Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Psychopathy and Risk for Violence

  • Chapter
Psychopathy: Theory, Research and Implications for Society

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASID,volume 88))

Abstract

The clinical concept of psychopathy is linked inextricably to criminal behavior, and in particular to criminal violence. For those of us who work with psychopaths, this link is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it is a stark reminder of the tremendous social, psychological, and economic costs associated with psychopathy and it reinforces the motivation of researchers and clinicians to understand the disorder. But, on the other hand, it proves distracting at times. It is common for people to assume, naively and incorrectly, that all psychopaths commit crime and that anyone who routinely engages in antisocial behavior must be a psychopath. This has lead some to reject psychopathy as simply a moral judgment or a tautology, one that can be misused dangerously in forensic contexts (Hart & Hare, 1996).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 469.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 649.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 599.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edition. Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (1993). The psychology of criminal conduct. Cincinnati: Anderson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berrios, G. E. (1996). The history of mental symptoms: Descriptive psychopathology since the nineteenth century. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, R. J. R. (1995). A cognitive developmental approach to morality: Investigating the psychopath. Cognition, 57, 1–29.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, R. J. R., Sellars, C, Strickland, I., Clark, F., Smith, M., & Jones, L. (1995). Emotional attributions in the psychopath. Personality and Individual Differences, 19, 431–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackburn, R. (1993). The psychology of criminal conduct: Theory, research, and practice. Chichester, England: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boer, D. P., Wilson, R. J., Gauthier, C. M., & Hart, S. D. (1997). Assessing risk for sexual violence: Guidelines for clinical practice. In C. D. Webster & M. A. Jackson (Eds.), Impulsivity and violence: Principles and practice. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borum, R. (1996). Improving the clinical practice of violence risk assessment: Technology, guidelines, and training. American Psychologist, 51, 945–956.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, P. A., Kulik, J. A., & Kulik, C. C. (1982). Educational outcomes of tutoring: A meta-analysis of findings. American Educational Research Journal, 19, 237–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, D. J. (1994). Psychological disturbance in the Scottish Prison System: Prevalence, precipitants, and policy. Edinburgh: Scottish Home and Health Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, D. J. (1996). Psychopathic personality in different cultures: What do we know? What do we need to find out? Journal of Personality Disorders, 10, 23–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornell, D., Warren, J., Hawk, G., Stafford, E., Oram, G., & Pine, D. (1996). Psychopathy in instrumental and reactive violent offenders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 783–790.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dempster, R. J., Lyon, D. R., Sullivan, L. E., Hart, S. D., Smiley, W. C, & Mulloy, R. (1996, August). Psychopathy and instrumental aggression in violent offenders. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Ontario.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobson, K. S. (1989). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of cognitive therapy for depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 414–419.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, K. (1996). Assessing the risk of violence in psychiatric outpatients: The predictive validity of the HCR-20 risk assessment scheme. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, K., & Hart, S. D. (1996, March). Major mental disorder and violent behavior: A meta-analysis of study characteristics and substantive factors influencing effect size. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society (APA Div. 41), Hilton Head, South Carolina.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, W., Mulvey, E. P., & Shaw, E. C. (1995). Regression analyses of counts and rates: Poisson, overdispersed Poisson, and negative binomial models. Psychological Bulletin, 118, 392–404.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D. (1981). Psychopathy and violence. In J. R. Hays, T. K. Roberts, & K. S. Soloway (Eds.), Violence and the violent individual (pp. 53–74). Jamaica, NY: Spectrum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D. (1991). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Toronto, Ontario: Multi-Health Systems.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D. (1993). Without conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D. (1996). Psychopathy: A clinical construct whose time has come. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 23, 25–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D., Forth, A. E., & Strachan, K. (1992). Psychopathy and crime across the lifespan. In R. Dev. Peters, R. J. McMahon, & V. L. Quinsey (Eds.), Aggression and violence throughout the life span (pp. 285–300). