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| Theoretically, psychopathy is a three-faceted disorder involving interpersonal, affective and behavioral characteristics |
Theoretically, psychopathy is a three-faceted disorder involving interpersonal, affective and behavioral characteristics: | ||
| Interpersonally, psychopaths are manipulative, grandiose,egocentric and forceful. | *Interpersonally, psychopaths are manipulative, grandiose,egocentric and forceful. | ||
| *Affectively, they are shallow and non-empathetic; they do not experience empathy, guilt or remorse. | |||
| *Behaviorally, they are impulsive, irresponsible and sensation seeking. | |||
| In contemporary research and clinical practice, psychopathy is most commonly assessed with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), which is a clinical rating scale with 20 items. Each of the items in the PCL-R is scored on a three-point scale according to specific criteria through file information and a semi-structured interview. Score 0 if the trait is absent, 1 if it is possibly or partially present and 2 if it is present. The item scores are summed up to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 40 which is then considered to reflect the degree to which they resemble the prototypical psychopath. A score greater than 30 supports a diagnosis of psychopathy. | In contemporary research and clinical practice, psychopathy is most commonly assessed with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), which is a clinical rating scale with 20 items. Each of the items in the PCL-R is scored on a three-point scale according to specific criteria through file information and a semi-structured interview. Score 0 if the trait is absent, 1 if it is possibly or partially present and 2 if it is present. The item scores are summed up to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 40 which is then considered to reflect the degree to which they resemble the prototypical psychopath. A score greater than 30 supports a diagnosis of psychopathy. | ||
Revision as of 21:12, 21 December 2005
See Also: Antisocial Personality Disorder
Theoretically, psychopathy is a three-faceted disorder involving interpersonal, affective and behavioral characteristics:
- Interpersonally, psychopaths are manipulative, grandiose,egocentric and forceful.
- Affectively, they are shallow and non-empathetic; they do not experience empathy, guilt or remorse.
- Behaviorally, they are impulsive, irresponsible and sensation seeking.
In contemporary research and clinical practice, psychopathy is most commonly assessed with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), which is a clinical rating scale with 20 items. Each of the items in the PCL-R is scored on a three-point scale according to specific criteria through file information and a semi-structured interview. Score 0 if the trait is absent, 1 if it is possibly or partially present and 2 if it is present. The item scores are summed up to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 40 which is then considered to reflect the degree to which they resemble the prototypical psychopath. A score greater than 30 supports a diagnosis of psychopathy.
The items are as follows:
Interpersonal Dimension
- Glibness/superficial charm
- Grandiose sense of self-worth
- Pathological lying
- Conning/manipulative
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow affect
- Callous/lack of empathy
- Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
Affective dimension
- Need for stimulation/-proneness to boredom
- Parasitic lifestyle
- Poor behavioral controls
- Early behavioral problems
- Lack of realistic, long-term goals
- Impulsivity
- Irresponsibility
- Juvenile delinquency
- Revocation of conditional release
Behavioral Dimension
- Promiscuous sexual behavior
- Many short-term marital relationships
- Criminal versatility
A note of caution - the test must be administered by a trained mental health practitioner under controlled conditions for it to have any validity.