Interfacing five-factor model and triarchic conceptualizations of psychopathy.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Personality Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• The Five-Factor Model (FFM) is a dominant framework for personality traits, including psychopathy.
• The triarchic model offers a neurobehavioral perspective on psychopathy, facilitating biological research.
• A gap exists in linking these two influential psychopathy frameworks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate scales derived from the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) that measure the dimensional constructs of the triarchic model (boldness, meanness, disinhibition).
• To establish an empirical interface between the FFM and the triarchic model of psychopathy.
• To provide a foundation for neurobiological research on psychopathy using existing datasets containing NEO-PI-R measures.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-gender sample (N = 769) was used.
• A consensus rating and psychometric refinement approach identified NEO-PI-R items to assess triarchic dimensions, creating the NEO-Tri scales.
• The NEO-Tri scales were validated against other triarchic measures, antisocial behavior, drug/alcohol use, and an FFM-based psychopathy measure.

Main Results:

• The developed NEO-Tri scales effectively indexed the triarchic model's dimensions.
• Confirmatory factor analysis supported the NEO-Tri scales as indicators of latent triarchic dimensions.
• The scales showed meaningful relations to external criteria, including antisocial behavior and psychopathy measures.

Conclusions:

• The NEO-Tri scales provide a valuable tool for integrating FFM and triarchic model research on psychopathy.
• This work clarifies the relationship between normal personality traits and psychopathy constructs.
• The findings facilitate future neurobiological investigations of the triarchic model dimensions using existing data.