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D., & McPherson, L. M. (1984). Violent and aggressive behavior by criminal psychopaths. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 7, 35–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, G. T., Rice, M. E., & Cormier, C. A. (1991). Psychopathy and violent recidivism. Law and Human Behavior, 15, 625–637.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S. D. (1996, March). Conceptual issues in predicting violence: Some unasked and unanswered questions about risk assessment. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society (APA Div. 41), Hilton Head, South Carolina.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S. D., Cox, D. N., & Hare, R. D. (1995). Manual for the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised: Screening Version (PCL.SV). Toronto: Multi-Health Systems, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S. D., & Dempster, R. J. (1997). Impulsivity and psychopathy. In C. D. Webster & M. A. Jackson (Eds.), Impulsivity and violence: Principles and practice. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S. D., & Hare, R. D. (in press). Psychopathy: Assessment and association with criminal conduct. In D. M. Stoff, J. Brieling, & J. Maser (Eds.), Handbook of antisocial behavior. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S. D., & Hare, R. D. (1996). Psychopathy and risk assessment. Current Opinion in Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S. D., Hare, R. D., & Forth, A. E. (1994). Psychopathy as a risk marker for violence: Development and validation of a screening version of the Revised Psychopathy Checklist. In J. Monahan & H. Steadman (Eds.), Violence and mental disorder: Developments in risk assessment (pp. 81–98). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S. D., Kropp, P. R., & Hare, R. D. (1988). Performance of psychopaths following conditional release from prison. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 111–1111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S. D., Webster, C. D., & Menzies, R. J. (1993). A note on portraying the accuracy of violence predictions. Law and Human Behavior, 17, 695–700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedges, L. V., & Stock, W. (1983). The effects of class size: An examination of rival hypotheses. American Educational Research Journal, 20, 63–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heilbrun, K., Hart, S. D., Hare, R. D., Gustafson, D., Nunez, C, & White, A. (in press). Inpatient and post-discharge aggression in mentally disordered offenders: The role of psychopathy. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, C. D., Rogers, R., & Bickford, M. E. (1996). Predicting aggressive and socially disruptive behavior in a maximum security forensic psychiatric hospital. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 41, 56–59.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kropp, P. R., Hart, S. D., Webster, C.W., & Eaves, D. (1995). Manual for the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide, 2nd ed. Vancouver, BC: British Columbia Institute on Family Violence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, A. (1974). Psychopathie personality: A most elusive category. Psychological Medicine, 4, 133–140.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lipsey, M. W., & Wilson, D. B. (1993). The efficacy of psychological, educational, and behavioral treatment: Confirmation from meta-analysis. American Psychologist, 48, 1181–1209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Litwack, T., & Schlesinger, L. B. (in press). Dangerousness risk assessments: Research, legal, and clinical considerations. In I. B. Weiner & A. K. Hess (Eds.), Handbook of forensic psychology. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Litwack, T., & Schlesinger, L. B. (1987). Assessing and predicting violence: Research, law, and applications. In I. B. Weiner & A. K. Hess (Eds.), Handbook of forensic psychology (pp. 205-207). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lösel, F. (1996). Management of psychopaths [Abstract]. In D. J. Cooke, A. E. Forth, J. P. Newman, & R. D. Hare (Eds.), Issues in Criminological and Legal Psychology: No. 24, International perspectives on psychopathy (pp. 100–106). Leicester, UK: British Psychological Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lösel, F., & Koferl, P. (1989). Evaluation research on correctional treatment in West Germany: A meta-analysis. In H. Wegener, F. Lösel, & J. Haisch (Eds.), Criminal behavior and the justice system: Psychological perspectives (pp. 334–355). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lynn, D. D., & Donovan, J. M. (1980). Medical versus surgical treatment of coronary artery disease. Evaluation in Education, 4, 98–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meloy, J. R. (1988). The psychopathic mind: Origins, dynamics, and treatments. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millon, T. (1981). Disorders of personality: DSM-III Axis II. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monahan, J. (1981). The clinical prediction of violent behavior. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monahan, J., & Steadman, H. (1994). (Eds.), Violence and mental disorder: Developments in risk assessment. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, S. D. (1990). A meta-analytic review of mass media campaigns designed to change automobile occupant restraint behavior (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1989). Dissertation Abstracts International, 50, 1840A.