Psychopathic Expression From Early to Late Adulthood: An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised.

Several investigators have assessed the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) for invariance across offender ethnicities and in correctional and forensic-psychiatric contexts. Yet we do not know whether, or to what extent, item properties among male offenders vary throughout adulthood. With a combined sample of PCL-R data on offenders from Canada and the United States (N = 4,820), we measured item properties for offenders in age groups of Early (18-30 years old), Middle (31-49 years old), and Late (50+ years old) adulthood. Nine items showed differential item functioning across age group comparisons. Among the Early group, the PCL-R Interpersonal and Affective traits were most informative for measuring the latent trait of psychopathy. Among the Late group, the PCL-R Lifestyle and Antisocial items were most informative for the latent trait. These differences in item information illustrate how psychopathy manifests in male offenders throughout adulthood.

Susceptibility of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP 4) to response distortion and the utility of including validity indices to detect deception.

Self-report psychopathy scales are increasingly used in research and practice despite criticisms that they may be susceptible to response distortion and bias. We assessed the utility of including the Virtuous Responding (VR) and Deviant Responding (DR) validity scales from the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) for identifying underreporting and overreporting, respectively, on both the full and short-form versions of the Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP 4 and SRP-SF) in a pre/post experimental design. Using a sample of 384 male community members and a clinical comparison group of 99 males from a forensic outpatient program, we demonstrated that SRP scores were more susceptible to overreporting than underreporting, and that overreporting significantly and negatively affected convergent validity. Finally, baseline psychopathy scores were unrelated to successful response distortion (i.e., changing scores in correct direction while remaining undetected by the validity scales). It is recommended that assessments using self-report psychopathy scales consider including validity indices to detect response distortion. In doing so, it will be important to consider that general impression management may be conceptually distinct from specific forms of response distortion, such as the intentional amplification or minimization of psychopathic traits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Validation of the Booth Evaluation of Absconding Tool for Assessment of Absconding Risk.

Although absconsion from secure forensic settings is uncommon, it can have serious consequences for the patient, the hospital, and the public. To assess risk of absconding in this population, using empirically based literature and clinical expertise, the authors designed a 28-item structured professional judgment measure, the Booth Evaluation of Absconding Tool (BEAT). To evaluate the psychometric properties of the BEAT, we completed a blinded, case-matched, retrospective study of absconders (n = 57) and non-absconders (n = 26) between 2009 and 2017. Together, the absconders accounted for 120 absconding incidents over the study period. The incidents had similar characteristics as previously published descriptive studies of absconding behavior. The BEAT demonstrated solid internal consistency (α = 0.78), promising inter-rater reliability across many items, and good accuracy in differentiating absconders from controls (area under the curve = 0.77). Considering the limitations associated with a retrospective chart review study, these results show promising reliability and validity for the BEAT and suggest that the BEAT could be a useful tool in assessing and managing absconding in forensic patients.

Experiencing and Resisting Nonsuicidal Self-injury Thoughts and Urges in Everyday Life.

OBJECTIVE: We used a daily diary to examine (1) the frequency of three types of NSSI thoughts and urges (fleeting thoughts, persistent thoughts, and intense urges), (2) the correlates of NSSI thought and urges within and across days, (3) strategies that aid in resisting NSSI thoughts and urges, and (4) the prospective association of daily NSSI thoughts and urges with NSSI behavior over 12 months. METHOD: Sixty adults (aged 18-35) completed a two-week daily diary and follow-ups every 3 months for one year. RESULTS: Fleeting NSSI thoughts were reported on 48% of days, whereas persistent thoughts (11%) and intense urges (17%) were less common. Within days, earlier stress predicted more persistent NSSI thoughts, whereas earlier perceived support predicted less intense NSSI urges. Furthermore, NSSI thoughts and urges were positively associated with same-day stress and avoidant coping. Problem-focused coping was associated with greater success resisting same-day fleeting thoughts and intense urges, as well as success resisting next-day persistent thoughts. Perceived support was associated with less intense same-day urges, but also less success resisting these urges. Over the follow-up, persistent thoughts predicted less frequent NSSI, whereas intense urges predicted more frequent NSSI. CONCLUSIONS: NSSI thoughts and urges are commonly experienced and deserve further attention.