Predictive Validity of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version for Intramural Behaviour in Violent Offenders—A Prospective Study at a Secure Psychiatric Hospital in Germany

Abstract

To consider the extent to which the presence of psychopathy, as indicated by the psychopathy checklist: screening version (PCL:SV), can predict intramural behaviour in offenders with mental disorders serving compulsory treatment at a German forensic psychiatric hospital. The PCL:SV was used with 48 offenders detained at a forensic psychiatric hospital in Germany. In a prospective design, objective and subjective measures of behaviour were compared for those identified as high and low scorers on the PCL:SV. Data were obtained from hospital records of disciplinary incidents (objective) and from interviews with case managers and therapists (subjective), according to predefined criteria and in standardized forms. The hospital records of the high scorers indicated they had been involved in significantly more disciplinary incidents than low scorers. Their behaviour was also rated significantly more negative by therapists than the low scorers. Numeorus studies found the psychopathy checklist (PCL) score to be a reliable predictor of recidivism in offenders after release. The present study has demonstrated that the PCL score has also predictive validity for intramural behaviour problems in individuals serving compulsory treatment at a forensic psychiatric hospital. As a result, we recommend the routine use of the PCL with offenders starting a period of compulsory detention to identify those at increased risk for problem behaviour.