Psychopathy Profiles and Personality Assessment Inventory Scores in a Sex Offender Risk Assessment Field Setting

Abstract

A growing body of research suggests there are identifiable psychopathy subtypes among offenders scored on Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003). We used latent profile analysis to examine the generalizability of these subtype findings to PCL-R scores ( N = 615) assigned in a sex offender risk assessment field setting and to examine how offender subtypes differ on measures of comorbid psychopathology, risk, and treatment amenability from the Personality Assessment Inventory. Consistent with prior research, we identified four subtypes when using PCL-R scores from all offenders: Prototypic psychopathy ( n = 239, 38.9%), callous-conning ( n = 154, 25.0%), sociopathic ( n = 96, 15.6%), and general offenders ( n = 126, 20.5%). Prototypic and sociopathic subtypes exhibited the highest levels of comorbid psychopathology and risk for potential violence. We identified classes consistent with primary ( n = 66, 36.7%) and secondary ( n = 114, 63.3%) psychopathy among offenders with PCL-R total scores ≥ 25, and found higher levels of comorbid psychopathology and potential for violence among those in the secondary psychopathy class. Findings provide support the generalizability of existing PCL-R subtype findings to field scores and show how those with similar PCL-R total scores may differ on scores from commonly used multiscale inventories.