An examination of the Triarchic Model of psychopathy's nomological network: A meta-analytic review

Psychopathy is characterized by a constellation of traits including callousness, superficial charm, grandiosity, exploitativeness, irresponsibility, and impulsivity (e.g., Cleckley, 1941/1955; Hare, 2003). Despite longstanding interest, the nature and scope of the construct as well as the centrality and sufficiency of its components remain debated (i.e., Fearless Dominance/Boldness; Miller & Lynam, 2012; Lilienfeld et al., 2012). Recently, the Triarchic Model of Psychopathy (TriPM; Patrick, Fowles, & Krueger, 2009) has garnered considerable interest, positing that psychopathy can be characterized by three partially overlapping, phenotypic domains: Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition. The present meta-analysis sought to examine the relations between these domains and other well-validated psychopathy measures and theoretically relevant outcomes in its nomological network. Across outcomes, Meanness and Disinhibition demonstrated robust convergent and criterion validity with other models of psychopathy as well as with pathological traits and externalizing outcomes; however, they manifested limited discriminant validity in relation to one another. In addition, empirical evidence for Boldness in relation to maladaptive outcomes was much weaker. Specifically, Boldness evinced the most robust relations with markers of adaptive functioning and only small relations with central criterion variables (e.g., externalizing behavior).