A Rorschach comparison of psychopathic and nonpsychopathic conduct disordered adolescents

Abstract

Forty-eight male subjects who met the DSM-IV (APA, 1994) criteria for conduct disorder (CD) were assessed for psychopathy level using a modified version of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R, Forth, Hart, & Hare, 1990). Rorschach variables associated with self-perception, affects, and object relations, early behavioral problems and history of violence were compared between psychopathic and nonpsychopathic CD adolescents. Psychopathic CD subjects were significantly more self-centered and violent than nonpsychopathic CD subjects. Decreased attachment and anxiety were found in both CD groups. Our study adds empirical support to the heterogeneity noted among CD adolescents (PCL-R), supports the utility of the Rorschach for detecting individual differences among CD subjects, and extends the empirical work of Gacono and Meloy (1994) to adolescent psychopathy.

Assessing Antisocial and Psychopathic Personalities

“…Evaluators should also be familiar with a growing database of forensic Rorschach samples (Bannatyne, Gacono, & Greene, 1999;Cunliffe & Gacono, 2008;Gacono, Meloy, & Bridges, 2000Singer, Hoppe, Lee, Olesen, & Walters, 2008), keeping in mind how these samples differ from Exner's nonpatient and clinical norms (Exner & Erdberg, 2005). A series of studies with antisocial and psychopathic patients (Gacono, 1988(Gacono, , 1990Gacono & Meloy, 1991, 1992, 1994Gacono, Meloy, & Heaven, 1990;Meloy, Gacono, & Kenney, 1994;Young et al, 2000) have validated the use of the Rorschach as a nomothetically sensitive instrument in discriminating between psychopathic ASPD and nonpsychopathic ASPD subjects (also see Smith, Gacono, &Kaufman, 1995, andRussell, 2000, for an extension of these findings to conduct-disordered adolescents), and supported the assertion that these individuals…”

The Rorschach test in clinical diagnosis: A critical review, with a backward look at Garfield (1947)

“…However, no significant differences were found between these groups on any of the nine variables. Smith, Gacono, and Kaufman (1997) later published an article in the Journal of Clinical Psychology based on Smith's (1994Smith's ( /1995 dissertation. However, the article differed from the dissertation in three important ways.…”

“…Second, the article (Smith et al, 1997) reported negative findings for some variables not included in the dissertation: T, Y, and Cooperative Movement responses. The article also reported significant differences ( p Ͻ .05) for AG and an unusual dichotomized form of the Egocentricity Index that had been created for the study.…”

Psychopathy and violent recidivism among young criminal offenders

“…High emotional, humanitarian and societal costs and the association with substance abuse and criminality, has led researchers to look for precursors or correlates to psychopathy in adolescence and childhood (20–22). PCL‐R psychopathy has been found to correlate with intrainstitutional violence among incarcerated juvenile delinquents (23–26), early onset, aggressive, violent or pervasive conduct disorder or criminal offending (23–27) and substance abuse disorder (25, 28) in adolescent offenders. In one study (25), psychopathic young offenders more often self‐reported having committed arson, being coercive and controlling with girlfriends or having used force or pressure to obtain sexual contact with a female against her will.…”