Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD): Further validation of the parent-report version in a nationally representative U.S. sample of 10- to 17-year-olds.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD; Salekin & Hare, 2016) is a new self-report and informant measure designed to assess psychopathic characteristic domains along with symptoms of conduct disorder in youth. Previous factor analytic studies on the PSCD have found that the items are accounted for by a four-factor model reflecting grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms. The present study examined the factor structure, psychometric properties, and criterion-related validity of the parent-report version of the PSCD (PSCD-P) in a nationally representative U.S. sample of children and adolescents (N = 1,091, Mage = 13.39, SD = 2.20, range age = 10-17; 50.0% boys, 76% White). Confirmatory factor analyses for the full (24-item) and a shortened (13-item) PSCD-P revealed good internal reliability estimates and support for the four-factor model (grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, CD). Results also provided evidence for (a) measurement invariance of the PSCD-P items across sex, race/ethnicity, and age of the child; (b) convergent validity with CD/oppositional defiant disorder symptoms and discriminant validity with a measure of neuroticism; and (c) criterion-related validity with respect to prosociality, peer and family functioning, reactive and proactive aggression, delinquency, academic performance, and substance use. The prevalence for psychopathic personality propensity was found to be 2%. We discuss clinical and research implications regarding the use of the parent-report version of the PSCD for school-aged children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) scale: A Latent Profile Analysis with At-Risk Adolescents.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD; Salekin in Pers Disord: Theory Res Treat 7:180-191, 2016) scale was designed to assess interrelated psychopathic trait domains in conjunction with symptoms of Conduct Disorder (CD) in children and adolescents (i.e., grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive). Variable-centered studies have provided support for a four-factor PSCD structure (Salekin et al. in Psychol Assess 34(10):985-992, 2022) in line with other adolescent and adult studies. The current person-centered study used latent profile analysis of the PSCD domains to examine whether theoretically meaningful and empirically robust PSCD subtypes emerged from a diverse sample (70.9% White, 20.1% Black, 3.6% Hispanic, and 5.4% other) of adolescents (modal age = 17) in a military style residential facility (N = 409; Males = 80.6%). As hypothesized, a four-class solution was best, consistent with adult psychopathy subtyping research (Hare et al. in Handbook of Psychopathy 39-79, 2018; Roy et al. in Pers Disord: Theory Res Treat, in press). The PSCD subtype profiles were uniform across sex and race/ethnicity. Adolescents evincing a psychopathic trait propensity profile (elevated on all four PSCD domains) displayed the greatest number of arrests and higher overall externalizing psychopathology, compared to the other three latent classes, as well as higher internalizing psychopathology compared to adolescents with general delinquency. The PSCD provides a sound measure of psychopathic trait propensities in youth and our results offer investigators and clinicians a means for understanding person-centered psychopathic traits versus antisocial profiles among at-risk adolescents. Taken together, the current results may offer a viable approach for examining specific treatment targets based on PSCD subtype profiles.

Validating latent profiles of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised with a large sample of incarcerated men.

There is a long tradition of theory and research on putative variants of psychopathic and other antisocial clinical presentations. However, using different samples, psychopathy measures, terminologies, and analytic methods makes interpretation of the findings difficult. Emerging research suggests that the validated four-factor model of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) provides a consistent and empirically robust framework for identifying psychopathic variants and antisocial subtypes (Hare et al., 2018; Neumann et al., 2016). The current study employed latent profile analysis (LPA) of the full range of PCL-R scores in a large sample of incarcerated men (N = 2,570) to replicate and extend recent LPA research on PCL-R-based latent classes. Consistent with previous research, a four-class solution emerged as optimal, with the following antisocial subtypes: Prototypic Psychopathic (C1), Callous-Conning (C2), Externalizing (C3), and General Offender (C4). We validated the subtypes by examining their differential associations with theoretically meaningful external correlates: Child conduct disorder symptoms; adult nonviolent and violent offenses; Self-Report Psychopathy; Psychopathic Personality Inventory; Symptom Checklist-90 Revised; and behavioral activation system and behavioral inhibition system scores. The discussion focused on conceptions of the PCL-R-based subgroups and their potential application to risk assessment and treatment/management programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) Scale: Factor Structure and Validation of the Self-Report Version in a Forensic Sample of Belgian Youth.

