Factor Structure and Construct Validity of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP): A Replication and Extension in Dutch Nonclinical Participants

Fast & furious: Rejecting the hypothesis that secondary psychopathy improves reaction time-based concealed information detection

Deception, a complex aspect of human behavior, is inherently difficult to detect directly. A valid alternative involves memory detection, particularly through methods such as the Reaction-Time based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT). The RT-CIT assesses whether an individual possesses specific knowledge by presenting various probe (familiar) items amidst irrelevant (unfamiliar) items. The task-required "unfamiliar" response to probes may induce a response conflict. Resolving this conflict, by inhibiting the automatic "familiar" response, takes time and slows probe RTs-a phenomenon known as the RT-CIT effect. Notably, secondary psychopathy is characterized by disinhibition and impulsivity, traits which may hinder the ability to effectively manage experienced conflict. Therefore, we hypothesized that secondary psychopathy would be associated with an elevated RT-CIT effect. To investigate this hypothesized relation, we conducted a pre-registered study (n = 86, student sample), employing a novel CIT paradigm that incorporates no-go trials to assess response inhibition capacity. Psychopathic traits were measured using the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) scale, while the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) assessed impulsivity. The novel CIT paradigm revealed impressive detection efficiency. However, contrary to our expectations, we observed no significant correlation between the RT-CIT effect and secondary psychopathic traits (BF01 = 6.98). This cautiously suggests that while secondary psychopathic tendencies do not improve RT-CIT validity, they also do not compromise it. Although future investigations should explore more diverse contexts and populations, this tentative finding is reassuring and underscores the robustness of the CIT paradigm.

Psychopathy and gaze cueing

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Psychopathic traits - and especially callous affective features - have been linked to altered processing of others' emotional expressions, and to reduced attention to the eyes. Despite the importance of gaze cueing (i.e., the tendency to orient attention toward where someone else is looking) for social functioning, few studies have investigated relationships between psychopathic traits and gaze cueing, and whether facial emotional expression influence these relationships, obtaining mixed results. To address this gap, the present study aimed to evaluate associations between psychopathic traits and gaze cueing for emotional and neutral expressions.

METHODS

65 non-clinical male participants (Mage = 27.3 years) completed two self-report measures of psychopathy and performed laboratory tasks to assess gaze-cueing for emotional vs. neutral faces and an arrow-cueing task as a comparison.

RESULTS

Linear mixed models showed no significant associations of emotional (versus neutral) expressions, or psychopathy trait dimensions, with either gaze cueing or arrow cueing.

LIMITATIONS

Reliance on a convenience sample of non-clinical men, assessed with self-reports measures of psychopathy, and using static emotional stimuli limit the generalizability of our findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that psychopathic traits are not associated with individual differences in following others' gaze to direct attention, and that there was no advantage for affective relative to neutral expressions.

Morality, self-control, age, type of offence and sentence length as predictors of psychopathy amongst female incarcerated offenders in South Africa

There has been an increase in female incarcerated offenders nationally and internationally. Despite this trend, literature and research on female offenders remain limited compared to their male counterparts. Evidence of the relationship between certain personality disorders and offending behaviour has led numerous countries to prioritise identifying and assessing personality disorders among the offender population. Psychopathic personality traits may contribute to women's risk factors for expressing antisocial behaviours, resulting in their potential future incarceration. Thus, a need exists to understand possible factors that may predict the expression of psychopathic traits in females, which may have notable utility among female offenders. This study aimed to investigate possible predictor variables of psychopathy amongst incarcerated female offenders in South Africa. A quantitative research approach, non-experimental research type, and correlational research design were employed. A convenience sampling technique was used. The sample consisted of 139 (N = 139) female offenders housed in two correctional centres in South Africa who voluntarily participated in this study. Correlation analyses and hierarchical regression analysis procedures were conducted to analyse the results. Results indicated (i) a certain combination of predictor variables that statistically and practically significantly explained both primary and secondary psychopathy and (ii) individual predictor variables (e.g., Impulsivity, Simple Tasks, Risk-Seeking, and Self-Centredness) that explained both primary and secondary psychopathy statistically and practically significantly. This study provides valuable information about the possible predictor variables of psychopathy amongst female offenders within the context of South Africa. However, further research must be conducted to validate these findings and advance our knowledge on this topic.

