Psychopathy checklist: Screening version: A bifactor structure for forensic and community samples.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychometrics
• Forensic Psychology

Background:

• The Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) is a key tool for assessing psychopathy.
• Understanding its measurement structure is crucial for accurate application in clinical, forensic, and community settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate competing measurement models for the PCL:SV.
• To determine the best psychometric model for capturing psychopathy constructs.
• To examine model fit, factor saturation, and predictive utility.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of four all-male community and forensic samples (N=853) from Germany and the US.
• Comparison of correlated factor, higher-order, and bifactor models for the PCL:SV.
• Assessment using criteria like model fit, factor saturation, and predictive utility.

Main Results:

• A bifactor model demonstrated superior fit compared to the correlated factors model.
• The bifactor model explained comparable or greater variance in intelligence and antisocial personality disorder measures.
• Optimal bifactor structures varied between forensic and community samples, with specific nested factors identified.

Conclusions:

• A bifactor structure effectively captures the communality across PCL:SV items.
• The specific nesting of factors within the bifactor model should account for sample type (forensic vs. community).
• This research refines the psychometric understanding of the PCL:SV for improved assessment.