Evaluation of the Hare P-SCAN in a non-clinical population

Abstract

Using 100 university undergraduates as participants, this study examined the structural reliability and construct validity of Hare and Hervé's P-SCAN (Hare & Hervé, 1999) a 90-item measure that purports to serve as an “… early warning system” or “rough screening device” (p. 1) for identifying individuals with substantial psychopathic features. Internal consistency indices (e.g. Cronbach's α, mean inter-item correlations) for the three P-SCAN subscales (Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle) suggested excellent reliability. Statistically significant, though modest correlations (range 0.21–0.33) were obtained in 5 of 6 comparisons with the self-report Primary psychopathy and Secondary psychopathy scales developed by Levenson, Kiehl, and Fitzpatrick (1995) for use with non-institutional populations. Evidence for the external validity of the P-SCAN was obtained via significant positive correlations (range 0.22–0.24) with participants' scores on a self-report measure of antisocial activity. Limitations of this study and interpretations of P-SCAN as a measure of psychopathic features are discussed.