Validation of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) scale in the non-institutionalized Lebanese population

BACKGROUND

Psychopathy has been described as "the first personality disorder to be recognized in psychiatry". It has three core features: affective, interpersonal, and behavioral. The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) scale is used to screen for and measure psychopathy. Our study aims to validate the LSRP as a tool to measure psychopathy in the non-institutionalized Lebanese population.

METHODS

We surveyed Lebanese individuals residing in Lebanon and aged 18 through 65. It was a convenience sample collected via an online survey. 534 Lebanese participants completed the survey and were included in our analyses. Nearly 80% were female, 90% were college educated, and 60% were employed. We used exploratory graph analysis and confirmatory factor analyses to measure internal validity of the LSRP. We also used the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (HEXACO-PI-R), the Subtypes of Antisocial Behavior Questionnaire (STAB), and the Short version of the Urgency, Premeditation (lack of), Perseverance (lack of), Sensation Seeking, Positive Urgency, Impulsive Behavior Scale (S-UPPS-P) to measure external validity of LSRP.

RESULTS

The exploratory graph analysis showed that the LSRP had a three-factor structure (Egocentric, Callous and Antisocial) in the Lebanese population. This three-factor structure (RMSEA = 0.05, CFI = 0.83, SRMR = 0.06) yielded a better fit than the two-factor, and three-factor Brinkley models. The LSRP was negatively correlated with the Honesty-Humility dimension of the HEXACO-PI-R and positively correlated with the STAB and S-UPPS-P subscales.

CONCLUSIONS

The LSRP scale is a valid measure of psychopathy in the Lebanese non-institutionalized population, adding to the currently limited literature addressing psychopathy in the Arab World.

Disentangle psychopathic traits, self-construal and prosocial behaviours: A literature review

Psychopathy encompasses a constellation of personality traits, including interpersonal callousness, absence of remorse and guilt, and impulsivity. While extensive research has linked psychopathy to various antisocial behaviours, there has been a scarcity of studies investigating its association with prosocial behaviours, particularly within diverse sociocultural contexts. This comprehensive review explores recent literature that delves into the intricate interplay between psychopathy, prosocial behaviours, and self-construal. The current review reveals a complex and sometimes contradictory relationship between psychopathy and prosocial behaviours. The authors also examine the role of self-construal, a crucial sociocultural aspect, in relation to psychopathy and prosocial behaviours, and imply the intricate interplay between them. Amidst the review, the interactions between key constructs and sociocultural as well as contextual factors, including group identification and public awareness, are highlighted, and their potential role in modulating individuals' prosocial decision-making is discussed. At last, this review pinpointed notable research gaps: the potential moderating role of self-construal in the connection between psychopathy and prosocial behaviours, and a methodologically specific recommendation for future research is proposed. These findings consolidate the current evidence on psychopathy, self-construal and prosocial behaviours, and offer valuable insights into how sociocultural factors contribute to the heterogeneous expression of psychopathic traits, illuminating the directions for research on the development of culture-specific conceptualizations of psychopathy.

Psychopathy in Iran: Developing and Validating a Persian Version of the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality- Self-Report (CAPP-SR)

The Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality-Self-Report (CAPP-SR) is the most recent operationalization of the CAPP model which uses 33 symptoms to conceptualize psychopathic personality disorder. In the current study, we sought to examine the cross-cultural utility of the CAPP-SR in an Iranian sample. In Study 1, we translated the CAPP-SR into Persian and assessed the linguistic convergence between the Persian and original English versions using a sample of Persian–English bilingual university students in New Zealand. In Study 2, we examined the reliability and validity of the Persian CAPP-SR using a sample of university students in Iran. Our results showed that the Persian CAPP-SR has a promising pattern of convergent and incremental validity in terms of their associations with conceptually-relevant criterion measures, including those designed for the Iranian cultural context. Overall, the findings from the current study support the use of the Persian CAPP-SR as well as having implications for the cross-cultural utility of the CAPP model.

