Abstract

Although psychopathy is a correlate of recidivism, including violent offending, the inclusion of antisocial behavior items in the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) assessment instruments has been debated. Further, the latent factor structure underpinning the PCL measures has not been comprehensively validated in Australia. This study examined the construct validity of the PCL:SV in a sample of 192 Australian male violent offenders using structural equation modeling. The incremental validity of including the antisocial behavior items for predicting recidivism was also assessed. Approximately one-third of the sample had high scores on the PCL:SV. Construct analyses indicated strongest support for two distinct three-factor models of PCL psychopathy, with the established two- and four-factor models demonstrating poorer fit. The Antisocial factor improved predictive accuracy incrementally relative to the other three factors (Interpersonal, Affective, and Lifestyle). Area under the curve analyses revealed predictive accuracy for recidivism only for factors containing the antisocial behavior items. Findings contribute to the construct and predictive validity of the PCL measures and are discussed relative to contemporary forensic risk assessment practice.

摘要

尽管精神病与累犯有关，包括暴力犯罪，但在精神病检查表 (PCL) 评估工具中包含反社会行为项目一直存在争议。此外，支撑 PCL 措施的潜在因素结构尚未在澳大利亚得到全面验证。本研究使用结构方程模型在 192 名澳大利亚男性暴力犯罪者的样本中检验了 PCL:SV 的结构有效性。还评估了包括反社会行为项目以预测再犯的增量有效性。大约三分之一的样本在 PCL:SV 上得分很高。构造分析表明对 PCL 精神病的两个不同三因素模型的最强支持，已建立的二因素和四因素模型表现出较差的拟合。这相对于其他三个因素（人际关系、情感和生活方式），反社会因素逐渐提高了预测准确性。曲线下面积分析仅对包含反社会行为项目的因素显示累犯的预测准确性。结果有助于 PCL 措施的构建和预测有效性，并相对于当代法医风险评估实践进行了讨论。