Concurrent Validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory with Offender and Community Samples

The Psychopathy Checklist- Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) is a frequently used and well-validated measure of psychopathy, but is relatively time-intensive and expensive to administer. The Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996) is a self-report measure that provides a less time-intensive and less expensive method for identifying psychopathic individuals. Using three independent samples and two different versions of the PCL (i.e., PCL-R, PCL:SV), we evaluated the extent to which the PPI and PCL overlap in their measurement of the psychopathy construct. Across three studies, PPI total and Factor 2 scores correlated moderately to strongly with PCL total and Factor 2 scores. Results for PPI and PCL Factor 1 scores were less positive. These findings raise important questions concerning the integration of results obtained using alternative psychopathy assessments