Construct validation of a self-report psychopathy scale: does Levenson's self-report psychopathy scale measure the same constructs as Hare's psychopathy checklist-revised?

In an effort to validate Levenson, Kiehl and Fitzpatrick's [Levenson, M. R., Kiehl, K. A., & Fitzpatrick, C. M. (1995). Assessing psychopathic attributes in a noninstitutionalized population. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 151–158] . Self-report Psychopathy Scale (SRPS) w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality and individual differences 2001-11, Vol.31 (7), p.1021-1038
Main Authors: Brinkley, Chad A, Schmitt, William A, Smith, Steven S, Newman, Joseph P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Construct validation
Construct validity
Criminal activity
Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised
Medical sciences
Passive avoidance
Psychological tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychopathy
Selfreport
Selfreport Psychopathy Scale
Techniques and methods
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Summary:In an effort to validate Levenson, Kiehl and Fitzpatrick's [Levenson, M. R., Kiehl, K. A., & Fitzpatrick, C. M. (1995). Assessing psychopathic attributes in a noninstitutionalized population. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 151–158] . Self-report Psychopathy Scale (SRPS) we compared it to Hare's [Hare, R. D. (1991). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems] (PCL-R) and examined its relation to criminal activity and a passive avoidance task. Participants were 270 Caucasian and 279 African-American participants in a minimum security state prison. Confirmatory factor analysis provided modest support for the original SRPS factor structure. Although diagnostic concordance of the two instruments ranged from poor to fair, the SRPS and the PCL-R were significantly correlated and both showed similar patterns of correlations to measures of substance abuse and criminal versatility. Both measures were also predictive of performance on a passive avoidance task. While this constellation of findings provides some evidence for the construct validity of the SRPS, it also suggests that the SRPS may not measure the same construct as the PCL-R and further refinement of the instrument appears to be warranted.
ISSN:0191-8869
1873-3549
DOI:10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00178-1