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Assessment
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Reliability and Validity of Two Self-Report Measures of Psychopathy

Diana Falkenbach

City University of New York, dfalkenbach{at}jjay.cuny.edu

Norman Poythress

University of South Florida

Marielle Falki

City University of New York

Sarah Manchak

University of California Irvine

The present study assessed the psychometric properties and construct validity of two self-report measures of psychopathy in a male-college sample: the Levenson Psychopathy scales (LPS; Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995) and the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996). Both the LPS and the PPI demonstrated good internal consistency, although selected items from the PPI correlated weakly with their respective factor scores, suggesting the need for further investigation of the factors' item content. The PPI showed stronger validity than the LPS in terms of convergent and discriminant validity of its factor scores and factor associations with two criterion variables, aggression, and anxiety. Overall, the current study provides greater support for the use of the PPI over the LPS in studies investigating psychopathic traits in nonclinical and nonforensic samples.

Key Words: psychopathy • psychopathy assessment • psychometric properties • PPI • LPS • self-report measures

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Assessment, Vol. 14, No. 4, 341-350 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1073191107305612
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