PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “PSYCHOPATHIC PERSONALITY”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Construct validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory in a correctional sample.

The relations between the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996) and 4 theoretically related constructs (empathy, aggression, work ethic, and borderline personality disorder) were examined. Additionally, the relation between the PPI and heroism was explored. One hundred male inmates were administered the PPI, the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy (Mehrabian & Epstein, 1972), the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992), the Protestant Ethic Scale (Mirels & Garrett, 1971), the Self-Report for Borderline Personality Scale (Oldham et al., 1985), and the Activity Frequency Inventory (Lilienfeld, 1998). As predicted, the PPI was significantly negatively correlated with empathy and significantly positively related to aggression and borderline personality. Contrary to prediction, the correlation between the PPI and work ethic was not significant. Eight of 11 hypotheses regarding the relations of the PPI subscales to these 4 constructs were corroborated. Results support the construct validity of the PPI in a correctional sample. The exploratory analysis of the relation between the PPI and heroism revealed no significant relations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Severe (psychopathic) personality disorder: a review.

The development of the concept, causes and management of severe (psychopathic) personality disorder is reviewed against the current background of government concern about the activities of a small group of individuals alleged to be showing the disorder to a dangerous degree. The authors acknowledge the problems involved in 'labelling' the disorder. The term psychopathic has a somewhat chequered history. It did not enter U.K. legislation until the Mental Health Act 1959. To this extent, it is a legal term and does not equate to any exact degree with the clinical descriptions currently in use. However, the term 'psychopathic disorder' will be used as a kind of shorthand for variants in everyday use. It is important to note that in this contribution we are only considering those 'psychopaths' who have come to the attention of the criminal justice and mental health systems. There are also 'psychopaths' who, for a variety of reasons, have not come to official attention and a recent contribution by Board and Fritzon (2005) highlights some interesting common characteristics in business managers and a sample of forensic patients detained in high security establishments.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1975

Am empirical classification of psychopathic personality.

Personality profiles of 79 non-psychotic male offenders admitted to a security hospital were subjected to a cluster analysis. Four profile types were generated, classifying four-fifths of the sample, and differences were found between the types in previous antisocial behaviour. Two of the types were identifiable as primary and secondary psychopaths, while the remaining two showed little resemblance to the concept of the psychopathic personality. The primary psychopaths were extraverted but not neurotic, while the secondary psychopaths were neurotic, but not extraverted. Both were highly impulsive but distinguished by a dimension of sociability-withdrawal.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

[Reactive states among psychopathic personalities of different clinical groups].

On the basis of a clinical follow-up of 71 psychopaths with manifestations of reactive psychosis, the authors established the clinico-typological characteristics of both groups of pathology and the system of correlations between them. They also described the structure of the psychopathic and psychogenic syndromes, the type of psychopathic personality reaction and the form of psychogenic responses and proved statistically their close interrelationship. Data were obtained on some general regularities of interrelations of reactive psychoses with a psychopathic background which are important for the prognosis, prophylaxis and therapy of reactive states.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2005

Validation of the psychopathic personality inventory on a female inmate sample.

This investigation evaluated the construct validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996), a self-report measure designed to assess psychopathy. One hundred and two incarcerated females were administered the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), an oral alcohol and drug screening measure, a demographic interview, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), and the PPI. There were significant correlations among the PPI, MMPI-2 scales, and the PCL-R. In addition, the correlations between the PPI and the separate PCL-R factors were not significantly different from each other, indicating that the PPI is assessing both facets of the psychopathy construct to some extent. A high correlation between the PPI and the DSM-IV criteria, which assesses adult antisocial behaviors, revealed adequate concurrent validity. Nonsignificant or negligible correlations between the PPI and the MMPI-2 scales provided some support for discriminant validity. The results are discussed with respect to the clinical and forensic utility of the PPI, the limitations of the study, and the need for further research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Adult psychopathic personality with childhood-onset hyperactivity and conduct disorder: a central problem constellation in forensic psychiatry.

To describe lifetime mental disorders among perpetrators of severe inter-personal crimes and to identify the problem domains most closely associated with aggression and a history of repeated violent criminality, we used structured interviews, clinical assessments, analyses of intellectual functioning, medical and social files, and collateral interviews in 100 consecutive subjects of pretrial forensic psychiatric investigations. Childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorders [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), learning disability, tics and autism spectrum disorders] affected 55% of the subjects and formed complex comorbidity patterns with adult personality disorders [including psychopathic traits according to the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R)], mood disorders and substance abuse. The closest psychiatric covariates to high Lifetime History of Aggression (LHA) scores and violent recidivism were the PCL-R scores and childhood conduct disorder (CD). Behavioral and affective PCL-R factors were closely associated with childhood AD/HD, CD, and autistic traits. The results support the notion that childhood-onset social and behavioral problems form the most relevant psychiatric symptom cluster in relation to pervasive adult violent behavior, while late-onset mental disorders are more often associated with single acts of violent or sexual aggression.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Psychometric analysis of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) with female inmates.

This study evaluated the reliability, internal structure, and validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996) among female inmates (n = 153) housed at a multilevel prison facility. Findings from this research suggested both strengths and weaknesses associated with PPI psychopathy assessment. Reliability of the PPI was supported by internal consistency analyses of scale and subscale item sets, and test-retest reliability was supported by findings obtained with a subsample (n = 36) retested an average of 49 days after initial test administration. Validity of the PPI total score was also supported by moderate to very high correlations with other self-report measures of psychopathy. Relative weaknesses of the PPI were evident by the low or negative associations among many of the PPI subscales, moderate associations that PPI total scores demonstrated with response set indexes, and the similarity of PPI total scores among female inmates and undergraduates. Findings from this research are considered in relation to possible sex differences in the expression of psychopathy and challenges associated with the assessment of the psychopathy construct with self-report methods.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

[Emotional and meaningful regulation of perception in psychopathic personalities of the excitable and hysterical type].

