Psychopathy Subtypes among African American County Jail Inmates

There is evidence that the classification of "psychopath" captures a heterogeneous group of offenders. Although several studies have provided evidence for two distinct psychopath subtypes, these studies have inadequately addressed potentially important ethnic differences. A recent taxonomic study found evidence for primary and secondary psychopath subgroups in a sample of European American offenders (Swogger & Kosson, 2007). The present study used cluster analysis to attempt to replicate those findings in a sample of African American offenders. Results confirm the presence of primary and secondary subtypes in African Americans. However, differences between the clusters obtained in the present and previous studies suggest that caution is warranted in generalizing offender taxonomies across ethnicity.