Prediction of recidivism using the psychopathy checklist-revised and the psychological inventory of criminal thinking styles within a forensic sample

Abstract

The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) has been well established as a predictor of recidivism in the literature. However, the research generally points to Factor 2 (antisocial behavior) as a stronger predictor of recidivism than Factor 1 (interpersonal/affective). Because recent research has examined the importance of cognition in offending, it was hypothesized that inclusion of a measure of criminal cognition would augment the PCL-R in predicting recidivism. The various factors, scales, total scores, and interaction terms were entered into a series of regression analyses to examine if recidivism prediction improved. Results provide preliminary support for the utilization of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) in conjunction with the PCL-R, as the proactive factor and the Superoptimism scale of the PICTS combined with Factor 2 of the PCL-R produced significant results. © 2009 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology.