Abstract:
Background: assessment of psychopathy has gained much attention in the past few decades. The four-factor model of psychopathy has proved to be an efficient model for assessment of psychopathy in forensic and non-forensic samples. Several measures have been developed to capture the four-factor model. These four factors are labeled as interpersonal manipulation، criminal tendencies، erratic lifestyle، and callous affect. Research on psychopathy has remained quite limited in Iran. The present study aimed to validate a 20-item measure of psychopathy consistent with the four-factor model of psychopathy. Williams et al. (2007) model and high-loading items were subjected to a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Moreover، reliability coefficients and gender differences were evaluated.
Methods: a convenience sample of 260 university students was recruited from Tehran، Iran. For each factor، a battery of 5 high-loading items (c.f.، Williams et al.، 2007) was prepared and translated into Persian following the standard back-translation technique. Of note، item 13 (I enjoy drinking and doing wild things) was altered a little to be consistent with Iranian culture. The response option was provided in a 5-point Likert-type format. Potential participants were approached and invited to take part in a psychological study about social behavior. Descriptive statistics، factor structure، internal consistency، and gender differences were evaluated.
Results: item 6 (I’ve stolen a motor vehicle) had the lowest mean while item 13 (I enjoy drinking and doing wild things) had the highest. For interpersonal manipulation، criminal tendencies، erratic lifestyle، and callous affect، the alpha coefficients were 0.55، 0.78، 0.70، and 0.52، respectively. Additionally، the full-scale alpha was 0.79. Goodness-of-fit indices suggested an acceptable fit for the hypothesized four-factor structure of the scale (CMIN/DF = 1.80، RMSEA = 0.056، CFI = 0.90، TLI = 0.88، and GFI = 0.91). An evaluation of gender differences indicated that men had higher scores in all four subscales (0.40 < d < 0.66) as well as the total score (d = 0.76).
Conclusion: the present findings supported the factorial validity and internal consistency of the 20-item self-report measure of psychopathy in Iranian university students. Consistent with previous findings، men showed higher psychopathy، as measured by this newly validated measure. This measure could capture the four-factor model of psychopathy. Therefore، this short scale may be used in future psychopathy research in Iran
Machine summary:
The present study aimed to validate a 20-item measure of psychopathy consistent with the four-factor model of psychopathy.
Conclusion: the present findings supported the factorial validity and internal consistency of the 20- item self-report measure of psychopathy in Iranian university students.
Recent studies have indicated that this destructive and “dark” personality trait can be present in prisons as well as the general population, and that little qualitative differences exist between forensic and non-forensic samples (Edens, Marcus, Lilienfeld, & Poythress, 2006).
SRP-II (Hare, Hemphil, & Harpur, 1989) and SRP-III (Neumann, Schmitt, Carter, Embley, & Hare, 2012) are also used as self- report measures for assessment of psychopathy.
Additionally, evaluation of gender differences in psychopathy, as measured by SRP-III and its short form (SRP-SF), has consistently suggested that men report higher scores of psychopathy (Gordts, Uzieblo, Neumann, Van den Bussche, & Rossi, 2015).
Generally, administering a self-report measure of psychopathy in different cultures may affect its underlying structure and external validity (Bolt, Hare, & Neumann, 2007).
The present factor-analytic study aimed to validate a short 20-item self-report measure of psychopathy based on the highest- loading items of SRP-III in a college student sample in a Western university setting (Williams et al.
We expected to capture the four factors of psychopathy (interpersonal manipulation, criminal tendencies, erratic lifestyle, and callous affect) in this sample of Iranian university students.
In conclusion, the present 20-item four-factor measure of psychopathy is a valid and reliable tool for self-report assessment of psychopathy among Iranian university students.
Validating the factor structure of the Self-Report Psychopathy scale in a community sample.