MMPI-2 correlates of psychopathy features in a university population
Although a unitary construct, features of psychopathy consistently cluster on two distinct but correlated factors. Factor 1 refers to interpersonal and affective characteristics of psychopathy, and Factor 2 addresses the socially deviant lifestyle of the psychopath. A majority of the research literature examining the relationship between psychopathy and the MMPI-2 focuses on Scale 4 and Scale 9. However, further investigation reveals that these scales are primarily correlated with Factor 2 psychopathy. Despite the capacity of the MMPI-2 to assess interpersonal and affective functioning, research pertaining to MMPI-2 correlates of Factor 1 psychopathy is scarce. This study attempted to fill that gap by using the Hare P-Scan to assess for psychopathy features in an undergraduate population and the corresponding MMPI-2 correlates. Results showed that the following MMPI-2 scales correlated significantly with both factors of psychopathy: Scale 4, Scale 8, Scale 9, RC8, RC9, ASP, BIZ, FAM, MDS, MAC-R, (inverse) Re, and (inverse) GF. The MMPI-2 scales that produced a significantly stronger correlation with the Interpersonal/Affective factor compared to the Social Deviance factor were: RC3, RC6, CYN, Ho, and Psy-5 AGGR. The MMPI-2 scales that were more strongly correlated with the Social Deviance factor compared to the Interpersonal/Affective factor were: RCdem, RC4, DEP, Mt, AAS, APS, and Psy-5 DISC. The results from this study suggest that the Interpersonal/Affective and Social Deviance factors of psychopathy are associated with different sets of MMPI-2 scales in a noncriminal population; and, thus, the MMPI-2 may be used to measure psychopathy in its entirety. In addition, it provides further support for Cleckley (1941/1982) and later Hare's (1991; 2003) conceptualization of the psychopathy construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)
https://www.upress.umn.edu/test-division/bibliography/2000-2009/2006/bergida_mmpi-2_2006
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Heather L Bergida
(2006)
MMPI-2 correlates of psychopathy features in a university population
PhD thesis.