The Utility of the Personality Assessment Inventory in the Assessment of Psychopathy

Abstract

To assess the utility of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) in the assessment of psychopathy, 92 male criminal defendants were administered the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R; Hare,1991) and the PAI. Included were only those defendants who produced valid PAI protocols. Those scoring at least 30 on the PCL-R scored significantly higher on the Antisocial Features subscales ANT-A (Antisocial Behaviors) and ANT-S (Stimulus Seeking) than either the Low (PCL-R; total less than 20) or Moderate (PCL-R; total = 20–29) psychopathy groups. No significant differences between psychopathy groups were observed for ANT-E (Egocentricity). Regression analyses with PCL-R total, factor 1 and factor 2 of the PCL-R as the criteria, and the Antisocial Features subscales as the predictors revealed that only ANT-A significantly correlated with PCL-R total score and ANT-A and ANT-S with Factor 2. None of the Antisocial features scales correlated significantly with PCL-R factor 1. The results demonstrate that the PAI is capable of assessing the behavioral but not the affective/interpersonal aspects of psychopathy.

KEYWORDS:

• Psychopathy
• personality assessment inventory
• forensic assessment

The assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and should not be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Federal Bureau of Prisons or the United States Department of Justice.