The masks of sanity and psychopathy : a cluster analitical investigation of subtypes of criminal psychopathy

• Main Author: Herve, Hugues F.M.
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/14885

By definition, those individuals who meet the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) criteria for psychopathy share many common features. However, historical, clinical, theoretical, and empirical accounts also indicate that they differ in several ways, particularly with respect to the interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial manifestations of the disorder. The current investigation used cluster analytical techniques to determine if clinically meaningful subtypes, each varying in terms of their facet elevations (Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle, Antisocial), can be identified in six samples of adult psychopathic inmates. Irrespective of gender, race, culture, and/or psychiatric co-morbidity and in line with clinical accounts, four stable clusters emerged: the classic psychopath, the manipulative psychopath, the macho psychopath, and one who might be described as the pseudopsychopath. Results are discussed according to their relevance to theory, treatment, and the criminal justice system.