Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law

White adults from 21 studies were examined in the

aggregate (with an overall sample size of 8,890 indi-

viduals), no reliable, meaningful differences in scores

between the two groups were observed. When differ-

ences between total scores on the youth version of

the measure of Black and White adolescents from

16 studies were averaged (with an overall sample size

of 2,199), ratings of psychopathic characteristics were

significantly higher among Black youth. Importantly,

however, the overall magnitude of this effect was

small and corresponded to about 1.5 points on the

40-point psychopathy scale. There was considerable

heterogeneity in the effect sizes (associations between

scores and ethnicity) in both studies, but no clear

moderators of the relation between ethnicity and psy-

chopathy scores were identified.

Explaining Cross-Group

Differences in Psychopathy

Experts agree that a host of biological, psychological,

and social factors likely contribute to the etiology of

personality disorders. A major weakness in the psy-

chopathy research in this area is that ethnic/racial cat-

egories are fairly simplistic, created on the basis of

self-identification in the absence of a consideration of

relevant variables (including biological, genetic, psy-

chological, and social) that influence group member-

ship. Substantial within-group heterogeneity exists

regarding important dimensions such as acculturation,

ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, and neighbor-

hood characteristics, and these sources of heterogene-

ity present obstacles to pinpointing the etiological

factors underlying any group differences that may be

observed. Pertaining to psychopathy research, relying

on simplistic classifications of ethnicity such as Black

and White severely constrains the potential to identify

more proximal causes of observed disparities in psy-

chopathy. As but one example of the importance of

considering how contextual factors that vary across

ethnic groups may be critical in explaining socially

deviant behavior, consider the example of living in a

“bad” neighborhood. In a large-scale study in which

more than 900 civil psychiatric patients were admin-

istered the screening version of the PCL–R and fol-

lowed in the community for 1 year, the degree

to which an individual’s neighborhood was disad-

vantaged (indexed by rates of public assistance,

poverty, unemployment, managerial employment,

vacant dwellings, female-headed households, and

average household wage) was strongly associated

with race (i.e., being Black was associated with living

in a more disadvantaged neighborhood). Race retained

little relation to psychopathy once neighborhood dis-

advantage was taken into account by statistical meth-

ods. In this study, of the 100+risk factors for violence

that were studied, psychopathy was the strongest

predictor of community violence. Importantly, even

after statistically taking into account factors such as

psychopathy and race, the amount of concentrated

poverty in participants’ neighborhoods still signifi-

cantly predicted violence. Whereas race did predict

violence when considered on its own, the effect of

race alone in predicting violence disappeared after

statistically controlling for neighborhood disadvan-

tage. That is, regardless of whether participants were

Black or White, those who lived in highly disadvan-

taged neighborhoods were more likely to be violent.

Although further investigation clearly is needed, these

results highlight the importance of investigating cul-

tural and social processes that may influence psycho-

pathic traits.

Laura S. Guy

See also Forensic Assessment; Hare Psychopathy

Checklist–Revised (2nd edition) (PCL–R); Psychopathy;

Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version; Psychopathy

Checklist: Youth Version

Further Readings

Cooke, D. J., Kosson, D. S., & Michie, C. (2001).

Psychopathy and ethnicity: Structural, item, and test

generalizability of the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised

(PCL–R) in Caucasian and African American participants.

Psychological Assessment, 13,531–542.

Cooke, D. J., & Michie, C. (1999). Psychopathy across

cultures: North America and Scotland compared. Journal

of Abnormal Psychology, 108,58–68.

Cooke, D. J., Michie, C., Hart, S. D., & Clark, D. (2005).

Searching for the pan-cultural core of psychopathic

personality disorder. Personality and Individual

Differences, 39,283–295.

McCoy, W. K., & Edens, J. F. (2006). Do Black and White

youths differ in levels of psychopathic traits? A meta-analysis

of the Psychopathy Checklist measures. Journal of

Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74,386–392.

Okazaki, S., & Sue, S. (1995). Methodological issues in

assessment research with ethnic minorities. Psychological

Assessment, 7,367–375.

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