Psychopathy versus psychopathies in classifying criminal offenders (original) (raw)
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Identifying subtypes of criminal psychopaths
Criminal justice and behavior, 2007
Psychopathy is an important construct in offender classification. Although several studies have suggested that there are two distinct subtypes of psychopaths, these studies have considerable limitations, including reliance on self-report measures, a failure to adequately address heterogeneity within the construct of psychopathy, and predictor-criterion contamination. A recent taxonomic study identified four subgroups of offenders, including primary and secondary psychopaths. We used cluster analysis to replicate and extend those findings to: 1) an independent sample; and 2) a PCL-R factor model that reduces predictor-criterion contamination. Additionally, we validated initial results using a novel clustering method. Results show that psychopathy subtypes are replicable across methods. Moreover, comparisons on other variables provide external validation of the subtypes consistent with prior theoretical conceptualizations.
Identifying Subtypes of Criminal Psychopaths: A Replication and Extension
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2007
Psychopathy is an important construct in offender classification. Although several studies have suggested that there are two distinct subtypes of psychopaths, these studies have considerable limitations, including reliance on self-report measures, a failure to adequately address heterogeneity within the construct of psychopathy, and predictor-criterion contamination. A recent taxonomic study identified four subgroups of offenders, including primary and secondary psychopaths. We used cluster analysis to replicate and extend those findings to: 1) an independent sample; and 2) a PCL-R factor model that reduces predictor-criterion contamination. Additionally, we validated initial results using a novel clustering method. Results show that psychopathy subtypes are replicable across methods. Moreover, comparisons on other variables provide external validation of the subtypes consistent with prior theoretical conceptualizations.
Identifying subtypes among offenders with antisocial personality disorder: a cluster-analytic study
2010
The question of whether antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy are largely similar or fundamentally different constructs remains unresolved. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994), many of the personality features of psychopathy are cast as associated features of ASPD, although the DSM-IV offers no guidance as to how, or the extent to which, these features relate to ASPD. In a sample of 691 offenders who met DSM-IV criteria for ASPD, we used model-based clustering to identify subgroups of individuals with relatively homogeneous profiles on measures of associated features (psychopathic personality traits) and other constructs with potential etiological significance for subtypes of ASPD. Two emergent groups displayed profiles that conformed broadly to theoretical descriptions of primary psychopathy and Karpman's (1941) variant of secondary psychopathy. As expected, a third group (nonpsychopathic ASPD) lacked substantial associated features. A fourth group exhibited elevated psychopathic features as well as a highly fearful temperament, a profile not clearly predicted by extant models. Planned comparisons revealed theoretically informative differences between primary and secondary groups in multiple domains, including self-report measures, passive avoidance learning, clinical ratings, and official records. Our results inform ongoing debates about the overlap between psychopathy and ASPD and raise questions about the wisdom of placing most individuals who habitually violate social norms and laws into a single diagnostic category.
A comparison of latent profiles in antisocial male offenders
Journal of Criminal Justice, 2018
Within forensic settings, the tools used to evaluate subtypes of antisocial offenders (e.g. interview-based measures such as the Psychopathy Checklist) are expensive and time consuming. The purpose of the present study was to identify and validate distinct antisocial profiles in male offenders using questionnaires. In the future, this approach could help us identify antisocial profiles in a cost-effective way. Method First, we investigated the robustness and replicability of the profiles reported by previous profiling studies by performing latent profile analysis using the Self-Report Psychopathy Short-Form. Second, we studied how these profiles were linked to personality correlates that have been used to differentiate between groups of antisocial offenders. Third, we investigated how each profile was related to a broad range of behaviours seen in antisocial populations. Results Four antisocial profiles were identified: generic offenders, impulsive-antisocial traits offenders, non-antisocial psychopathic traits offenders, and psychopathic traits offenders. The validity of these profiles was supported by their links with external personality and behavioural correlates. Conclusion Consistent with previous research using interview-based measures, these findings provide support for the presence of four distinct antisocial profiles based on self-report psychopathy scores in male offenders. Furthermore, findings provide relatively extensive and multifaceted characterizations of each profile.
Clustering of psychological personality tests of criminal offenders
ECML PKDD 2006 …, 2006
Abstract. In Criminology research the question arises if certain types of delinquents can be identified from data, and while there are many cases that can not be clearly labeled, overlapping taxonomies have been proposed in [18], [20] and [21]. In a recent study Juvenile offenders (N = 1572) ...
Personality Disorders in Offenders: Categorical Versus Dimensional Approaches
Journal of Personality Disorders, 2001
The present study focused on the consequences of cut-off scores in personality disorder diagnoses for their association with criminal behavior. Using ICD-10 personality disorder criteria eliminating offence-related symptoms, we studied the distributions of categorically diagnosed personality disorders and of dimensional personality disorder scores in a group of offenders and a noncriminal control group. Whereas the dimensional scores of the offender group differed significantly from those of the control group for all personality disorders under study, the frequency of categorical diagnoses differed significantly for two personality disorders only. Moreover, prediction of group membership (offenders vs. nonoffenders) from personality disorder scores was substantially more precise than prediction from categorical diagnoses. It is concluded that a dimensional approach to personality disorder diagnosis is not only superior theoretically but also yields more precise information about the specific associations with criminal behavior.
Psychological Assessment, 2002
Early starting, lifetime criminal persistence has been called sociopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and psychopathy. There is, however, disagreement about its core features and which measure is best for identifying such individuals. In the 1st of 2 studies of male offenders (n ϭ 74), we found a large association between scores on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) antisocial personality disorder criteria scored as a scale. The second study (n ϭ 684) replicated this finding and found that, as previously shown for PCL-R scores, a discrete class (or taxon) also underlies scores on items reflecting antisocial personality disorder. The high association among these sets of items and their similarity in predicting violence suggested that the same natural class underlies each. Results indicated that life-course-persistent antisociality can be assessed well by measures of psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder.
Psychopathy and behavior problems A comparison of incarcerated male and female
The objective of the present study was to compare incarcerated male and female juvenile offenders regarding psychopathic traits, behavior problems, psychopathy taxon, conduct disorder, self-reported delinquent behavior, and crime seriousness. Within a total forensic sample of 261 detainee participants, subdivided in a male group (n= 217) and a female group (n= 44), statistically significant differences were found. Female juvenile offenders show less callous-unemotional traits, more emotional symptoms, more prosocial behaviors, less self-reported delinquent behavior, and lower crime seriousness. Conduct disorder prevalence was very high, but no statistically significant gender differences were found. The predictive importance of psychopathic traits, behavior problems, psychopathy taxon, and conduct disorder for the prediction of group membership (female versus male) was established by binary logistic regression.