Current estimates indicate that psychopaths make up approximately 20% of the prison population 25, and are more likely to be men than women 23, 24. However, in general terms women obtain lower scores in the PCL-R than men in prison populations 23, 24. Initially, the use of the PCL-R as a measuring instrument for psychopathy was limited to men, but over time it has become an instrument for use in female samples 19 - 22. The inclusion of female prisoners in this type of research is a comparatively recent phenomenon 4, 17, 18. While it is true that psychopathy is not limited solely to criminal offenders, most studies on the issue have been carried out with prison populations 13 - 15, and research has focused almost exclusively on male convicts, given the larger number of male inmates 4, 16. Likewise, the violence committed by psychopaths usually has a specific end in mind, such as getting money or for sexual gratification, unlike patients who present psychotic disorders, who often have no clear and understandable reason for their violent behaviour 11, 12. Psychiatric patients suffer from severe impairment of their mental functions, while psychopaths present specific mental and emotional problems without any notable loss of their reasoning capacities 1. The basic difference between psychopathy and other personality disorders lies in the symptomatology. They are regarded as cold, calculating, egocentric and insensitive to the suffering of others 10, 11.

The characteristics of a person with psychopathy are low empathy, low tolerance of frustration, impulsiveness, manipulative behaviour, no feelings of guilt, and a willingness to break social rules. Factor 1 consists of interpersonal and affective facets, while lifestyle and antisocial conduct are the facets of factor 2. Hare considers the construct of psychopathy to be made up of two factors with four facets 9. Hare later used Cleckley’s theories as a basis for his work and went on to become one of the leading figures in current studies on psychopathy 8. One of his findings was that the psychopath preserved his/her intellectual awareness while any moral awareness was found to be severely lacking 5. Cleckley 7 later went on to describe the psychopathic personality. Pinel 6, a French psychiatrist who is believed to have coined the term psychopathy, and who studied the clients who came to his private practice. This development of this theoretical construct commenced with the work of P.

It is defined as an outcome of interactions between biological and behavioural predispositions and social and environmental influences, and is regarded as a predictive factor in antisocial and criminal behaviour 5.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder that can present in male and female prison inmates and in the community at large 1 - 4.

Hare psychopathy checklist revised pdf