Network Analysis of Psychopathy as Defined by the PCL-R Within the Field Gabriele Trupp, Jonathan Preszler, Marcus Boccaccini, David Marcus, Jorge Varela, & Darrel Turner Sam Houston State University and Washington State University ABSTRACT RESULTS Network Analysis provides a visual depiction of the core maintaining symptoms of a disorder, as well as how these symptoms related to one another. It also provides numerical indices that can be used to quantitatively assess the centrality of each symptom or node. Existing Network Analysis studies that focus on psychopathy suggest the affective facets are most central to the construct as a whole; however these studies rely on scores collected for research purposes, as opposed to use in the field (Preszler, Marcus, Edens, & McDermott, 2018; Verschuere et al., 2017). The current study used PCL-R scores assigned for real-world use to examine whether existing PCL-R Network Analysis findings generalize to field scores. Although findings were generally consistent with existing results, some differences call into question whether some items are interacting with one another and contributing to the construct of psychopathy the same way in the field as they are in research settings. Network Graph Centrality Measures Z-Scores Betweenness Closeness Strength Expected Influence Facet 1 - Interpersonal 1. Superficial Charm -0.94 -1.10 -0.33 -0.20 2. Grandiose -0.83 -0.05 -0.40 4. Pathological Lying 1.81 1.20 0.89 1.04 5. Manipulative 0.38 0.34 0.43 0.52 Facet 2 - Affective 6. Lack of Remorse 1.59 1.41 1.79 1.95 7. Shallow Affect -0.01 -0.80 -0.68 8. Lack of Empathy -0.17 0.92 0.93 1.08 16. Failure to Accept Responsibility 1.50 0.76 0.27 Facet 3 - Lifestyle 3. Need for Stimulation 1.37 1.06 0.90 9. Parasitic Lifestyle 0.49 0.64 -0.90 -0.79 13. Lack of Long-Term Goals -1.16 -0.71 -1.47 -1.37 14. Impulsivity 0.01 0.51 15. Irresponsibility -0.06 0.97 0.63 Facet 4 - Antisocial 10. Poor Behavioral Controls -1.02 -0.50 -0.38 12. Early Behavioral Problems -0.73 -0.10 0.03 18. Juvenile Delinquency -0.39 -0.53 -0.21 -0.76 19. Revocation of Release -1.77 -2.23 -2.14 20. Criminal Versatility 0.60 -0.72 -0.59 -0.48 PROBLEM Using data collected for research purposes, Network Analysis of the PCL-R has found that the affective items are more central to the construct of psychopathy. However, there is a lack of research investigating whether these results are generalizable to the field. METHOD Note. Higher positive numbers reflect higher centrality. Participants Sample of individuals convicted of a sex offense who were evaluated for civil commitment in the state of Texas Analyses Network analysis examines pathways between symptoms Four measures – betweenness, closeness, strength, and expected influence – estimate the analysis of item covariance and the centrality of each item in the network CONCLUSIONS Although prior studies support the finding of “Lack of Remorse”, “Lack of Empathy” (Preszler et al., 2018 & Verschuere et al., 2017), and “Failure to Accept Responsibility” (Preszler et al., 2018) as being highly central items, they did not find “Pathological Lying” or “Proneness to Boredom” to be as highly central Previous research supports our finding that many of the most highly central items are part of the affective facet, suggesting the affective facet may be the most central to the PCL-R psychopathy network Previous studies also support the finding that items in the antisocial facet were the most depressed across centrality measures, indicating that this facet may not be as central to the PCL-R psychopathy network