Empathy, impulsiveness, and sensation seeking as mediators between primary psychopathic traits and driving behaviors in French driving offenders

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the links between primary psychopathic traits and driving behavior on the one hand, and driving anger expression on the other hand, through the specific contribution of empathy, impulsiveness, and sensation seeking, in a sample of French driving offenders.

METHODS

One thousand six hundred and eighty-six driving offenders completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire during 110 drivers' rehabilitation programs.

RESULTS

Primary psychopathic traits were positively associated with violations and aggressive driving anger expression, and negatively associated with prosocial driving behaviors. These associations were partially mediated by empathy, impulsiveness, and sensation seeking. In addition, the negative relation between primary psychopathic traits and adaptive anger expression was fully mediated by these three personal dispositions.

CONCLUSION

Low empathy, high impulsiveness and sensation seeking are important characteristics of driving offenders with high psychopathic traits. Our results provide a better understanding of French driving offenders' risky behaviors and the role of primary psychopathic traits.

Psychopathic and autistic traits differentially influence the neural mechanisms of social cognition from communication signals

Psychopathy is associated with severe deviations in social behavior and cognition. While previous research described such cognitive and neural alterations in the processing of rather specific social information from human expressions, some open questions remain concerning central and differential neurocognitive deficits underlying psychopathic behavior. Here we investigated three rather unexplored factors to explain these deficits, first, by assessing psychopathy subtypes in social cognition, second, by investigating the discrimination of social communication sounds (speech, non-speech) from other non-social sounds, and third, by determining the neural overlap in social cognition impairments with autistic traits, given potential common deficits in the processing of communicative voice signals. The study was exploratory with a focus on how psychopathic and autistic traits differentially influence the function of social cognitive and affective brain networks in response to social voice stimuli. We used a parametric data analysis approach from a sample of 113 participants (47 male, 66 female) with ages ranging between 18 and 40 years (mean 25.59, SD 4.79). Our data revealed four important findings. First, we found a phenotypical overlap between secondary but not primary psychopathy with autistic traits. Second, primary psychopathy showed various neural deficits in neural voice processing nodes (speech, non-speech voices) and in brain systems for social cognition (mirroring, mentalizing, empathy, emotional contagion). Primary psychopathy also showed deficits in the basal ganglia (BG) system that seems specific to the social decoding of communicative voice signals. Third, neural deviations in secondary psychopathy were restricted to social mirroring and mentalizing impairments, but with additional and so far undescribed deficits at the level of auditory sensory processing, potentially concerning deficits in ventral auditory stream mechanisms (auditory object identification). Fourth, high autistic traits also revealed neural deviations in sensory cortices, but rather in the dorsal auditory processing streams (communicative context encoding). Taken together, social cognition of voice signals shows considerable deviations in psychopathy, with differential and newly described deficits in the BG system in primary psychopathy and at the neural level of sensory processing in secondary psychopathy. These deficits seem especially triggered during the social cognition from vocal communication signals.

The role of subclinical psychopathic traits on experimentally induced self- and other-compassion

Psychopathic traits come with high levels of anger and aggression. Since previous studies showed that compassion can mitigate both anger and aggression, the current research puts compassion forward as a possible target to alleviate psychopathy's destructive patterns. Specifically, the present study explored the influence of subclinical psychopathic traits-as well as their three subcomponents egocentricity, callousness, and antisociality-on the efficacy of experimentally induced self-compassion (SC) and other-compassion (OC). This manuscript is part of a larger study in which student and community participants (N = 230, M age = 27.41, 65.2% female) completed a psychopathic trait questionnaire to assess their dimensional level of psychopathy, filled out state SC and OC questionnaires, and were randomized to participate in an experimental self- or other-compassion induction. It was expected that psychopathic traits would positively relate to increases in SC but negatively relate to increases in OC. Baseline levels of both SC and OC negatively related to psychopathy. Overall, as expected, the results on change scores show that subclinical psychopathic traits positively related to a stronger increase in SC, irrespective of the type of compassion induction. This positive relation between a stronger increase in SC and psychopathy total and callousness was more pronounced after the SC induction, rather than after the OC induction. Psychopathic traits did not differentially influence changes in OC. One implication of this study is that high psychopathic and callousness traits predispose to profit extra from targeting SC. Furthermore, psychopathic traits do not hinder increasing compassion for others. These findings suggest that compassion is a promising intervention to improve the wellbeing of people with elevated subclinical psychopathic traits and those around them. Although further research is needed to assess the impact of compassion on anger and aggression specifically, and on clinical psychopathy, the current study suggests that both SC and OC may be useful intervention targets in case of elevated psychopathic traits.

