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Abstract
Although the debate over the use of the legal classification of psychopathic disorder has been prolific, little research has been conducted in examining how the term is being used in current practice. This study used a retrospective case-note analysis to investigate the characteristics of patients who had been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 at a regional secure unit (RSU) since 1987. The sample included all individual inpatients referred to, and assessed by, the clinical psychology department, for whom data from the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory were also available. No differences were found between offenders detained under ‘psychopathic disorder’ and those legally classified as ‘mentally ill’ with respect to admission details and offending characteristics. Those people detained under ‘psychopathic disorder’ demonstrated the presence of more antisocial features. The results from a cluster analysis of the MCMI personality scales supported Blackburn's (1975) typology. The cluster analysis demonstrated the limitations of the term ‘psychopathic disorder’ to define a particular group of mentally disordered offenders.
