Network Structures of Psychopathy: Unidimensional and Multidimensional Approaches

Network analyses offer a viable alternative approach to understanding the nature of mental disorders. The current study was conducted to advance our understanding of the network underlying of Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)-assessed traits in 1698 incarcerated adult males. First, in order to test the robustness of past findings, a generalized Potts network was constructed to identify the most central item in a unidimensional psychopathy network. Consistent with some previous studies, analyses demonstrated Callous/Lack of Empathy was the most central psychopathy trait. To investigate a multidimensional network solution of psychopathy, we utilized exploratory graph analysis to organize the PCL-R items into separate clusters. The analysis yielded a four-cluster solution that closely resembled the commonly observed four-factor solution of psychopathy. Analyses demonstrated that Callous/Lack of Empathy also had the highest bridge centrality, suggesting these features are critical to linking the different clusters in the network together. These findings provide additional evidence of the importance of unempathic and callous behavior to both unidimensional and multidimensional network accounts of psychopathy.