The Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy

Can the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality Be Used to Measure the Triarchic Model Constructs of Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition? A Scale Derivation Study

Can the components of the triarchic model of psychopathy (i.e., boldness, meanness, disinhibition) be operationalized using the item pool comprising the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP) model? To address this question, the authors first derived CAPP-based triarchic scales using standard item-selection procedures and then examined the external correlates of these provisional scales in three archival data sets: (a) U.S. jail inmates administered the institutional rating scale version of the CAPP and (b and c) prototypicality ratings of the CAPP traits provided by Swedish forensic mental health professionals and U.S. probation officers. Although most research on triarchic constructs has relied exclusively on self-report inventories, the results suggest that the CAPP model can be reorganized to reflect boldness, meanness, and disinhibition and that its institutional rating scale items can effectively quantify these constructs using interview and file review data. Implications for future research on the measurement and assessment of psychopathic traits are discussed.

Psychopathy and Economic Behavior Among Prison Inmates: An Experiment

This paper investigates whether there is a connection between psychopathy and certain manifestations of social and economic behavior, measured in a lab-in-the-field experiment with prison inmates. In order to test this main hypothesis, we let inmates play four games that have often been used to measure prosocial and antisocial behavior in previous experimental economics literature. Specifically, they play a prisoner's dilemma, a trust game, the equality equivalence test that elicits distributional preferences, and a corruption game. Psychopathy is measured by means of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP) questionnaire, which inmates filled out after having made their decisions in the four games. We find that higher scores in the LSRP are significantly correlated with anti-social behavior in the form of weaker reciprocity, lower cooperation, lower benevolence and more bribe-oriented decisions in the corruption game. In particular, not cooperating and bribe-maximizing decisions are associated with significantly higher LSRP primary and LSRP secondary scores. Not reciprocating is associated with higher LSRP primary and being spiteful with higher LSRP secondary scores.

Changes in personality after mild traumatic brain injury from primary blast vs. blunt forces

INTRODUCTION

Injuries from explosive devices can cause blast-force injuries, including mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated changes in personality from blast-force mTBI in comparison to blunt-force mTBI.

METHODS

Clinicians and significant others assessed US veterans who sustained pure blast-force mTBI (n = 12), as compared to those who sustained pure blunt-force mTBI (n = 12). Inclusion criteria included absence of any mixed blast-blunt trauma and absence of post-traumatic stress disorder. Measures included the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy (IM-P), the Big Five Inventory (BFI), the Interpersonal Adjectives Scale (IAS) and the Frontal Systems Behaviour Scale (FrSBe).

RESULTS

There were no group differences on demographic or TBI-related variables. Compared to the Blunt Group, the Blast Group had more psychopathy on the IM-P, with anger, frustration, toughness and boundary violations and tended to more neuroticism on the BFI. When pre-TBI and post-TBI assessments were compared on the IAS and FrSBe, only the patients with blast force mTBI had become more cold-hearted, aloof-introverted and apathetic.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that blast forces alone can cause negativistic behavioural changes when evaluated with selected measures of personality. Further research on isolated blast-force mTBI should focus on these personality changes and their relationship to blast over-pressure.

Understanding psychopathy through an evaluation of interpersonal behavior: testing the factor structure of the interpersonal measure of psychopathy in a large sample of jail detainees

Interpersonal characteristics are core features of the psychopathy construct which have a unique pattern of correlations with a variety of external correlates. To improve the assessment of interpersonal traits, the current study evaluated the internal structure of the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy (IM-P) through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) in a large sample of jail inmates. A 17-item, 3-factor (Dominance, Grandiosity, and Boundary Violations) structure evidenced good fit in European American inmates. A second CFA demonstrated good fit for this structure in a sample of African American inmates. Moreover, a multigroup CFA indicated structural invariance between European and African American inmates. External validity was tested and demonstrated through positive correlations between IM-P factor scores and Psychopathy Checklist--Revised total and facet scores (R. D. Hare, 2003) and antisocial personality disorder symptoms and diagnoses. Modest correlations between Grandiosity scores and scores on the Shipley Institute of Living Scale--Revised (R. A. Zachary, 1994) were also observed. Finally, a step-down hierarchical regression was conducted to test for racial bias of the IM-P factor scores in relation to external correlates. Little evidence was found for slope bias, but there was evidence of intercept bias for some analyses. Implications and advantages of assessing psychopathy through a comprehensive evaluation of interpersonal traits are discussed.

Medida Interpessoal de Psicopatia (IM-P): estudo preliminar no contexto brasileiro

INTRODUÇÃO: A observação direta do comportamento interpessoal é um recurso importante na descrição e diagnóstico da personalidade psicopática. A Medida Interpessoal de Psicopatia (Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy, IM-P) é um instrumento psicométrico composto por 21 itens, desenvolvido para ser utilizado em associação com outras escalas de avaliação da psicopatia. Foca-se, especificamente, nos comportamentos interpessoais e aspectos não verbais evidentes na interação do entrevistador com indivíduos que apresentam características psicopáticas. OBJETIVO: Descrever resultados preliminares sobre a investigação de aspectos interpessoais da psicopatia mediante a utilização da IM-P, incluindo as etapas de tradução/adaptação e avaliação de confiabilidade interavaliadores da IM-P, em uma amostra de adolescentes brasileiros. MÉTODO: Trata-se de estudo transversal, descritivo e correlacional realizado com 20 adolescentes masculinos cumprindo medida socioeducativa com privação de liberdade na Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre (RS). Após os procedimentos de tradução da escala, treinamento dos pesquisadores e teste piloto por meio de uma entrevista semiestruturada, a IM-P foi pontuada por três juízes independentes. RESULTADOS: Os resultados estatísticos, obtidos através do coeficiente de concordância de Kendall, revelaram grau de concordância interavaliadores elevado e satisfatório para os escores totais da IM-P (W = 0,84; p < 0,001). Alguns itens da escala que apresentaram resultados discrepantes foram discutidos e avaliados isoladamente. CONCLUSÃO: Do ponto de vista das propriedades psicométricas da versão em português da IM-P, os resultados deste estudo, embora incipientes, indicaram que a concordância interavaliadores foi consistente e que a escala se mostrou confiável. As limitações do estudo são apresentadas, bem como alguns questionamentos relevantes à continuidade da pesquisa com a IM-P.

The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale

There are several self-report measures of psychopathy, most of which use a two-factor structure. There is debate regarding the convergence of these factors, particularly with regard to Factor 1 (F1), which is related to the interpersonal and affective aspects of psychopathy; Factor 2 (F2) is related to the social deviance associated with psychopathy. This study examines the relations between the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) factors and personality traits and disorders (PDs) in an undergraduate sample (n = 271). LSRP Factor 1 is related to an antagonistic interpersonal style (i.e., low Agreeableness; high Narcissistic PD and ratings of prototypical psychopathy), whereas Factor 2 is more strongly related to negative emotionality (i.e., Neuroticism), disinhibition (i.e., low Conscientiousness) and a broad array of PD symptoms. The authors interpret these findings in the context of alternative measures of psychopathy and suggest that the LSRP is a reasonable, albeit imperfect, measure of psychopathy.