Crime persists in plaguing society, with most crimes committed by repeat offenders. This causes an increase in the incarcerated population and strains correctional systems. Understanding why individuals who have been incarcerated continue to recidivate remains an important focus for investigation. Psychopathic personality traits and criminogenic thinking have both been shown to predict recidivism. However, there is currently little research that focuses on the relationship between these two risk factors, and no prior research has examined this relationship specifically among incarcerated offenders. To address this gap, the present study examined psychopathy and criminogenic thinking among 399 adult males incarcerated in the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Results indicated that after controlling for demographic variables, increased primary and secondary psychopathy significantly predicted increased overall and particular subtypes of criminogenic thinking. Implications for addressing psychopathic personality characteristics and criminogenic thinking conjointly in prison-based treatment programming to reduce recidivism are discussed.
AndrewsD. A.BontaJ. (2006). The psychology of criminal conduct (4th ed.). Newark, NJ: LexisNexis.
2.
AndrewsD. A.BontaJ. (2010). Rehabilitating criminal justice policy and practice. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 16, 39-55. doi:10.1037/a0018362
3.
AndrewsD. A.BontaJ.HogeR. D. (1990). Classification for effective rehabilitation: Rediscovering psychology. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 17, 19-52.
4.
AndrewsD. A.ZingerI.HogeR. D.BontaJ.GendreauP.CullenF. T. (1990). Does correctional treatment work? A clinically relevant and psychologically informed meta-analysis. Criminology, 28, 369-404.
5.
BeckA. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York, NY: International Universities Press.
6.
BernsteinD. P.NijmanH. L. I.KarosK.Keulen-de VosM.de VogelV.LuckerT. P. (2012). Schema therapy for forensic patients with personality disorders: Design and preliminary findings of a multicenter randomized clinical trial in the Netherlands. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 11, 312-324.
7.
CookeD.MichieC. (2001). Refining the construct of psychopathy: Towards a hierarchical model. Psychological Assessment, 13, 171-188.
8.
de VriesR. E.van GelderJ. L. (2013). Tales of two self-control scales: Relations with five-factor and HEXACO traits. Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 756-760.
9.
EllisA. (1974). Experience and rationality: The making of a rational-emotive therapist. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 11, 194-198.
10.
FalkenbachD.PoythressN.FalkiM.ManchakS. (2007). Reliability and validity of two self-report measures of psychopathy. Assessment, 14, 341-350. doi:10.1177/1073191107305612
11.
GonsalvesV. M.ScaloraM. J.HussM. T. (2009). Prediction of recidivism using the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised and the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles within a forensic sample. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36, 741-755. doi:10.1177/0093854809335688
12.
GottfredsonM. R.HirschiT. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
13.
HarpurT.HareR.HakstianR. (1989). Two-factor conceptualization of psychopathy: Construct validity and assessment implications. Psychological Assessment, 1, 6-17. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.1.1.6
14.
HirschiT. (2004). Self-control and crime. In BaumeisterR. F.VohsK. D. (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 537-552). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
15.
JamesD. J. (2002). Bureau of Justice Statistics special report: Profile of jail inmates, 2002. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
16.
JonesS. E.MillerJ. D.LynamD. R. (2011). Personality, antisocial behavior, and aggression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Criminal Justice, 39, 329-337.
17.
LandenbergerN. A.LipseyM. W. (2005). The positive effects of cognitive behavioral programs for offenders: A meta analysis of factors associated with effective treatment. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 1, 451-476.
18.
LevensonM. R.KiehlK. A.FitzpatrickC. M. (1995). Assessing psychopathic attributes in a noninstitutionalized population. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 151-158. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.68.1.151
19.
MacKenzieD. L. (2006). What works in correction: Reducing the criminal activities of offenders and delinquents. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
20.
MagyarM.CarrW. A.RosenfeldB.RotterM. (2010). An exploration of the relationship between criminal cognitions and psychopathy in a civil psychiatric sample. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 54, 865-877. doi:10.1177/0306624X09344105
21.
MandracchiaJ. T.MorganR. D. (2010). The relationship between status variables and criminal thinking in offenders. Psychological Services, 7, 27-33.
22.
MandracchiaJ. T.MorganR. D. (2011). Understanding criminals’ thinking: Further examination of the Measure of Offender Thinking Styles–Revised. Assessment, 18, 442-452. doi:10.1177/1073191110377595
23.
MandracchiaJ. T.MorganR. D.GarosS.GarlandJ. T. (2007). Inmate thinking patterns: An empirical investigation. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34, 1029-1043. doi:10.1177/0093854807301788
24.
MorganR. D.FisherW. D.DuanN.MandracchiaJ. T.MurrayD. (2010). Prevalence of criminal thinking among state prison inmates with serious mental illness. Law and Human Behavior, 34, 324-336.
25.
The Pew Center on the States. (2011, April). State of recidivism: The revolving door of America’s prisons. Washington, DC: The Pew Charitable Trusts.
26.
PoythressN. G.LilienfeldS. O.SkeemJ. L.DouglasK. S.EdensJ. F.EpsteinM.PatrickC. J. (2010). Using the PCL-R to help estimate the validity of two self-report measures of psychopathy with offenders. Assessment, 17, 206-219. doi:10.1177/1073191109351715
27.
SalekinR. T. (2002). Psychopathy and therapeutic pessimism: Clinical lore or clinical reality?Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 79-112.
28.
SalekinR. T.WorleyC.GrimesR. D. (2010). Treatment of psychopathy: A review and brief introduction to the mental model approach for psychopathy. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 28, 235-266.
29.
SimourdD. J.HogeR. D. (2000). Criminal psychopathy: A risk-and-need perspective. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 27, 256-272.
30.
TangneyJ. P.StuewigJ.FurukawaE.KopelovichS.MeyerP. J.CosbyB. (2012). Reliability, validity, and predictive utility of the 25-item Criminogenic Cognitions Scale (CCS). Criminal Justice and Behavior, 39, 1340-1360.
31.
VitaccoM. J.NeumannC. S.JacksonR. L. (2005). Testing a four-factor model of psychopathy and its association with ethnicity, gender, intelligence, and violence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 466-476.
32.
WaltersG. D. (1990). The criminal lifestyle: Patterns of serious criminal conduct. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
33.
WaltersG. D. (2003). Predicting criminal justice outcomes with the Psychopathy Checklist and Lifestyle Criminality Screening Form. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 21, 89-102.
34.
WaltersG. D. (2006). Risk-appraisal versus self-report in the prediction of criminal justice outcomes: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 33, 279-304. doi:10.1177/0093854805284409
35.
WaltersG. D. (2009a). Criminal thinking. In McMurranM.HowardR. (Eds.), Personality, personality disorder and violence: An evidence based approach (pp. 281-295). West Sussex, UK: Wiley.
36.
WaltersG. D. (2009b). The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles and Psychopathy Checklist: Screening version as incrementally valid predictors of recidivism. Law and Human Behavior, 33, 497-505.
37.
WaltersG. D.SchlauchC. (2008). The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles and Level of Service Inventory–Revised: Screening version as predictors of official and self-reported disciplinary infractions. Law and Human Behavior, 32, 454-462.
38.
WidigerT. A.LynamD. R. (1998). Psychopathy and the five-factor model of personality. In MillonT.SimonsenE.Birket-SmithM.DavisR. D. (Eds.), Psychopathy: Antisocial, criminal, and violent behavior (pp. 171-187). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
39.
YochelsonS.SamenowS. E. (1976). The criminal personality, volume I: A profile for change. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
