David S. Kosson

The reliability and validity of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) in nonincarcerated adolescent males.

Current knowledge about the validity of the psychopathy syndrome in youth is limited largely to studies relying on parent-teacher rating scales or slight modifications of adult measures. Recently, the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) was designed for use with adolescents. However, most studies that have used this measure examined incarcerated males and addressed only validity criteria related to antisocial behavior. We investigated the generality and construct validity of the psychopathy syndrome in an adolescent sample by assessing 115 adolescent males on probation with the PCL:YV. Reliability of measurement was high. PCL:YV ratings predicted not only antisocial behaviour but also other indices of childhood psychopathology, interpersonal behaviors associated with adult psychopathy, and a lack of attachment to parents. These findings suggest that the PCL:YV identifies a syndrome in adolescence consistent with theory and research on adult males.

Heightened Sensitivity to Facial Expressions of Emotion in Borderline Personality Disorder

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) have been hypothesized to exhibit significant problems associated with emotional sensitivity. The current study examined emotional sensitivity (i.e., low threshold for recognition of emotional stimuli) in BPD by comparing 20 individuals with BPD and 20 normal controls on their accuracy in identifying emotional expressions. Results demonstrated that, as facial expressions morphed from neutral to maximum intensity, participants with BPD correctly identified facial affect at an earlier stage than did healthy controls. Participants with BPD were more sensitive than healthy controls in identifying emotional expressions in general, regardless of valence. These findings could not be explained by participants with BPD responding faster with more errors. Overall, results appear to support the contention that heightened emotional sensitivity may be a core feature of BPD.

Facial affect recognition in criminal psychopaths.

Prior studies provide consistent evidence of deficits for psychopaths in processing verbal emotional material but are inconsistent regarding nonverbal emotional material. To examine whether psychopaths exhibit general versus specific deficits in nonverbal emotional processing, 34 psychopaths and 33 nonpsychopaths identified with Hares (R. D. Hare, 1991) Psychopathy Checklist--Revised were asked to complete a facial affect recognition test. Slides of prototypic facial expressions were presented. Three hypotheses regarding hemispheric lateralization anomalies in psychopaths were also tested (right-hemisphere dysfunction, reduced lateralization, and reversed lateralization). Psychopaths were less accurate than nonpsychopaths at classifying facial affect under conditions promoting reliance on right-hemisphere resources and displayed a specific deficit in classifying disgust. These findings demonstrate that psychopaths exhibit specific deficits in nonverbal emotional processing.

Borderline personality disorder and emotional responding: a review of the research literature

Although problems with emotional functioning are considered central to borderline personality disorder (BPD), it is only recently that studies have begun utilizing laboratory biobehavioral measures (including neuroimaging and psychophysiological measures) to examine emotional responding in BPD. The application of basic science methodologies used in a systematic program of research to investigate clinically relevant phenomena, often called translational research, holds much promise in advancing the assessment and treatment of BPD. In this paper, we begin with an overview of the research on self-reported emotional responding in BPD. Next, we outline the advantages that translational research has over traditional self-report methodology in furthering an understanding of emotional responding in BPD, and review the extant laboratory studies of emotional responding in BPD. Finally, problems commonly encountered when conducting translational research on emotion in BPD are outlined, and solutions to these problems are offered.

Factor structure of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) in incarcerated adolescents.

Two studies are reported on the underlying dimensions of the psychopathy construct in adolescents as measured by the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL: YV; Forth, Kosson, & Hare, 2003). In Study 1, the PCL: YV item ratings for 505 male adolescents incarcerated in 5 different settings in North America were used to test the fit of 3 models that have been hypothesized to represent the structure of psychopathy in adults. A 4th model based on parceling PCL: YV items was also tested. In Study 2, these models were tested with a sample of 233 male adolescents incarcerated in 2 facilities in the United Kingdom. Model fit results indicated that the 18-item 4-factor model developed by Hare (2003) and a modified version of a 13-item 3-factor model developed by Cooke and Michie (2001) were associated with generally good fit. Because the 4-factor model is a less saturated model than the 3-factor model (better parameter to data point ratio), it survived a riskier test of disconfirmation. Implications for the nature of psychopathy in youth are discussed.

Psychopathy-Related Traits Predict Self-Reported Sexual Aggression Among College Men

To examine whether personality traits related to psychopathy predict specific forms of sexual aggression in college men, a sample of 378 men completed the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES), the Socialization Scale, and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Psychopathy Checklist ratings were also available for 63 of these men based on a brief interview. The SES is a self-report measure designed to assess a spectrum of sexually aggressive behavior, ranging from use of argument or a position of power to impel participation in sexual activity, through manipulative intoxication and exploitation of intoxicated persons, to threatening and/or using force. Regression analyses indicated that measures of both dimensions of psychopathy identified in previous research accounted for variance in self-reports of sexual aggression. Moreover, although moderately correlated, the two dimensions predicted different forms of sexual aggression. Implications for studying psychopathic traits in college samples are discussed.

Psychopathy versus psychopathies in classifying criminal offenders

Purpose. Psychopathy has been shown to be related to the onset, frequency, and course of antisocial behaviour in criminal offenders. The purpose of the present study was to use cluster analysis to explore the existence of subtypes of criminal offenders in male inmates, based on the two empirically validated dimensions of psychopathy and several other dimensions previously proposed for differentiating offender groups. Methods. Two hundred male inmates participated in the study. Scores on the two dimensions of the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (Hare, 1991), the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy (Kosson, Steuerwald, Forth, & Kirkhart, 1997), DSM-IV diagnoses for alcohol and drug abuse/dependence, and anxiety were standardized and were included in two different types of cluster analyses. Both Wards hierarchical method and K-means non-hierarchical method revealed the presence of four subtypes of criminal offenders in the sample. The four-cluster solution was replicated when the sample was split in half and identical cluster analyses were performed on the two subsamples. Results. Two types of cluster analyses identified four subtypes of criminal offenders in two samples of jail inmates. Two of the clusters resembled primary and secondary psychopaths described in the literature, the third group exhibited some antisocial and psychopathic features, and the fourth group was non-psychopathic. Conclusions. Findings suggest that considering the individual contributions of the two dimensions of psychopathy in lieu of the construct as a whole may prove useful in identifying relatively homogeneous groups of criminal offenders.

Identifying Subtypes of Criminal Psychopaths A Replication and Extension

Psychopathy is an important construct in offender classification. Although several studies have suggested that there are two distinct subtypes of psychopaths, these studies have considerable limitations, including reliance on self-report measures, a failure to adequately address heterogeneity within the construct of psychopathy, and predictor-criterion contamination. A recent taxonomic study (Vassileva, Kosson, Abramowitz, & Conrod, 2005) identified four subgroups of offenders, including primary and secondary psychopaths. The present study uses cluster analysis to replicate and extend those findings to (a) an independent sample and (b) a Psychopathy Checklist—Revised factor model that reduces predictor-criterion contamination. Also, initial results were validated using a novel clustering method. Results show that psychopathy subtypes are replicable across methods. Furthermore, comparisons on other variables provide external validation of the subtypes consistent with prior theoretical conceptualizations.

Psychopathy and Instrumental Violence: Facet Level Relationships

The relationship between psychopathy and violence is well established. However, the extent to which psychopathy is related to different types of violent behavior warrants further study. We examined the relationship between instrumental violence, psychopathy, and psychopathic traits among 248 European American and African American adult male county jail inmates. We assessed instrumentality based on subjective motivations for respondent-identified acts of violence. Psychopathy was assessed using the PCL-R based on interview and file review. We controlled for potentially important covariates, namely IQ and prior violence. Results were in part consistent with findings from studies with adolescents, in that we identified a positive relationship between instrumentality of violence and manipulative interpersonal style. Results differed from youth studies with regard to relationships between instrumentality and other facets of psychopathy. The implications of our study are discussed with regard to treatment and the developmental stability of the relationship between psychopathic traits and instrumental violence.

Psychopathy is related to negative affectivity but not to anxiety sensitivity.

Although the hypothesis that psychopathic individuals are characterized by a reduced capacity for experiencing anxiety is central to many theories of psychopathy, most prior studies have examined anxiety and fear measures generally considered outdated in the literature. Moreover, prior findings are mixed, with several studies reporting no relationships between psychopathy and anxiety, and others suggesting negative relationships for the affective, interpersonal aspects of the disorder and positive relationships for the antisocial behavior dimension. To examine whether psychopathy dimensions are associated with contemporary measures of anxiety, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index and State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait scale were administered to 157 male inmates. Participants also completed the MMPI-derived Welsh Anxiety Scale (WAS), commonly used in psychopathy studies. Analyses provide no evidence for a negative relationship between psychopathys affective, interpersonal factor and anxiety sensitivity after controlling for trait anxiety. Trait anxiety and WAS scores were positively associated with the antisocial behavior dimension of psychopathy. Findings do replicate prior relationships between the WAS and psychopathy, suggesting the WAS may measure aspects of negative affectivity that differ from anxiety.