Analysis

The Hare Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R) is a diagnostic tool developed in the 1990s and used to assess psychopathic and/or antisocial tendencies in an individual (Hare, 1993). The PCL-R is used to diagnose psychopathy in clinical, legal, and research settings. It was originally designed to determine the degree of psychopathic traits in adults within forensic populations.

Objective

The purpose of this questionnaire is to assess both psychopathic and antisocial tendencies in an individual.

Scoring

The PCL-R consists of 20 items. Each item represents a broad, high-level trait (e.g., shallow affect, criminal versatility, impulsivity). The response format is a 3-point scale:

0 = the item does not apply,

1 = the item applies somewhat,

2 = the item definitely applies.

Validity and Reliability

The PCL-R has strong reliability and validity, with reported values of:

Internal consistency = 0.87

Inter-rater reliability = 0.94

Test-retest reliability = 0.89
(Hare, Clark, Grann & Thornton, 2000).

References

Freedman, M. D. (2001). False prediction of future dangerousness: Error rates and Psychopathy Checklist–Revised. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 29(1), 89–95.

Grann, M., Langström, N., Tengström, A., & Kullgren, G. (1999). Psychopathy (PCL-R) predicts violent recidivism among criminal offenders with personality disorders in Sweden. Law and Human Behavior, 23(2), 205–217.

Hare, R. D. (1993). Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Hare, R., Clark, D., Grann, M., & Thornton, T. (2000). Psychopathy and the Predictive Validity of the PCL-R: An International Perspective. Behavioural Sciences and the Law, 18, 623–645.chical Model. Psychological Assessment, 13(2), 171-188.

Hare, R. D., Hart, S. D., & Harpur, T. J. (1991). Psychopathy and the DSM: A Diagnostic and Taxonomic Study. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 148(6), 704-709.