ABSTRACT
The broad purpose of this chapter is to familiarize readers with statistical and methodological issues that influence the interpretation of research findings involving the Psychopathy Checklist and recidivism. Results from quantitative reviews involving the Psychopathy Checklist and recidivism are briefly summarized, and then methodological and statistical factors that influence the quality of research evidence are discussed. The basic research design for risk assessment studies is presented, assumptions of this design are identified, and factors that investigators might consider to critically evaluate the quality of research evidence are discussed. Questions that investigators might consider when evaluating results from individual studies and from literature reviews are summarized in the Appendix. Examples of criticisms that some investigators have leveled against the Psychopathy Checklist are presented to illustrate the implications of the previously discussed methodological and statistical issues on clinical practice.
