A new model of psychopathy

The concept of psychopathy has long been of interest within the criminal justice  system, often presented as the causal antecedent to serial violent and sexual offences. Despite  this, psychopathy has remained difficult to assess, with research in the area compromised by  the absence of an established definition of the disorder. The first comprehensive  conceptualisation of psychopathy was proposed by Hervey Cleckley in 1941. Cleckley  suggested the prototypical psychopath to be characterised by the following 16 traits:  superficial charm, absence of delusions, absence of “nervousness”, unreliability,  untruthfulness, lack of remorse and shame, antisocial behaviour, poor judgement and failure  to learn by experience, pathological egocentricity, poverty in affective reactions, loss of  insight, unresponsiveness in interpersonal relations, fantastic and uninviting behaviour, suicide rarely carried out, impersonal sex life, and failure to follow any life plan.</p

Psychosocial correlates of attitudes toward male sexual violence in a sample of financial crime, property crime, general violent, and homicide offenders

Although those currently serving prison sentences for sexual violence can be identified and receive treatment, the number of prisoners with a history of sexual violence against female partners is unknown. Methods to identify prisoners with a proclivity for such violence and accurately assess the risk they pose before and after incarceration are therefore required. Here, we aimed to assess the level of sexually violent attitudes within dating relationships and to examine their associations with experiences of child abuse and neglect (CAN), psychopathic personality traits, prisonization, number of incarcerations, age, years of schooling, relationship status, and parenting among different types of offenders (financial crime, property crime, general violent, and homicide offenders). Data were collected among a large systematically selected sample of adult male inmates (N = 1,123). We demonstrated that sexual violence-supportive attitudes appear to be a function of child sexual abuse and psychopathic personality traits, and may be developed through early socialization experiences as well as incarceration. Practical implications of current findings are discussed

Psychopathic Personality Traits Model (PPTM): a new approach to defining psychopathy

The Psychopathic Personality Traits Model (PPTM) offers an alternative psychopathy assessment based on personality traits that consists of four dimensions, including affective responsiveness, cognitive responsiveness, interpersonal manipulation, and egocentricity. It is also conceptualized that intelligence levels moderate that relationship between the aforementioned psychopathic traits and behavioral outcomes. Importantly, while antisocial/criminal tendencies/behaviors may constitute one possible expression of psychopathy, they are not treated as integral to psychopathy construct within the newly developed framework. Using this personality approach to psychopathy assessment, we demonstrated that the prevalence of psychopathy among individuals incarcerated in medium and maximum security prisons amounts to approximately 7 percent of the total prison population and hence is much lower than previously speculated, comparable with the prevalence found among non-forensic adult samples. It is recommended that both researchers and practitioners re-evaluate the previously utilized conceptualization of psychopathy and assessment methods. Additionally, psychopathy measures which index behavioral traits and rely on cut-off points for total scale ratings should be used with caution in clinical settings.</p

Latent profile analysis of psychopathic traits among homicide, general violent, property, and white-collar offenders

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify meaningful subtypes of psychopathic traits among prisoners. Another aim was to estimate the association between psychopathy class membership and type of offending (homicide, general violent, property, and white-collar offences).  Methods: A systematically selected representative sample of 1126 adult male prisoners completed a personality-based self-report measure of psychopathy, the Psychopathic Personality Traits Scale (PPTS).  Results: Latent profile analysis revealed five distinct classes of psychopathic traits: a “high psychopathy group” (7.1%)”, a “moderate psychopathy group” (10.8%), a “high interpersonal manipulation group” (20.8%), a “moderate affective/cognitive responsiveness group” (16.8%), and a “low psychopathy group” (44.6%). Multinominal logistic regression showed that general violent offenders were most likely to belong in the high psychopathy group, whereas property and white-collar criminals were most likely to be the members of the high interpersonal manipulation group. Conclusions: Findings suggest that most inmates, even those detained in maximum and medium security units, do not meet the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy. The significance of the present findings is discussed in relation to past and future research as well as clinical practice.</p

Psychopathic Personality Traits Scale (PPTS): Construct validity of the instrument in a sample of U.S. prisoners

The Psychopathic Personality Traits Scale (PPTS; Boduszek et al., 2016) is a personality-based psychopathy assessment tool consisting of four subscales: affective responsiveness, cognitive responsiveness, interpersonal manipulation, and egocentricity. Although the measure offers a promising alternative to other, more behaviorally weighted scales, to date the factor structure of the PPTS and differential predictive validity of its dimensions has only been tested in one study. Consequently, the objective of the present research was to assess construct validity, factor structure, and composite reliability of the PPTS within a sample of U.S. male and female incarcerated offenders (N = 772). Another goal was to test the predictive efficiency of the PPTS dimensions for different types of offences (serial killing, homicide, sex crimes, weapon-related crimes, domestic violence, white-collar crimes, property crimes, drug-related crimes), recidivism (i.e., number of incarcerations), time spent in prison, and gender. Dimensionality and construct validity of the PPTS was investigated using traditional CFA techniques, confirmatory bifactor analysis, and multitrait-multimethod modelling (MTMM). Seven alternative models of the PPTS were estimated in Mplus using WLSMV estimator. An MTMM model with four grouping factors (affective responsiveness, cognitive responsiveness, interpersonal manipulation, and egocentricity) while controlling for two method factors (knowledge/skills and attitudes/beliefs) offered the best representation of the data. Good composite reliability and differential predictive validity was reported. The PPTS can be reliably used among prisoners from the United States

Comparison of murderers with recidivists and first time incarcerated offenders from U.S. prisons on psychopathy and identity as a criminal: An exploratory analysis

Purpose:  Previous research conceptualized murderers as highly callous and self-gratifying individuals, offending as a result of psychopathic tendencies. The current exploration sought to verify whether murderers differ on psychopathy and criminal social identity from recidivistic and first time incarcerated offenders.  Methods:  The study compared an opportunistic sample of murderers (n = 94), recidivists (n = 266), and first time offenders (n = 118) on criminal social identity (3 factors: cognitive centrality, in-group affect, and in-group ties) and psychopathy (4 factors: callous affect, interpersonal manipulation, erratic lifestyle, antisocial behavior).  Results:  Recidivists scored significantly higher on cognitive centrality and in-group ties than murderers. Recidivists scored significantly higher than first time incarcerated offenders or murderers on the erratic lifestyle and interpersonal manipulation factors of psychopathy. Additionally, recidivists scored significantly higher on antisocial behavior compared to first time offenders. All three groups of prisoners did not differ in terms of callous affect.  Conclusion:  Contrary to previous research and media portrayals of homicide perpetration being rooted in psychopathic tendencies such as callous affect, the present findings found no support for such a conceptualization of the crime. Moreover, unsurprisingly, it appears murderers have less developed criminal cognitions than other offending groups.</p

Introduction and validation of the Juror Decision Scale (JDS): An empirical investigation of the Story Model

Purpose:  To develop and validate a self-report measure of individual juror decision making within criminal trials, based on theoretical features set out in the Story Model of juror decision making.  Methods:  The Juror Decision Scale (JDS) and Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression (AMMSA) measure were completed by 324 jury-eligible participants split across 27 jury panels, after observing a rape trial re-enactment high in ecological validity. Dimensionality and construct validity of the JDS was investigated using traditional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) techniques alongside confirmatory bifactor analysis at two time points (individual juror verdict decisions pre- and post-deliberation). Three competing models of the JDS were specified and tested using Mplus with maximum likelihood robust estimation.  Results:  Bifactor model with three meaningful factors (complainant believability, defendant believability, decision confidence) was the best fit for the data at both decision points. Good composite reliability and differential predictive validity were observed for the three JDS subscales.  Conclusion:  Alongside demonstrating its multidimensional conceptualisation, the JDS development permits future empirical testing of the Story Model theoretical assertions surrounding juror decision making. Present findings also provide early evidence of a certainty principle assessment process governing individual verdict decision formation. Theoretical and practical applications are discussed.</p

Jury decision-making in rape trials: an attitude problem?

Jury decision-making in rape trials: an attitude problem?</p

What do we know about child abuse and neglect patterns of co-occurrence? A systematic review of profiling studies and recommendations for future research

Latent class (LCA) and latent profile (LPA) analysis represent methodological approaches to identify subgroups of maltreated individuals. Although research examining child abuse and neglect (CAN) profiles is still rare, the application of person-centered techniques to clarify CAN types co-occurrence has substantially increased in recent years. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to provide a summary and critical evaluation of the findings of LCA/LPA child maltreatment research to: (a) systemize the current understanding of patterns of maltreatment across populations and (b) elucidate interactive effects of CAN types on psychosocial functioning. A search in PsychInfo, Eric, PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct, and Google Scholar was performed. Sixteen studies examining the co-occurrence between child physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and/or exposure to domestic violence were identified. A critical review of the studies revealed inconsistent findings as to the number of CAN classes, but most research uncovered a poly-victimized and a low abuse group. Further, multiple victimization was associated with most adverse internalizing and externalizing outcomes, especially when sexual abuse was present. Exposure to physical and emotional abuse was frequently reported to lead to behavioural problems. Based on the present study results, we provide a set of recommendations for surpassing the current methodological and conceptual limitations in future research

The none in three victim responsiveness assessment (Ni3: VRA): a new outcome measure for intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention programs

Purpose:  The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate the None in Three Victim Responsiveness Assessment (Ni3: VRA) examining affective and cognitive responsiveness toward victims of intimate partner violence. Design/methodology/approach:  Data were collected at two time points in a sample of 359 young people from Barbados and Grenada (56.27 percent female; M age=12.73 years).  Findings:  Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the Ni3: VRA scores are best captured by a two-factor solution, including affective and cognitive dimensions. A test-retest correlation confirmed the reliability of the Ni3: VRA over time. Affective responsiveness formed a significant positive association with caring/cooperative behavior.  Originality/value:  The Ni3: VRA can be used for the evaluation of preventive strategies aimed at reducing the rates of IPV.</p