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Expanded Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in Community and University Samples

The aim of the current study was to further examine the psychometric properties of the Expanded Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (E-LSRP; Christian & Sellbom, 2016). Specifically, its reliability, internal structure, and convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated using university (N = 367) and community samples (N = 205) from Aotearoa New Zealand. The results provided support for the reliability and validity of the E-LSRP in both samples. More specifically, the internal consistency estimates of the E-LSRP were above the meaningful threshold, indicating good reliability. Furthermore, using confirmatory factor analysis, the hypothesized three-factor structure was supported and conceptually consistent with Cooke and Michie's (2001) Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) three-factor model. Lastly, the results generally provided support for the convergent and discriminant validity of the E-LSRP subscales; the E-LSRP Egocentricity was associated with criteria relevant to interpersonal impairment, the Callous scale with criteria relevant to the affective psychopathy domain, and the Antisocial scale with criteria representing behavioral dysfunction. Overall, the E-LSRP is a promising tool for assessing psychopathy in nonincarcerated populations.

Revisiting the Relationship between Altruism and Organ Donation: Insights from Israel

The number of people on the waiting list for an organ transplant increases year after year. However, the number of donated organs available for transplantation does not rise in line with this increased demand. This study examines the associations between altruism, attitudes towards organ donation, and behavioral intentions regarding organ donation within the Jewish population in Israel. In a cross-sectional study, 452 participants completed an online questionnaire. Data collection occurred between November and December 2020. Convenience sampling was used, and participation was voluntary. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlations and independent samples t-tests. Within the study population, we found high levels of altruistic behaviors and positive attitudes toward organ donation. However, the level of behavioral intentions toward organ donation was low. No associations were found between altruism levels and attitudes toward organ donation, or between altruism levels and the degree of behavioral intentions toward organ donation. However, a positive relationship was found between attitudes toward organ donation and willingness to sign an organ donor card. In addition, positive associations were found between religiosity and altruism, while negative associations were found between religiosity and attitudes towards organ donation, and between religiosity and willingness to sign an organ donor card. Positive attitudes toward organ donation may result in increased organ donation in the future. Thus, raising awareness and positive attitudes toward organ donation among the wider public and, in particular, the ultra-Orthodox population in Israel in particular is necessary. Consequently, it is essential that information about the organ donation process is accessible and culturally adaptive to different sectors.

Gun Violence and Psychopathy Among Female Offenders

Research exploring risk factors of gun violence is limited, especially research involving women as perpetrators of violence. Yet, women account for 18-21% of convicted violent crime. The present study aimed to test if psychopathy, a notable risk factor for violence, was related to past convictions of gun violence, general forms of violence, and non-violent crime. In a sample of 206 female offenders, multinomial logistic regressions assessed how interpersonal, affective, and behavioral psychopathic traits increased the likelihood of women belonging to the gun violence group, a violent crime group, and a non-violent crime group. Results showed the interpersonal and affective facets increased the likelihood of women belonging to the gun violence group compared to both the violent and non-violent crime groups. The behavioral facet increased the likelihood of women belonging to the violent crime group when compared to the gun violence and non-violent crime groups. These results suggest that gun violence has different risk factors than violent and non-violent crime. This line of inquiry indicates that existing violence prevention strategies may need to be modified to address gun violence.

