: Katrina A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Rufino
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department.
authors.forename: Brett O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Gardner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results