ABSTRACT
Psychopathy has proved to be a robust construct that transcends the cul tural biases associated with other characterological diagnoses such as antisocial personality disorder (ASPD; Murphy, 1976; see Table 7.1). Research with the Psychopathy Checklists (PCL, PCL-R, Hare, 1991a) has demonstrated that psychopathic traits can be assessed in a reliable fash ion within forensic populations. Strong validity findings, particularly in the area of predicting reoffense and violence, indicates that psychopathy level is an essential independent measure when studying offender popu lations (Gacono & Meloy, 1992, 1994; Gacono, Nieberding, Owen, Rubel, & Bodholdt, 2001). The absence of this principal measurement (e.g., in treatment outcome studies) can confound findings and bring unwanted criticism to the researcher. Demographics, diagnosis, or committing offense are no longer sufficient as inclusion measures.
