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Elaborating on the Construct Validity of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in Incarcerated and Non-Incarcerated Samples

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Law and Human Behavior

Abstract

The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP) is a promising, efficient measure of the psychopathic personality. Previous examinations of its latent structure have yielded inconsistent results; therefore, the goal of the current study was to evaluate previously reported two- and three-factor models in three separate groups of male correctional inmates (n = 573), male college students (n = 202), and female college students (n = 200). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the best-fitting model across all the three groups was the three-factor model proposed by Brinkley et al. (Assessment 15:464–482, 2008). The convergent and discriminant validity of this three-factor structure as well as a revised 19-item total score were elaborated on in terms of predicting scores on conceptually relevant external criteria. The LSRP total and factor scales evidenced good convergent and discriminant validity with a few notable exceptions. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.

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Notes

  1. All the analyses are presented for the combined sample. Although the correlation magnitudes differed slightly for some criterion variables across the correctional and college samples, the pattern of correlations was virtually identical. The same conclusions would have been drawn had this author analyzed the groups separately. These latter analyses are available from the author upon request.

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Acknowledgments

Part of this research was funded by an internal grant from the Research Grant Committee, The University of Alabama. A grant from the University of Minnesota Press funded the data collection for the correctional sample. The author thanks Brandee Marion for her assistance with the project, and Kelly Stanek for her insightful comments on a previous version of this article. The author is also grateful to Yossef Ben-Porath, Diane Gartland, and the Michigan Department of Correction for facilitating parts of this project.

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  1. Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Gordon Palmer 348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487-0348, USA

    Martin Sellbom

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Correspondence to Martin Sellbom.

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Sellbom, M. Elaborating on the Construct Validity of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in Incarcerated and Non-Incarcerated Samples. Law Hum Behav 35, 440–451 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-010-9249-x

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