Triarchic Psychopathy Measure
The Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) was developed to operationalize the three distinct constructs of the Triarchic model of psychopathy (Patrick, Fowles, & Krueger, 2009) in terms of separate Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition scales.
The source of items for the brief (19-item) Boldness scale is an inventory (Patrick et al., in prep) developed to extend and refine measurement of the ‘fearless dominance’ construct indexed by scores on Factor 1 of the PPI. This component of psychopathy is important to assess because it: (1) captures the imperturbability and social efficacy features of psychopathy highlighted by Cleckley; (2) shows convergent validity in relation to measures of narcissism, thrill-seeking, and (lack of) empathy; and (3) captures unique variance in Factor 1 of the PCL-R--in particular, its Interpersonal facet. The Boldness Inventory contains 9 subscales consisting of items that index boldness in the realms of interpersonal behavior (Persuasiveness, Social Assurance, and Dominance subscales), emotional experience (Resiliency, Self-Assurance, and Optimism subscales), and venturesomeness (Courage, Intrepidness, and Tolerance for Uncertainty subscales). The brief Boldness scale includes representation of items from each of these 9 subscales.
The source of items for the brief (20-item) Disinhibition and brief (19-item) Meanness scales is the Externalizing Spectrum Inventory (ESI; Krueger et al., JAP, 2007; see Patrick et al., Psych Assess, 2013 for details of the development of the Disinhibition-20 and Meanness[/Callous-Aggression]-19 scales). The ESI was developed to comprehensively assess problem behaviors and traits within the domain of disinhibitory ('externalizing') psychopathology as represented in DSM-IV. It includes 415 items organized into 23 subscales that index constructs involving impulsivity and stimulation seeking, aggression of various types, alienation and externalization of blame, theft and dishonesty, and substance use and abuse. Confirmatory factor analyses of these 23 scales yielded evidence of an overarching 'externalizing' factor on which all subscales loaded substantially (.45 or higher), and subsidiary 'callous aggression' and 'addictions' subfactors that accounted for residual variance in some subscales. Scores on the overarching externalizing factor of the ESI reflect general proneness to disinhibition in varying forms. The brief Disinhibition scale consists of items from the following ESI subscales, which exhibit the highest and purest loadings on the broad ESI externalizing factor : Irresponsibility, Problematic Impulsivity, Theft, Alienation, Boredom Proneness, Impatient Urgency, Fraudulence, Dependability (-), and Planful Control (-). Scores on the brief Disinhibition scale correlate very highly (r = .91) with scores on the broad externalizing factor of the full 415-item ESI. Scores on the brief Disinhibition scale correlate minimally with scores on the brief Boldness scale.
The callous aggression subfactor of the ESI reflects tendencies toward proactive/predatory aggression, distinct from angry/reactive aggressive tendencies associated with general externalizing (disinhibition); ESI scales with appreciable loadings on the callous aggression subfactor include Relational Aggression, Empathy (-), Destructive Aggression, Physical Aggression, Excitement Seeking, and Honesty (-). The brief Meanness scale was formed by selecting items from these scales that operate primarily as indicators of the callous aggression subfactor, and only secondarily as indicators of the general externalizing (disinhibition) factor. In particular, Relational Aggression and Empathy subscales as a whole load more strongly on the callous aggression subfactor than on the general externalizing factor, and thus items from these two scales are represented most strongly in the brief Meanness scale. Scores on the brief Meanness scale correlate highly (r = .65) with scores on the callous aggression subfactor of the full 415-item ESI. Scores on the brief Meanness scale correlate moderately (r ~ .4) with scores on the brief Disinhibition scale and modestly (r~.2) with scores on the brief Boldness scale.
Contents
TriPM Questionnaire
TriPM Scoring Key
Preliminary Manual
Triarchic Psychopathy Measure prelim manual.PDF