This is the first study to test the psychometric properties of the self-report version of the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) in detained youth. The PSCD is a measure of the broad psychopathy construct, with grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, and conduct disorder (CD) components. Participants (227 males) completed the PSCD along with other measures, including a diagnostic interview to assess Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) CD. Results support the PSCD's proposed hierarchical four-factor structure. Correlations with an alternate measure of psychopathy and symptoms of CD support the convergent validity of PSCD scores. PSCD scores showed positive associations with criterion variables of emotional and regulatory functioning, aggression, substance use, and school problems. Finally, PSCD scores were unrelated to anxiety and depression, supporting the PSCD's discriminant validity. Findings indicate that the PSCD is a promising measure for assessing psychopathic traits in detained male adolescents, though its incremental validity is in need of further scrutiny.

Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD): Factor structure and psychometric properties in a residential school facility.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder scale (PSCD; Salekin & Hare, 2016) is a new scale for the assessment of psychopathic characteristic domains in children and adolescents. The four domains are Grandiose-manipulative (GM), Callous-unemotional (CU), Daring-impulsive (DI), and Conduct Disorder (CD). We examined the properties of the self-report version of the PSCD in a large sample of adolescents (n = 409; age = 16-19; 80.6% male) in a military-style residential facility. Factor analytic results supported a four-factor model consistent with other PSCD research (e.g., López-Romero et al., 2019; Luo et al., 2021). Structural equation model (SEM) indicated a superordinate PSCD factor accounted for significant variance in self-reported delinquency history. The PSCD had good internal consistency and strong convergent and discriminant validity with measures of externalizing and internalizing disorders. The present study provides encouraging data that the PSCD may provide a sound measure of psychopathic propensities in youth. However, additional data are needed to test the stability of the PSCD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychopathic Expression From Early to Late Adulthood: An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised.

Several investigators have assessed the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) for invariance across offender ethnicities and in correctional and forensic-psychiatric contexts. Yet we do not know whether, or to what extent, item properties among male offenders vary throughout adulthood. With a combined sample of PCL-R data on offenders from Canada and the United States (N = 4,820), we measured item properties for offenders in age groups of Early (18-30 years old), Middle (31-49 years old), and Late (50+ years old) adulthood. Nine items showed differential item functioning across age group comparisons. Among the Early group, the PCL-R Interpersonal and Affective traits were most informative for measuring the latent trait of psychopathy. Among the Late group, the PCL-R Lifestyle and Antisocial items were most informative for the latent trait. These differences in item information illustrate how psychopathy manifests in male offenders throughout adulthood.

Factor Structure and Construct Validity of the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) Scale in Chinese Adolescents.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) Scale is a new measure to assess psychopathic traits and symptoms of conduct disorder (CD) in children and adolescents. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the self-report version of the PSCD in a sample of community adolescents in mainland China (N = 1,683; mean age = 13.60, SD = 1.14; 54.1% boys). The new instrument showed good internal consistency (alpha) for the 24-item total scale and good mean interitem correlations for each of the six-item subscales. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted on all 24 items, and also a subset of 13 items that demonstrated strong item-level reliabilities. Using all 24 items, CFA results supported a four-factor bifactor model indicating the total score reflects a broad syndrome with four factors. The four factors included grandiose-manipulative traits (GM traits), callous-unemotional traits (CU traits), daring-impulsive traits (DI traits), and CD traits. The 13-item CFA results provided further support for a four-factor conceptualization of the PSCD and evidence of strong measurement invariance across gender. Finally, the PSCD exhibited the expected relations with other psychopathy measures, anxiety and depression, and aggression, supporting the PSCD scores convergent, discriminant, and criterion related validity. The findings provide preliminary evidence for the four-factor structure of the PSCD and support for the utility of the self-report PSCD for measuring psychopathic traits and CD in Chinese adolescents.

Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD): Preliminary validation of the parent version in a Spanish sample of preschoolers.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) scale (Salekin & Hare, 2016) was developed as a measure of the broader construct of psychopathy in childhood and adolescence. In addition to conduct disorder (CD) symptoms, the PSCD addresses the interpersonal (grandiose-manipulative), affective (callous-unemotional), and lifestyle (daring-impulsive) traits of psychopathic personality. The PSCD can be scored by parents and teachers. The present study is a preliminary test of the psychometric properties of the PSCD-Parent Version in a sample of 2,229 children aged 3 to 6 years. Confirmatory factor analyses supported both a 3- and 4-factor structure being invariant across gender groups. The validity of the PSCD was also supported by convergent-divergent associations with an alternative measure of psychopathic traits as well as by the expected relations with fearlessness, conduct problems, reactive and proactive aggression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms, and social competence skills. Overall, the PSCD is a promising alternative measure for assessing early manifestation of the broader construct of psychopathy in children. Its use should facilitate discussion of the conceptualization, assessment, predictive value, and clinical usefulness of the psychopathic construct as it relates to CD at early developmental stages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Hervey Cleckley (1903-1984): Contributions to the study of psychopathy.

Hervey Cleckley (1903-1984) was probably among the most influential psychiatrists of the 20th century, but the history of his intellectual contributions to psychopathy is not especially well known. Not all of Cleckley's writings have stood the test of time, but others seem prescient, arguably anticipating current debates regarding such contentious issues as successful psychopathy and the treatability of psychopathy. Although Cleckley's seminal writings on psychopathy are familiar to many contemporary scholars, Cleckley's role as an expert witness and his writings on other topics, such as dissociative identity disorder, may be less familiar to many readers. Cleckley's rich and diverse body of work is worth revisiting for its keen insights regarding psychopathy and personality pathology more broadly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A comprehensive examination of the psychometric properties of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised in a Canadian multisite sample of indigenous and non-indigenous offenders.

The present study examined the psychometric properties of Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) scores in a multisite sample of 1,163 federally incarcerated Canadian indigenous and non-indigenous offenders from the Prairie Region of the Correctional Service of Canada. The research occurred against the backdrop of the Ewert v. Canada (2015) matter, in which the PCL-R was originally impugned in Federal Court for use with indigenous persons (later overturned in Canada v. Ewert, 2016). Indigenous men scored higher than non-indigenous men on most components of the PCL-R and had higher rates of recidivism, irrespective of follow-up. Discrimination analyses, however, supported the predictive efficacy of PCL-R total, factor, and facet scores for violent and general recidivism across both ancestral groups, with most group differences in area under the curve (AUC) magnitudes being small and nonsignificant. Calibration analyses demonstrated that higher PCL-R scores were associated with higher rates of general and violent recidivism for both ancestral groups, although higher recidivism rates were observed and estimated for indigenous men at specific PCL-R score thresholds. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the 4-factor model of psychopathy and hence, structural invariance, of PCL-R scores across ancestral groups. Structural equation modeling affirmed the predictive efficacy of the 4-factor model for recidivism. We discuss these findings in terms of clinical applications of the PCL-R and the psychopathy construct in general, with male offenders of indigenous ancestry. (PsycINFO Database Record

A taxometric investigation of psychopathy in women.

The taxonomic status of psychopathy is the topic of considerable research interest. The latent structure of psychopathy will latent structure will guide the determination of the best assessment approaches, maximize the reliability and validity, will help to establish optimal cutting scores that minimize decision errors and will also facilitate the selection of the best research designs to advance the study of the construct. In the present study, taxometric analyses were used for assessing taxonicity, and they were applied to Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) ratings of 1218 female offenders. Hare's four-factor solution to the PCL-R was used as the bases of the analyses. The results of the various analytical strategies obtained dimensional solutions and corroborated that for females, as well as for males, psychopathy as measured by the PCL-R, may best be conceptualized as distinct configurations of extreme scores on personality traits rather than as a distinct, nonarbitrary class. These results reaffirm the fact that cut-off scores of are arbitrary in nature.

[Psychopathy among inmate population in Argentina and Chile: Characterization and transnational norms]. / La psicopatía en población carcelaria de la Argentina y de Chile: caracterización y normas transnacionales.

