ABSTRACT
There are many different types of assessment for psychopathy, but the most ubiquitous test is that of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) introduced by Hare. The listed items closely follow the descriptions of psychopathy documented by Cleckley in 1941. The PCL-R reliably depicts the typical traits of the psychopath. It has been administered primarily in forensic settings. Its two factors reliably separate primary from secondary psychopathy. A score of 30+ is considered as high, and in the US, it is the threshold for a psychopathy diagnosis. The Youth Version (PCL-YV) is administered to 12–18-year-olds and considers the same areas as the PCL-R such as affective, lifestyle and antisocial behaviour. The Screening Version (PCL-SV) is a reliable tool used mainly in non-forensic settings. The LSRP consists of 16 items measuring emotional affect and ten items for psychopathic lifestyle (primary and secondary, respectively). The PPI has been administered to non-forensic cohorts to assess for psychopathic traits in the context of a personality disorder. The YPI is used to assess adolescents for grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional and impulsive-irresponsible traits. All these assessment tools have helped to understand and classify psychopaths. They also highlight that psychopathy is not ‘an all-or-nothing’ condition but rather is on a scale.