An experimental psychological study of the emotional and meaningful perception control involved 83 psychopaths of the excitable and hysterical types and 80 mentally normal test subjects. It has been revealed that unlike normal people, perception in psychopathic personalities is based on a smaller number of emotional-evaluation categories; under emotional stress their perception is more dependent on the subjective significance of the perceived stimuli; the process of perception in such individuals is less hierarchical and structural. The data obtained indicate an inadequately structuralized and unstable hierarchy of meaningful formations in psychopathic patients of the excitable and hysterical types.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Mental disorders as possible intrapsychic routes to remission. Part II: psychopathic personality disorder.

In this article an attempt is made, on the basis of a case report of a psychopathic swindler, to explain psychopathy as an intrapsychic mechanism which may lead to remission. In some cases psychopathic personality disorder can have the function of a route that should be completed within the possibilities and capacities of the patient in question. When this route is completed successfully the patient might be able to, and motivated for healthy emotional, moral and social development.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2004

Reconstructing psychopathy: clarifying the significance of antisocial and socially deviant behavior in the diagnosis of psychopathic personality disorder.

A survey of clinical views suggests that the significance of antisocial and socially deviant behavior in the diagnosis of psychopathic personality disorder is unclear. To investigate this issue, we evaluated Psychopathy Checklist-Revised ratings (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) using structural equation modeling. One model, referred to as the measurement model, included PCL-R ratings related to antisocial behavior as primary symptoms of psychopathy; a second, referred to as the causal model, included the same PCL-R ratings as secondary symptoms or consequences. Compared to the measurement models, the causal model included more PCL-R items, was more parsimonious, and had equal or superior fit indices. These findings suggest that antisocial behavior is best viewed as a secondary symptom or consequence of psychopathy, In addition, the findings have important implications for future research and clinical-forensic practice, especially concerning the assessment of risk for criminality and violence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Factor structure of the psychopathic personality inventory: validity and implications for clinical assessment.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by impulsive antisocial deviance in the context of emotional and interpersonal detachment. A factor analysis of the subscales of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) yielded evidence for 2 factors. One factor showed relations with external criteria mirroring those of the emotional-interpersonal facet of psychopathy, including high dominance, low anxiety, and venturesomeness. The other factor showed relations paralleling those of the social deviance facet of psychopathy, including positive correlations with antisocial behavior and substance abuse, negative correlations with socioeconomic status and verbal ability, and personality characteristics including high negative emotionally and low behavioral constraint. Findings support using the PPI to assess these facets of psychopathy in community samples and to explore their behavioral correlates and genetic-neurobiological underpinnings.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Construct validity of the psychopathic personality inventory two-factor model with offenders.

Much of the research on psychopathy has treated it as a unitary construct operationalized by total scores on one (or more) measures. More recent studies on the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) suggest the existence of two distinct facets of psychopathy with unique external correlates. Here, the authors report reanalyses of two offender data sets that included scores on the PPI along with various theoretically relevant criterion variables. Consistent with hypotheses, the two PPI factors showed convergent and discriminant relations with criterion measures, many of which would otherwise have been obscured when relying on PPI total scores. These results highlight the importance of examining facets of psychopathy as well as total scores.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Development and preliminary validation of a self-report measure of psychopathic personality traits in noncriminal populations.

Research on psychopathology has been hindered by persisting difficulties and controversies regarding its assessment. The primary goals of this set of studies were to (a) develop, and initiate the construct validation of, a self-report measure that assesses the major personality traits of psychopathy in noncriminal populations and (b) clarify the nature of these traits via an exploratory approach to test construction. This measure, the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI), was developed by writing items to assess a large number of personality domains relevant to psychopathy and performing successive item-level factor analyses and revisions on three undergraduate samples. The PPI total score and its eight subscales were found to possess satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability. In four studies with undergraduates, the PPI and its subscales exhibited a promising pattern of convergent and discriminant validity with self-report, psychiatric interview, observer rating, and family history data. In addition, the PPI total score demonstrated incremental validity relative to several commonly used self-report psychopathy-related measures. Future construct validation studies, unresolved conceptual issues regarding the assessment of psychopathy, and potential research uses of the PPI are outlined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Cognitive-behavioral profiles of college risk-takers with Type II and psychopathic personality traits.

Prevention efforts would be enhanced by identification of factors that increase the greater relative risk of some college students for dangerous activities such as heavy drinking, illicit drug use, and unsafe sex. Students with Cloninger's [Science 236 (1987) 410.] "Type II" personality characteristics or with psychopathic traits were compared on indices of drinking and risk-taking, and potential mechanisms of unique behavioral patterns were explored. Freshmen (N=331, 50% male) completed self-report measures from which students with Type II and psychopathic traits were identified and compared with the remaining sample. Students with Type II traits reported heavy drinking and frequent intoxicated risk-taking, whereas students with psychopathic traits reported frequent sober risk-taking. Both groups held strong positive outcome expectancies, yet only those with Type II traits reported weak negative outcome expectancies. Moreover, negative outcome expectancies mediated the relation between Type II traits and intoxicated risk-taking. The collective findings suggest that Type II and psychopathic traits underlie differing behavioral profiles, and that students with Type II traits may take risks when intoxicated due to limited recognition of potential negative behavioral consequences.

Adolescent↗