The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Without Conscience (40 page)

1.
According to the 2011 US Census, there were approximately 68,873,400 adult males (ages 18–50) in the United States. If 1 in 150 men meets criteria for psychopathy there are 459,156 male psychopaths in the United States. The US Department of Justice reports that there are 2,266,832 inmates in the US jail and prison systems, or about 1,772,073 males ages 18–50 after subtracting females, juveniles, and men over age 50. Assuming 20 percent of these inmates meet criteria for psychopathy, then approximately 354,414 psychopaths are incarcerated or 77 percent of psychopaths in the United States are in prison. Note that men over 50 can be psychopaths, but research shows the majority of antisocial behavior occurs prior to age 50.

2.
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1.
According to
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html
, there are 252 worldwide births per minute (one per 2.4 seconds). A conservative estimate puts the rate of psychopathy in the general population at .05 percent. This means a psychopath is born every
47.6 seconds. Of course, if we have underestimated the rate of psychopathy in the general population (some have argued it is 1 percent), then this birth rate could be much higher. Site last visited 11/11/11.

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4.
The staff in my laboratory call it the Kiehl-MacDonald Triad hypothesis.

5.
Perepletchikova, F., & Kazdin, A. E. (2005). Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. In K. Cheng & K. M. Myers (Eds.),
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American Psychologist
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6.
One could use an auditory version of the Child Psychopathy Scale and simply read the questions to the youth and have them select their responses orally. This would potentially mitigate the illiteracy criticism of self-report inventories.

7.
Frick, P. J., & Hare, R. D. (2001).
The Antisocial Process Screening Device
. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.

8.
The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL-YV) is validated only for youth 12 to 18 years old. Researchers are actively examining whether the PCL-YV can be used with younger samples.

9.
Fink, B. C., Tant, A., Tremba, K., & Kiehl, K. A. (in press). Assessment of psychopathic traits in a youth forensic sample: A methodological comparison.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
.

10.
Frick, P. J., Kimonis, E. R., Dandreaux, D. M., & Farell, J. M. (2003). The 4 year stability of psychopathic traits in non-referred youth.
Behavior Science & the Law
21 (6), 713–736.

Lynam, D. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2007). Longitudinal evidence that psychopathy scores in early adolescence predict adult psychopathy.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
116 (1), 155–165.

Munoz, L. C., & Frick, P. J. (2007). The reliability, stability, and predictive utility of the self-report version of the Antisocial Process Screening Device.
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Obradovic, J., Pardini, D. A., Long, J. D., & Loeber, R. (2007). Measuring interpersonal callousness in boys from childhood to adolescence: An examination of longitudinal invariance and temporal stability.
Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology
36 (3), 276–292.

11.
McMahon, R. J., Witkiewitz, K., & Kotler, J. S. (2010). Predictive validity of callous-unemotional traits measured in early adolescence with respect to multiple antisocial outcomes.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
119 (4), 752–763.

12.
Burke, J. D., Loeber, R., & Lahey, B. B. (2007). Adolescent conduct disorder and interpersonal callousness as predictors of psychopathy in young adults. [Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural].
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36 (3), 334–346.

13.
Lynam, D. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2007). Longitudinal evidence that psychopathy scores in early adolescence predict adult psychopathy.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
116 (1), 155–165.

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O’Keefe, T. O., Liddle, P. F., & Kiehl, K. A. (2003, March).
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Levenson, M. R., Kiehl, K. A., & Fitzpatrick, C. M. (1995). Assessing psychopathic attributes in a noninstitutionalized population.
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16.
Loney, B. R., Frick, P. J., Clements, C. B., Ellis, M. L., & Kerlin, K. (2003). Callous-unemotional traits, impulsivity, and emotional processing in adolescents with antisocial behavior problems.
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
32 (1), 66–80.

17.
Jones, A. P., Laurens, K. R., Herba, C. M., Barker, G. J., & Viding, E. (2009). Amygdala hypoactivity to fearful faces in boys with conduct problems and callous-unemotional traits.
American Journal of Psychiatry
166 (1), 95–102.

