Correlates of Psychopathy in a Noninstitutional Sample

Abstract

Community subjects were assigned to one of two groups based on a semistructured interview. The interview was composed of a set of eight items from the Psychopathy Checklist and a set of eight items pertaining to childhood and adolescent problem behaviors, both of which have been shown to predict violent recidivism among offenders and membership in a psychopathy taxon. The 15 highest scoring subjects were assigned to a “high” group and the 15 lowest to a “low” group. Data from nine intermediate scoring subjects were discarded. As predicted, high subjects scored lower on the Socialization Scale, scored higher on the Impulsiveness Scale, and played more cards in a computerized card-playing task in which there was a declining probability of success. It appeared that high subjects played more cards because they found the task more rewarding than did low subjects instead of having difficulties in modulating their responses. This research indicates that men with psychopathic characteristics are easily recruited from the community through the use of screening questions pertaining to childhood history.