Altered effective connectivity from the posterior insula to the amygdala mediates the relationship between psychopathic traits and endorsement of the Harm foundation

Psychopathic traits have been demonstrated to be associated with different moral foundations. However, the neuropsychological mechanism underlying the relationship between psychopathic traits and moral foundations remains obscure. Our study examined the effective connectivity (EC) of psychopathy-related brain regions and its association with endorsement to moral foundations (Harm, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Purity)-combining questionnaire measures, resting-state fMRI (RS-fMRI), and Granger causality analysis. We administered the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale and Moral Foundation Questionnaire to 78 college students after RS-fMRI scanning. Our results showed that total and primary psychopathy negatively predicted endorsement of the Harm foundation. The EC from the posterior insula to the amygdala was negatively associated with primary psychopathy but positively associated with endorsement of the Harm foundation. Altered posterior insula-amygdala EC partially mediated the relationship between primary psychopathy and endorsement of the Harm foundation. Our findings demonstrated that individuals with elevated psychopathic traits may have atypical processes in recognizing and integrating bodily state information into emotional responses -leading to less concern for harm-related morality. Our findings deepen the understanding of the neuropsychological mechanism underlying the relationship between psychopathic traits and morality, providing potential neurobiological explanations for increased moral transgressions, especially those harm-related transgressions, committed by psychopathic individuals.

Longitudinal Validation of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) Scale in a High-Risk Dutch Community Sample

The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) scale is a self-report measure that can be used to assess psychopathic traits in community samples, and recent research suggested that its three-factor model (Egocentricity, Callousness, and Antisocial) has promising psychometric properties. However, no study to date has validated the LSRP in a longitudinal framework. The present study sought to validate the LSRP scale in a longitudinal design using a sample of Dutch emerging adults (ns = 970 and 693 at time points 1 and 2, respectively). We assessed longitudinal measurement invariance and the stability of psychopathic traits over an 18-month time period, from age 20 to age 21.6. Furthermore, we replicated and extended findings on the factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of the Dutch LSRP scale. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the three-factor model fit the data well. Evidence of partial longitudinal measurement invariance was observed, which means that the Dutch translation of the LSRP scale is measuring an equivalent construct (and overall latent factor structure) over time. Psychopathic traits were relatively stable over time. The three LSRP subscales showed largely acceptable levels of internal consistency at both time points and showed conceptually expected patterns of construct validity and predictive validity, with a few notable exceptions.

The Impact of Parental Incarceration on Psychopathy, Crime, and Prison Violence in Women

There is a growing interest in understanding the consequences of parental incarceration. Unfortunately, research exploring the long-term criminological and personality effects in female offspring is limited, particularly among second-generation female offenders. In a sample of 170 female offenders, we first assessed the correlations between psychopathy facets, prison violence, and types of crime. Next, we tested the association between childhood exposure to paternal and/or maternal incarceration on adulthood psychopathic traits, criminal offending, and prospective prison violence over 12 months. Correlations showed the interpersonal facet was positively correlated with fraud-related crime and prison violence. The affective facet was positively correlated with violent crime and prison violence. The behavioral facet was associated with prison violence and drug-related crime. Multinomial logistic regressions showed higher interpersonal facet scores were associated with an increased likelihood of having experienced paternal incarceration. Higher affective facet scores, violent crime, and prison violence were associated with an increased likelihood of having experienced maternal incarceration, regardless of if the father had been incarcerated or not. It is evident that having any parent incarcerated during childhood can be harmful to daughters; however, our findings dovetail with prior research showing that maternal incarceration leads to more detrimental outcomes for women.

Validation of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in Bulgarian Substance-Dependent Individuals

The co-occurrence of psychopathy and substance use disorders (SUDs) is associated with higher relapse rates and increased risk of violent offending. Studies on the validity of psychopathy measures in community samples and substance-dependent individuals (SDIs) are scarce. The aim of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP) in a sample of Bulgarian SDIs and non-dependent controls. We tested 615 participants: 106 heroin users, 91 amphetamine users, 123 polysubstance users, and 295 controls. Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the tri-factor structure of the LSRP (egocentric, antisocial, callous). The scale demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity. SDIs scored significantly higher than controls on the total scale and subscales of the LSRP, indicating good discriminant validity. Overall, results indicate that the LSRP is a valid instrument for measuring psychopathy in Bulgarian community samples.