INTRODUCTION: In Latin America, there is evidence on the prevalence of psychopathy in prison population and on the validity and reliability of the specifc assessment instrument; but there has been no exploration on whether psychopaths have different characteristics in different countries nor has there been an integration of a transnational normative sample. OBJECTIVE: To test the universality of the construct comparing psychopaths of the Chilean and Argentinian sample and to formulate norms for the prison population with both samples pooled. METHOD: Samples of Argentinian prison inmate population (n = 153) and Chilean (n = 209) assessed with the PCL-R and HCR-20 were compared. An aggregated sample was made for descriptive purposes and in order to formulate the norms. RESULTS: Findings supported the non-differentiation hypothesis between Chilean and Argentinian psychopaths. Differences were found in the dynamic risk factors for violent recidivism that were attributed to the time spent in prison of the inmates. The percentiles for the PCL-R total and factors values in the aggregated sample was similar to the individual Chilean and Argentinian samples.

Using latent variable- and person-centered approaches to examine the role of psychopathic traits in sex offenders.

The current study employed both latent variable- and person-centered approaches to examine psychopathic traits in a large sample of sex offenders (N = 958). The offenders, who had committed a range of sexual crimes, had been assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003). Structural equation modeling results indicated that the four-factor model of psychopathy (Hare, 2003; Neumann, Hare, & Newman, 2007) provided good representation of the dimensional nature of psychopathic traits across the sample of offenders, and that the PCL-R factors significantly predicted sexual crimes. In particular, the Affective and Antisocial psychopathy factors each predicted sexually violent crimes. Latent profile analysis results revealed evidence for a 4-class solution, with the subtypes showing distinct PCL-R facet profiles, consistent with previous research. The four subtypes were validated using sexual crime profiles. The prototypic psychopathy subtype (high on all 4 PCL-R facets) evidenced more violent sexual offenses than did the other subtypes. Taken together, the results demonstrate how variable- and person-centered approaches in combination can add to our understanding of the psychopathy construct and its correlates. (PsycINFO Database Record

Examining the interrater reliability of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised across a large sample of trained raters.

The goal of the current study was to assess the interrater reliability of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) among a large sample of trained raters (N = 280). All raters completed PCL-R training at some point between 1989 and 2012 and subsequently provided complete coding for the same 6 practice cases. Overall, 3 major conclusions can be drawn from the results: (a) reliability of individual PCL-R items largely fell below any appropriate standards while the estimates for Total PCL-R scores and factor scores were good (but not excellent); (b) the cases representing individuals with high psychopathy scores showed better reliability than did the cases of individuals in the moderate to low PCL-R score range; and (c) there was a high degree of variability among raters; however, rater specific differences had no consistent effect on scoring the PCL-R. Therefore, despite low reliability estimates for individual items, Total scores and factor scores can be reliably scored among trained raters. We temper these conclusions by noting that scoring standardized videotaped case studies does not allow the rater to interact directly with the offender. Real-world PCL-R assessments typically involve a face-to-face interview and much more extensive collateral information. We offer recommendations for new web-based training procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record

The construct of psychopathy in a Chilean prison population

Objective:To test the four-factor model of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R) empirical construct of psychopathy in a Chilean prison population by using instruments that supply different types of data.Methods:Two hundred and nine male inmates of the Prison of Los Andes, Chile, were evaluated. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out with the PCL-R and the Self-Report of Psychopathy - III - Short Form (SRP-III-SF).Results:The distributions of total PCL-R and SRP-III-SF scores were normal (Kolmorogov-Smirnov [K-S] = 1.04, p = 0.230; K-S = 0.812, p = 0.525, respectively), with means of 20.9±6.8 for the former and 61.6±15.2 for the latter. Model fit was good for the PCL-R (Tucker Lewis index [TLI] = 0.96; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.04) and for the SRP-SF (TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.04).Conclusions:The results obtained with the PCL-R and the SRP-SF showed adequate fit to the empirical four-factor model of psychopathy and support this model. As foreseeable, fit was better for the PCL-R, which combines several sources of information.

The construct of psychopathy in a Chilean prison population.