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mossman, D. (1994). Assessing predictions of violence: Being accurate about accuracy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 783–792.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Newman, J. P., & Wallace, J. F. (1993). Divergent pathways to deficient self-regulation: Implications for disinhibitory psychopathology in children. Clinical Psychology Review, 13,699–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patrick, C. J., & Zempolich, K. A. (in press). Emotion and aggression in the psychopathic personality. Aggression and Violent Behavior.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pichot, P. (1978). Psychopathic behavior: A historical overview. In R. D. Hare & D. Schalling (Eds.), Psychopathie behavior: Approaches to research (pp. 55–70). Chichester, UK: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinsey, V. L., Rice, M. E., & Harris, G. T. (1995). Actuarial prediction of sexual recidivism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, 85–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, M. E., & Harris, G. T. (1995). Violent recidivism: Assessing predictive validity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 737–748.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, R. (1991). Meta-analysis: A review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 53, 247–271.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salekin, R., Rogers, R., & Sewell, K. (1996). A review and meta-analysis of the Psychopathy Checklist and Psychopathy Checklist-Revised: Predictive validity of dangerousness. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 3, 203–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serin, R. C. (1991). Psychopathy and violence in criminals. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6,423–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serin, R. C, & Amos, N. L. (1995). The role of psychopathy in the assessment of dangerousness. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 18, 231–238.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Serin, R. C, Peters, R. D., & Barbaree, H. E. (1990). Predictors of psychopathy and release outcome in a criminal population. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2, 419–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simourd, D., Bonta, J., Andrews, D., & Hoge, R. D. (1990). Criminal behavior and psychopaths: A meta-analysis [Abstract]. Canadian Psychology, 31, 347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. L., Glass, G. V., & Miller, T. I. (1980). The benefits of psychotherapy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steadman, H., Monahan, J. A., Applebaum, P. S., Grisso, T., Mulvey, E. P., Roth, L. H., Robbins, P. C., & Klassen, D. (1994). Designing a new generation of risk assessment research. In J. Monahan & H. Steadman (Eds.), Violence and mental disorder: Developments in risk assessment (pp. 297–318). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyrer, P., & Ferguson, B. (1998). Development of the concept of abnormal personality. In P. Tyrer (Eds.), Personality disorders: Diagnosis, management, and course (pp. 1–11). London: Wright.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster, C. D., Douglas, K. S., Eaves, D., & Hart, S. D. (1997). HCR-20: Assessing risk for violence, version 2. Burnaby, British Columbia: Simon Fraser University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster, C. D., Harris, G. T., Rice, M. E., Cormier, C. A., & Quinsey, V. L. (1994). The Violence Prediction Scheme: Assessing dangerousness in high risk men. Toronto: Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitlock, F. A., (1967). Prichard and the concept of moral insanity. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 1, 72–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitlock, F. A., (1982). A note on moral insanity and psychopathic disorders. Bulletin of the Royal College of Psychiatry, 6, 57–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, S. E., Hare, R. D., & Wong, S. (1987). Violence: Criminal psychopaths and their victims. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 19, 454–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. Q., & Herrnstein, R. J. (1985). Crime and human nature. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. Q., & Herrnstein, R. J. (1985). Crime and human nature. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (1992). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioral disorder: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva: Author.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada

    Stephen D. Hart

Authors
  1. Stephen D. Hart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Douglas Inch Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK

    David J. Cooke

  2. Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

    Adelle E. Forth

  3. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Robert D. Hare

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hart, S.D. (1998). Psychopathy and Risk for Violence. In: Cooke, D.J., Forth, A.E., Hare, R.D. (eds) Psychopathy: Theory, Research and Implications for Society. NATO ASI Series, vol 88. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3965-6_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3965-6_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-4920-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-3965-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation