Psychopathic Traits and Risk of Criminal Recidivism in Offenders with and without Mental Disorders

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the long-term predictive validity of the PCL-R for offenders with severe mental disorders, substance abuse and personality disorders and for offenders without mental disorders. The sample consisted of 262 perpetrators who were assessed for their criminal responsibilities. The PCL-R was assessed retrospectively from file data. Participants were prospectively followed-up for an average observation period of 58.6 months (range -138 months), with the first entry into the official criminal records of the National Conviction Registry serving as the endpoint. PCL-R scores were significantly different between the three diagnostic groups. The highest PCL-R scores were found in offenders with personality disorders and/or substance abuse. In all three groups the PCL-R predicted violent, but not non-violent reoffenses with moderate predictive validity. The PCL-R is therefore a moderately strong predictor for violent reoffenses in offenders with mental disorders, personality disorders and/or substance abuse and for those offenders without mental disorders, but failed to predict non-violent criminal recidivism.

Male Batterers With and Without Psychopathy

“…The prevalence of psychopathy or probable psychopathy (psychopathic traits) in batterer men incarcerated for a serious offence against their partner in our study is about 12%, somewhat lower than in general prison populations (about 15%-25%) as indicated by other studies (Hare, 2001). But prison inmates who meet the criteria for psychopathy or who have a significant number of psychopathic traits have been found to be at much higher risk for recidivism and violence than are other prisoners (Grann & Wedin, 2002;Harris, Rice & Quinsey, 1993;Stadtland, Kleindienst, Kröner, Eidt, & Nedopil, 2005;Walters, 2003). Thus, the risk for violence against women is increased by a diagnosis of psychopathy in the batterers, as also has been found in other studies (Danielson, Moffit, Caspi, & Silva, 1998).…”

The validity of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) in predicting criminal recidivism

“…In our sample, the VRAG scores for violent and non-violent recidivism yielded a higher AUC than other instruments -the HCR-20 with an AUC of 0.565 for non-violent and of 0.728 for violent recidivism Stadtland et al, 2005) and the AUC of the ILRV of 0.556 for non-violent and of 0.718 for violent recidivism (Stadtland and Nedopil, 2004). The development of the VRAG differed significantly from the development of other instruments; it is the only instrument based on empirically determined risk factors.…”

The role of forensic psychiatry in mental health systems in Europe

“…In the context of the contributions of forensic psychiatry to the mental health systems, data from the Munich Prediction Study (Stadtland et al, 2005;Nedopil and Stadtland, 2006;Kröner et al, 2007) deserve mention. In this project 262 offenders who were assessed for criminal responsibility were followed for an average of fi ve years.…”