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. 2018 May;9(3):207-216.
doi: 10.1037/per0000249. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

Using latent variable- and person-centered approaches to examine the role of psychopathic traits in sex offenders

Sonja Krstic  1 , Craig S Neumann  2 , Sandeep Roy  2 , Carrie A Robertson  1 , Raymond A Knight  1 , Robert D Hare  3
Affiliations

Using latent variable- and person-centered approaches to examine the role of psychopathic traits in sex offenders

Sonja Krstic et al. Personal Disord. 2018 May.

Abstract

The current study employed both latent variable- and person-centered approaches to examine psychopathic traits in a large sample of sex offenders (N = 958). The offenders, who had committed a range of sexual crimes, had been assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003). Structural equation modeling results indicated that the four-factor model of psychopathy (Hare, 2003; Neumann, Hare, & Newman, 2007) provided good representation of the dimensional nature of psychopathic traits across the sample of offenders, and that the PCL-R factors significantly predicted sexual crimes. In particular, the Affective and Antisocial psychopathy factors each predicted sexually violent crimes. Latent profile analysis results revealed evidence for a 4-class solution, with the subtypes showing distinct PCL-R facet profiles, consistent with previous research. The four subtypes were validated using sexual crime profiles. The prototypic psychopathy subtype (high on all 4 PCL-R facets) evidenced more violent sexual offenses than did the other subtypes. Taken together, the results demonstrate how variable- and person-centered approaches in combination can add to our understanding of the psychopathy construct and its correlates. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results: Four-factor PCL-R Model of Psychopathy
Figure 2
Figure 2. Structural Equation Modeling Results: PCL-R Factors Predicting Sexual Crime Scales
Note. The Affective factor also showed a trend (p = .058) in positively predicting Control
Figure 3
Figure 3
Latent Profile Analysis Results: PCL-R Mean Item Facet Score Profiles by Subtype
Figure 4
Figure 4. External Validation Results: Sexual Crime Scores as a Function of Subtype
Notes. C1 = Prototypic, C2 = Callous-conning, C3 = Sociopathic, C4 = General offenders. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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