Psychopathy as a Risk Factor for Violent Recidivism: Investigating the Psychopathy Checklist Screening Version (PCL:SV) and the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP) in a Forensic Psychiatric Setting

A robust relationship has been established between psychopathy and violence, and psychopathy is considered essential in the process of violence risk assessment. This study presents data on a patient sample from a forensic psychiatric unit in Denmark. All patients were assessed for psychopathy using the Psychopathy Checklist Screening Version (PCL:SV) and the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP). After a follow-up period of 5.7 years, recidivism outcomes were obtained from the Danish National Crime Register. Both psychopathy measures were related to a more severe and versatile criminal career as well as to violent recidivism. Overall, the predictive accuracy of violent recidivism of the two measures was good, and no significant difference was found in terms of predictability. The newly developed CAPP could be a promising clinical risk management tool in terms of its comprehensiveness. Its validity needs to be further explored, but at least its ability to predict violence similar to the PCL:SV is supported by the present study.