title: Psychopathy, DSM-5, and a caution.
abstract: Recently developed models of psychopathy include such traits as fearlessness, boldness, and invulnerability. Section III of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) includes as well a psychopathy specifier that is modeled after these traits. The purpose of the current study was to test empirically the convergent and discriminant validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R), the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA), and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) with respect to their relationship to one another, with traditional measures of psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder, and with a measure of the 5-factor model. Participants were 2 samples of community adults (280 and 196) who indicated that they have engaged in criminal activities. The results indicated good convergent and discriminant validity for the PPI-R, TriPM, EPA, and the PID-5 psychopathy specifiers, as well as relationships with a measure of the 5 factor model that were quite distinct from the relationships obtained for traditional measures of antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy. However, concerns are raised with respect to a reliance on reverse-coded items for the assessment of components of psychopathy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crego
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Widiger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult