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192 E Le6n-Mayer et al.
The construct of psychopathy, measurements, and its
factors
The construct of psychopathy is socially relevant because
of its relation with transgression and crime.4,9,12,17,18 The
long history of scientific development on this construct
has been enriched by multiple authors,12,19,20 and there
is still much to say.
Currently, the main assessment tool available for the
evaluation of psychopathy is the Hare PCL-R.4 The first
version of the scale was developed in 1980. Since then,
there have been multiple revisions of the instrument and
more than a thousand published articles supporting its
reliability and validity in numerous parts of the world.11,2023
The PCL-R is a forensic instrument consisting of 20
items. To be scored, these items require data obtained
through a semi-structured interview and additional col-
lateral information obtained from institutional files and
records, as well as from persons closely related to the
subject. The PCL-R has proven, significant reliability and
validity, and, at present, it is considered the gold standard
for evaluation of psychopathy.1 0,2428
In 1991, Hare published the two-factor scale. Factor 1
described emotional and interpersonal characteristics
and factor 2 described behavioral externalizations.3 In
2003, the second edition of the technical manual was
published with modifications to factor 1 and factor 2.
Factor 1 was divided in two facets representing the
interpersonal style and the affective style; factor 2 was
also divided in two facets that include the behavioral style
and the antisocial style. Items 11 and 17 did not load in
neither of the two factors, but did make an important
contribution to the test in general.4 Recent studies have
shown that a four-factor structure has the best statistical
fit for the PCL-R15'16 and that it also exhibits good fit for
derivatives of the PCL-R, such as the Psychopathy
Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV).29
Other recent studies of the factor structure of the PCL-
R using multidimensional scaling, a non-linear alternative
to factor analysis, have demonstrated that the emergent
structure of the PCL-R may be interpreted in more than
one way and in different levels of specificity, and this will
be consistent both with the two-factor and with the four-
factor solutions.4 The four-factor structure is further
supported through the use of a confirmatory parcel model
that involves aggregates of subsets of items (i.e., parcels)
for each factor and, therefore, for the larger construct of
psychopathy as well.21 The four primary factors of the
model as discussed by Hare in the revised PCL-R Manual
are tested in this study and described below.
Factor 1 assesses the interpersonal style of the indivi-
dual. It is formed by the following four items: 1) Glibness
and superficial charm, which evaluates loquacity and
superficiality in the communication style of the person;
2) Grandiose sense of worth, which evaluates the level of
narcissism and egocentric behavior shown by the subject;
4) Pathological lying, which should be distinguished from
instrumental lying; and 5) Conning/manipulative, which
mainly assesses the need for control and manipulation of
other people (to do this, the individual will not hesitate to
use any manipulative strategy, both with unknownpersons and with family, friends, or acquaintances, in
order to obtain benefits from his actions).
Factor 2 evaluates the emotional responses of the
individual and the quality of his bonds with others. It consists
of four items: 6) Lack of remorse or guilt; 7) Shallow affect,
which assesses whether the subject can have strong
relationships with other persons and inability to express a
normal depth of emotions; 8) Callous/lack of empathy; and
16) Failure to accept responsibility for own actions (this
item evaluates the attributional style of the subject, which,
in psychopaths, is external).
Factor 3 includes historical information that allows the
evaluator to assess life events since childhood. Additional
information, such as school and medical reports and
institutional files, is very important for scoring these items,
as is collateral information rendered by the family. Factor
3 has five items: 3) Need for stimulation/proneness to
boredom, which evaluates whether the individual can
carry out normal activities and the need for strong
emotions, including illegal drug consumption and high-
risk behaviors that endanger his life and that of others;
9) Parasitic lifestyle; 13) Lack of realistic, long-term goals
(is the person able to make a life project for the future in a
normal, healthy way or is he grandiose?); 14) Impulsivity;
and 15) Irresponsibility, which assesses whether the
individual fulfills his commitments or fails to do so.
Factor 4 includes five items that evaluate antisocial
externalizations: 10) Poor behavioral controls, which refers
to an individual who reacts aggressively when he becomes
frustrated or angry, has a bad temper, and lacks control
over his behavior; 12) Early behavioral problems (psycho-
paths normally create many problems during childhood;
this is a historical item that evaluates whether the problems
created during childhood were more frequent and severe
than those created by a normal child); 18) Juvenile delin-
quency; 19) Revocation of conditional release, evaluating
violations to benefits obtained in the prison system that
involve early release; and 20) Criminal versatility.
Two items are not included in the four factor structure
of the PCL-R, but are included in the total PCL-R score
(no-factor items): 11) Promiscuous sexual behavior; and
17) Many short-term marital relations. They refer to
the affective life of the individual, but from a sexual
standpoint.
The different derivatives of the PCL - PCL-R, PCL:SV,
and PCL:YV - have been considered the "golden rule" for
the assessment of psychopathy.30 Nevertheless, rela-
tively few research studies have used the PCL scales in
the general community,31 in part due to the difficulty
involved in application of the instrument, including the
interview and collection of the additional information
required, the lack of community norms, and the training
required for its use. Thus, in 1985, considering the potential
advantages of self-report inventories, Robert Hare created
the SRPS.32 According to Williams & Paulhus, the
theoretical nearness of the SRPS and the PCL-R is an
advantage over all other self-reported inventories in
psychopathy.31
Subsequently, Hare created a group of 60 items that
gave birth to the SRP-II, followed by the SRP-III and,Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2015;37(3)
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León Mayer, Elizabeth; Folino, Jorge O.; Neumann, Craig S. & Hare, Robert D. The construct of psychopathy in a Chilean prison population, article, October 2, 2014; São Paulo, Brazil. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc862704/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT College of Arts and Sciences.