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Psychopathy in women: a review of its clinical usefulness for assessing risk for aggression and criminality
Author(s) -
Nicholls Tonia L.,
Ogloff James R. P.,
Brink Johann,
Spidel Alicia
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.678
Subject(s) - psychopathy , psychopathy checklist , recidivism , psychology , aggression , clinical psychology , psychiatry , poison control , conceptualization , antisocial personality disorder , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , medicine , social psychology , personality , medical emergency , artificial intelligence , computer science
Despite a flurry of studies examining psychopathy in women, and the recent release of the second version of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist—Revised manual, there is still little consensus whether the lateral extension of the current conceptualization of psychopathy to women is appropriate. In particular, very little agreement exists concerning the clinical utility of the Hare psychopathy measures to assess women's risk of future offending and violence. This article presents a comprehensive review of studies of the association between psychopathy, antisocial behavior, and violence, in diverse samples of women, and looks at similarities and differences between these constructs in males and females. Findings from inmates and offenders, civil and forensic psychiatric patients, substance abusers, and community samples indicate a consistently lower base rate of psychopathy among women than among men. With some exceptions, correlates of psychopathy in women relevant to risk assessments for crime and violence tend to be modest and significant, generally mirroring what we see in men. Clinicians and policy makers charged with the care and management of women at risk for criminal offending and violence are likely to find the PCL‐R and PCL:SV have clinical utility; however, cautious application is called for and ongoing research is required. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.