Testing Two Alternative Pathological Personality Measures in the Assessment of Psychopathy: An Examination of the Snap and DAPP-BQ

J Pers Disord. 2009 Feb;23(1):85-100. doi: 10.1521/pedi.2009.23.1.85.

Abstract

The current study examined the interrelations between two measures of pathological personality, the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP; Clark, 1993) and the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ; Livesley, 1990), and their respective relations with psychopathy. Two hundred and twenty-nine undergraduate students completed the SNAP, DAPP-BQ, and two self-report psychopathy inventories, the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP; Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995) and the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005). Results revealed good convergence between conceptually related SNAP and DAPP-BQ subscales. Both the SNAP and DAPP-BQ accounted for a substantial amount of variance in psychopathy scores although the DAPP-BQ accounted for a larger percentage of the variance and demonstrated greater incremental validity. Results suggest that both measures can be successfully used to assess traits associated with psychopathy.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Personality Assessment / statistics & numerical data*
  • Personality Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Personality*
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / statistics & numerical data
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Students / statistics & numerical data
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*