Psychopathy and recidivism among female inmates.

Abstract

Despite a plethora of studies investigating psychopathy among male offenders, little is known about the applicability of this construct to female populations. Research has shown that prevalence rate, symptom presentation, and diagnostic comorbidity differ for females as compared to males. The current study is the first to examine the relationship between psychopathy and recidivism among women. Recidivism data on a sample of 78 female inmates were examined at a I-year interval in relation to the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), inclusion criteria for the Antisocial Personality Disorder Diagnosis from the Personality Disorder Examination (PDE), and selected scales from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAl; Antisocial and Aggression scales). The egocentricity subscale of the PAl, Factor I of the PCL-R, and the verbal aggression subscale of the PAl were the best predictors of future recidivism. Specific differences emerged between male and female offenders when comparing the present data with previous studies of male psychopaths.

Psychopathy and Suicidality in Female Offenders: Mediating Influences of Personality and Abuse.

“…The mean total score on the PCL-R was 20.7. These base rates and mean scores are similar to those reported by Salekin et al (1997; 16% of female inmates in this sample had total scores of 29 or above on the PCL-R) and by Salekin et al (1998), who reported a mean total score of 17.9 on the PCL-R for incarcerated women in their sample. …”

“…However, preliminary research suggests some differences in the correlates of the PCL-R factors for women as compared with men (see Cale & Lilienfeld, 2002). For example, Salekin, Rogers, Ustad, and Sewell (1998) found that recidivism was related only to F1 scores in women, whereas it was related to both F1 and F2 in men. Zagon and Jackson (1994) reported that, among college students, empathy was negatively related to self-reported psychopathy among women but not men, although they did not test for differences between correlations.…”

The relation of psychopathy to concurrent aggression and antisocial behavior in high‐risk adolescent girls and boys

“…However, this is an empirical question that has yet to be convincingly addressed in the literature. Indeed, evidence to the contrary has been reported by Salekin and colleagues (Salekin, Rogers, & Sewell, 1997;Salekin et al, 1998), who found that psychopathy in females is best conceptualized and assessed in terms of the affective and interpersonal characteristics rather than overt antisocial behaviors. These investigators, among others (Jackson et al, 2002;Vitale, Smith, Brinkley, & Newman, 2002;Warren et al, 2003), suggest that affective characteristics such as callousness, unemotionality, and a lack of empathy are more relevant for assessing female psychopathy than are the behavioral criteria, and that consequently the equal weighting of interpersonal, affective, and behavioral-based items in the PCL may artificially lower prevalence rates of psychopathy found among female samples.…”

“…Despite the construct's utility as an indicator of risk for future violence, few studies have explicitly examined gender differences in the expression and relation of psychopathy to aggression, violence, or non-violent criminal behavior. Recent studies suggest that the manifestation of psychopathy may change as a function of age and gender, calling for a modified conceptualization and measurement of the construct in non-adult and female populations (see, e.g., in adolescent males, Edens, Skeem, Cruise, & Cauffman, 2001; Vincent, unpublished dissertation; in adolescent females, Salekin, Rogers, & Machin, 2001; in adult women, Jackson, Rogers, Neumann, & Lambert, 2002;Salekin, Rogers, Ustad, & Sewell, 1998). …”

Nipping psychopathy in the bud: an examination of the convergent, predictive, and theoretical utility of the PCL‐YV among adolescent girls

“…Although researchers have begun to test the predictive utility of the PCL-YV with male adolescents (Forth & Burke, 1998;Ridenour, Marchant, & Dean, 2001) and adult women (Forth, 1996;Rutherford, Cacciola, Alterman, & McKay, 1996: Salekin, Rogers, Ustad, & Sewell, 1998, there are no published studies of recidivism among female adolescents. As previously noted, experts in risk assessment have stated that male-based instruments are likely to function similarly within female populations (Hare, 1991;Webster, 1999).…”