OBJECTIVE: To test the four-factor model of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R) empirical construct of psychopathy in a Chilean prison population by using instruments that supply different types of data. METHODS: Two hundred and nine male inmates of the Prison of Los Andes, Chile, were evaluated. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out with the PCL-R and the Self-Report of Psychopathy - III - Short Form (SRP-III-SF). RESULTS: The distributions of total PCL-R and SRP-III-SF scores were normal (Kolmorogov-Smirnov [K-S] = 1.04, p = 0.230; K-S = 0.812, p = 0.525, respectively), with means of 20.9 ± 6.8 for the former and 61.6 ± 15.2 for the latter. Model fit was good for the PCL-R (Tucker Lewis index [TLI] = 0.96; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.04) and for the SRP-SF (TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained with the PCL-R and the SRP-SF showed adequate fit to the empirical four-factor model of psychopathy and support this model. As foreseeable, fit was better for the PCL-R, which combines several sources of information.

Variants of psychopathy in adult male offenders: A latent profile analysis.

As measured with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), psychopathy is a dimensional construct underpinned by 4 correlated factors: Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle, and Antisocial. Theorists and clinicians (e.g., Karpman and Arieti) have posited 2 variants of "primary" or "true" psychopathy, both distinct from so-called "secondary" or "pseudopsychopathy." We used latent profile analysis to determine if homogeneous classes exist within a sample of 1,451 male offenders with high PCL-R scores (≥ 27). The 4 PCL-R factors were the dependent variables for clustering. A solution with 3 latent classes showed a better fit to the data than did a unitary model without latent classes. Tentative labels for the latent classes are Manipulative (Latent Class 1 [LC1]), Aggressive (Latent Class 2 [LC2]), and Sociopathic (Latent Class 3 [LC3]). The latter class represented an antisocial group that lacked the emotional detachment observed in the other 2 groups. We propose that LC1 and LC2 reflect phenotypic variations on a theme of the traditional construct of psychopathy, and that LC3 is consistent with conceptions of antisocial personality disorder and sociopathy. Replication and external classification with an independent data set of 497 adult male offenders again yielded clearly separable clusters, as well as meaningful differences or trends among latent classes on education, intelligence, symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, and self-reported psychopathic traits and negative affect. The conceptualization of psychopathy in terms of manipulative and aggressive variants is consistent with clinical theory and is empirically grounded.

Corporate psychopathy and the full-range leadership model.

The B-Scan 360 is a relatively new, purpose-built measure of corporate psychopathy that addresses many of the issues inherent in studying psychopathy in organizations. The primary goal of the present study was to measure the relationship between employees' perception of psychopathic features in their supervisor and their rating of their supervisor on the Full-Range Model of Leadership. The second goal of the study was to test the B-Scan 360's factor structure and test its interrater reliability in an organizational sample. A total of 491 civic employees and 116 employees from a branch of a large financial company completed the B-Scan 360 as well as the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire on their direct supervisor. The B-Scan 360 and all of its four factors were positively correlated with passive leadership (Laissez-Faire leadership) and negatively correlated with positive leadership (both Transactional and Transformational leadership). Furthermore, results revealed the same four-factor structure and good interrater reliability for the B-Scan 360 in this business sample as previously reported for a general population. Overall, the results provide additional support for the B-Scan 360 as a measure of psychopathic traits in corporate settings.

Antisociality and the Construct of Psychopathy: Data From Across the Globe.

Previous theory and research on the structural, longitudinal, and genetic nature of psychopathy have provided strong conceptual and empirical evidence that overt antisociality is a component of the psychopathy construct (Hare & Neumann, 2008, 2010; Lynam & Miller, 2012). However, determination of the strength of the association between antisociality and other psychopathic features has not been explored systematically. The current article draws on previously published large North American studies, as well as data from across the globe, to estimate the strength and pattern of the associations between overt antisociality and other psychopathic domains in a diverse set of samples. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate model parameters from samples that had data on either the Psychopathy Checklist-Instruments (PCL-R, PCL: YV, PCL: SV) or self-report assessments that have known latent structures (SRP, B-Scan 360). In addition, two relatively large samples (male offenders and young adult males), assessed with both the PCL-R and the SRP, provided an opportunity to examine the link between antisociality and the other psychopathy domains across different assessment methods. The overall findings indicate that the associations were moderate to strong, depending on the nature of the sample, and clearly indicate that antisociality is a core component of the psychopathy construct.