Predicting Future Criminal Offending in a Community-Based Sample of Males Using Self-Reported Psychopathy

Abstract

This study evaluated the utility of the Self-Report of Psychopathy–III (SRP-III) for predicting three classes (i.e., violence, theft, and serious charges) of criminal charges in a sample of community-based males (N = 417). This is the first study to examine the potential of the SRP-III to predict future criminal behavior in a community-based sample. Official criminal records were obtained on average 3.5 years after initial SRP-III assessment. Area under the curve analyses indicated fair predictive power for SRP-III total and factor scores, and after controlling for a host of risk factors, SRP-III measured psychopathy predicted charges for violent and serious offenses, but not theft. Notably, additional analyses revealed none of the individual SRP-III facets uniquely predicted future offending when entered into a regression model. The findings of this study indicate the SRP-III holds some promise as an assessment instrument in the prediction of violent and serious offenses.