Performance of Male Psychopaths Following Conditional Release From Prison

• NCJ Number: 112379
• Journal: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Volume: 56 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1988) Pages: 227-232
• Author(s): S D Hart; P R Kropp; R D Hare
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Portions of this article were presented at the midyear meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Tucson, March 1986 and the annual general meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Toronto, June 1986.

Annotation

The Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) was administered to 231 white male criminals prior to their release from prison on parole or mandatory supervision.

Abstract

Official parole supervision files provided details of each criminal's behavior during his supervised release. The PCL made a significant contribution to the prediction of outcome beyond that made several key criminal-history and demographic varibles. The percentage of criminals with low, medium, and high PCL scores who violated the condition of release was 23.5, 48.9, and 65.2, respectively. The probability of remaining out of prison for at least 1 year was .80, .54, and .38 for low, medium, and high groups, respectively. The high group members received more suspensions and presented more supervisory problems than did those in other groups. The results provide support for the validity of the PCL and for the view that it is possible to make useful predictions about some aspects of the criminal psychopath's behavior. (Publisher abstract)