18.
Finger, E. C., Marsh, A. A., Blair, K. S., Reid, M. E., Sims, C., Ng, P., & Blair, J. R. (2011). Disrupted reinforcement signaling in the orbitofrontal cortex and caudate in youths with conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder and a high level of psychopathic traits.
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Finger, E. C., Marsh, A. A., Mitchell, D. G., Reid, M. E., Sims, C., Budhani, S., & Blair, J. R. (2008). Abnormal ventromedial prefrontal cortex
function in children with psychopathic traits during reversal learning.
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1.
According to the 2011 US Census, there were approximately 68,873,400 adult males (ages 18–50) in the United States. If 1 in 150 men meets criteria for psychopathy, there are 459,156 male psychopaths in the United States.

2.
Kiehl, K. A., Hare, R. D., McDonald, J. J., & Brink, J. (1999). Semantic and affective processing in psychopaths: An event-related potential study.
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Hare, R. D. (1999). Neural pathways involved in the processing of concrete and abstract words.
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4.
Kiehl, K. A., Smith, A. M., Mendrek, A., Forster, B. B., Hare, R. D., & Liddle, P. F. (2004). Temporal lobe abnormalities in semantic processing by criminal psychopaths as revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging.
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Kiehl, K. A. (2006). A cognitive neuroscience perspective on psychopathy: Evidence for paralimbic system dysfunction.
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1.
Source:
http://ctjja.org/resources/pdf/factsheet-juvenilecosts.pdf
. Annual cost per youth housed in the maximum-security Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTC). In addition to the latter annual operating costs, the State of Connecticut spent over $57,000,000 to build the facility, the depreciation of which is not included in the above estimate. It might be relevant to note that Connecticut governor John Rowland served ten months in federal prison for fraud and tax evasion, in part for granting the building contract for CJTC to a construction company in return for free renovations on his vacation home. Site last visited 1/10/12.

2.
Across all states (that reported data), the average annual cost for incarcerating a youth is approximately $100,000 per year in secure residential custody (2011 dollars). This estimate includes youth sentenced to secure group homes, residential treatment facilities, and secure custody facilities. As a youth moves to more secure custody, like maximum-security juvenile prisons, the costs escalate. Source:
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/09_05_REP_CostsofConfinement_JJ_PS.pdf
. Average estimate in 2007 was $88,000 per year per youth. Using
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
this translates to approximately $96,000 in 2011 dollars. Sites last visited 1/10/12.

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4.
Forth, A. E., Kosson, D. S., & Hare, R. D. (2003).
The Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version
. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.

5.
Lynam, D. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2007). Longitudinal evidence that psychopathy scores in early adolescence predict adult psychopathy.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
116, 155–165.

Barry, T. D., Barry, C. T., Deming, A. M., & Lochman, J. E. (2008). Stability of psychopathic characteristics in childhood—the influence of social relationships.
Criminal Justice and Behavior
35 (2), 244–262.

Frick, P. J., Kimonis, E. R., Dandreaux, D. M., & Farell, J. M. (2003). The 4 year stability of psychopathic traits in non-referred youth.
Behavioral Sciences and the Law
21 (6), 713–736.

Obradovic, J., Pardini, D. A., Long, J. D., & Loeber, R. (2007). Measuring interpersonal callousness in boys from childhood to adolescence: An examination of longitudinal invariance and temporal stability.
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
36 (3), 276–292.

6.
Corrado, R. R., Vincent, G. M., Hart, S. D., & Cohen, I. M. (2004). Predictive
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for general and violent recidivism.
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22 (1), 5–22.

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25 (1), 21–41.

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72 (4), 636–645.

Salekin, R. T., Leistico, A. M., Neumann, C. S., DiCicco, T. M., & Duros, R. L. (2004). Psychopathy and comorbidity in a young offender sample: Taking a closer look at psychopathy’s potential importance over disruptive behavior disorders.
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113 (3), 416–427.

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Frick, P. J., & White, S. F. (2008). Research review: The importance of callous-unemotional traits for developmental models of aggressive and antisocial behavior. [Review]
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8.
Viljoen, J. L., MacDougall, E. M., Gagnon, N. C., & Douglas, K. S. (2010). Psychopathy evidence in legal proceedings involving adolescent offenders.
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