Criminal Risk Assessment, Psychopathy

Predicting violence and criminal behavior is a particularly challenging endeavor for the criminal justice system and forensic mental health clinicians alike. Psychopathy, which is sometimes referred to as the psychopathic personality, is a psychological construct that has been extensively examined with respect to its utility to predict violence and crime. Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by a set of maladaptive traits that impact emotional and interpersonal functioning and behavior. These traits can include callousness and lack of empathy, interpersonal antagonism, fearlessness and lack of anxiety, impulsivity, irresponsibility, and criminal and aggressive behavior (among others). These traits, collectively labeled psychopathy, appear to have significant implications in the criminal justice system. Research has repeatedly shown that mock juries rate individuals described as psychopathic as much more ...