Field Inter-Rater Reliability of the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised

Author(s):  
Ghena Ismail ◽  
Jan Looman

Strong inter-rater reliability has been established for the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R), specifically by examiners in research contexts. However, there is less support for inter-reliability in applied settings. This study examined archival data that included a sample of sex offenders ( n = 178) who entered federal custody between 1992 and 1998. The offenders were assessed using the PCL-R on two occasions. The first assessment occurred at Millhaven Institution, the intake unit for federally incarcerated offenders in the province of Ontario. The second assessment took place upon inmates’ transfer to the Regional Treatment Center, which admits federal inmates with intense psychological and psychiatric needs. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for item, total, factor, and facet scores. The ICC absolute agreement for the PCL-R total and factor scores from raters across both settings was slightly better than what has been previously reported by Hare. Results of this study show that the reliability of PCL-R scores in field settings can be comparable to those in research settings. Authors conclude by highlighting the importance of training, consultation, considering different scores for a given item, following the guidelines of the manual in addition to considering measures that enhance neutrality and reliability of findings in the criminal justice system.

Sexual Abuse ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 107906321987717
Author(s):  
Pauline C. Leung ◽  
Jan Looman ◽  
Jeffrey Abracen

Although psychopathy is a well-established risk factor for recidivism among those who have committed sexual offenses, there are nonetheless some individuals with sexual offense histories who are high in psychopathy but do not recidivate. This population—nonrecidivating psychopathic sex offenders (NRP-SOs)—was the focus of the current investigation. Data from 111 individuals with sexual offense histories who received a Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R) rating of at least 25 (suggesting the presence of psychopathy) were analyzed. With recidivism operationalized as the accrual of any new serious—that is, violent or sexual—charges, 39 recidivated (RP-SOs), whereas 72 did not (NRP-SOs). A logistic regression was conducted to assess whether NRP-SOs could be differentiated from RP-SOs. Being older at the time of release, a lesser criminal history, and being married predicted nonrecidivism. PCL-R factor scores and sexual deviance were not predictive. These findings highlight the heterogeneity that exists, even among those high in psychopathy.


Author(s):  
Sonja Krstic ◽  
Danielle Arlanda Harris ◽  
Raymond A. Knight

The current study explored the association between psychopathic traits and release suitability decisions and examined the role of Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and Static-99 in predicting general and sexual recidivism. The sample included 207 adult male sex offenders involved in the long-term follow-up at the Massachusetts Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Persons (MTC) in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Contrary to our expectations, PCL-R Factor 2 (Lifestyle/Antisocial) scores were positively associated with being selected for gradual release, whereas PCL-R Factor 1 (Interpersonal/Affective) scores were not related to parole boards’ decisions. Additionally, the interaction between the two factors was a significant predictor, suggesting that the individuals with more pronounced Factor 1 traits were less likely to be released when their Factor 2 scores were high as well. Although Static-99 scores predicted both contact and non-contact sexual recidivism, psychopathy was not related to reoffending, possibly because offenders with child victims were over-represented in the sample.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
David DeMatteo ◽  
Stephen D. Hart ◽  
Kirk Heilbrun ◽  
Marcus T. Boccaccini ◽  
Mark D. Cunningham ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Khalil Taherzadeh Chenani ◽  
Farzan Madadizadeh

Introduction: Reliability is an integral part of measuring the reproducibility of research information. Intra-cluster correlation coefficient (ICC) is one of the necessary indicators for reliability reporting, which can be misleading in terms of its diversity. The main purpose of this study was to introduce the types of reliability and appropriate ICC indices.  Methods: In this tutorial article, useful information about the types of reliability and indicators needed to report the results, as well as the types of ICC and its applications were explained for dummies. Results: Three general types of reliability include inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, and intra-rater reliability was presented. 10 different types of ICC were also introduced and explained. Conclusion: The research results may be misleading if any of the reliability types and calculation criteria types are chosen incorrectly. Therefore, to make the results of the study more accurate and valuable. Medical researchers must seek help from relevant guidelines such as this study before conducting reliability analysis.  


2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 479-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin S. Douglas ◽  
Melissa Yeomans ◽  
Douglas P. Boer

This study compared the predictive validity of multiple indices of violence risk among 188 general population criminal offenders: Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20 (HCR-20) Violence Risk Assessment Scheme, Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG), Violent Offender Risk Assessment Scale (VORAS), Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), and Screening Version (PCL:SV). Several indices were related to violent recidivism with large statistical effect sizes: HCR-20 (Total, Clinical and Risk Management scales, structured risk judgments), VRAG, and behavioral scales of psychopathy measures. Multivariate analyses showed that HCR-20 indices were consistently related to violence and that the VRAG entered some analyses. Findings are inconsistent with a position of strict actuarial superiority, as HCR-20 structured risk judgments—an index of structured professional or clinical judgment—were as strongly related to violence.


2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052095841
Author(s):  
Ji Seun Sohn ◽  
Napoleon C. Reyes ◽  
Hyejin Kim

Psychopathy of child sex offenders in non-Western and Asian population is not frequently reported. The study examined psychopathic traits assessed by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) in three groups of male offenders, child sex offender, adult sex offender, and nonsex offender groups. Out of 451 offenders included in the sample, 445 recidivated after a follow up of 11 years: 27 child sex offenders, 174 adult sex offenders, and 244 nonsex offenders. Adult sex offenders scored higher in four facets and total scores compared with nonsex offenders. Child sex offenders had more problems in interpersonal (facet 1) and affective (facet 2) traits than nonsex offenders. More specifically, child sex offenders scored higher in failure to accept responsibility (item 16, Cohen’s d = 0.80) and callous/lack of empathy (item 8, Cohen’s d = 0.59) of facet 2 and pathological lying (item 4, Cohen’s d = 0.58) and glibness/superficial charm (item 1, Cohen’s d = 0.48) of facet 1 than nonsex offenders. Both child sex offenders and adults sex offenders were found to be more psychopathic than nonsex offenders. While facets 1, 2, and 3 did not separate child and adult sex offending, child sex offenders scored significantly lower in antisocial problems (facet 4) than adult sex offenders. Despite the limitation of using a sample of mostly high-risk offenders, our findings indicate that higher PCL-R scores in specific facets (1 and 2) and items (1, 4, 8, and 16) are more predictive of child sex offending and suggest insight for treatment strategies of child sex offenders.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Dåderman ◽  
Åke Hellström

Scores from the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R) are used to support decisions regarding personal liberty. In our study, performed in an applied forensic psychiatric setting, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for absolute agreement, single rater (ICCA1) were .89 for the total score, .82 for Factor 1, .88 for Factor 2, and .78 to .86 for the four facets. These results stand in contrast to lower reliabilities found in a majority of field studies. Disagreement among raters made a low contribution (0%-5%) to variability of scores on the total score, factor, and facet level. For individual items, ICCA1 varied from .38 to .94, with >.80 for seven of the 20 items. Items 17 (“Many short-term marital relationships”) and 19 (“Revocation of conditional release”) showed very low reliabilities (.38 and .43, respectively). The importance of knowledge about factors that can affect scoring of forensic instruments (e.g., education, training, experience, motivation, raters’ personality, and quality of file data) is emphasized.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document