Investigation of the Criminal and Conditional Release Profiles of Canadian Federal Offenders as a Function of Psychopathy and Age

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1 Law and Human Behavior, Vol. 25, No. 6, December 2001 ( c 2001) Investigation of the Criminal and Conditional Release Profiles of Canadian Federal Offenders as a Function of Psychopathy and Age Stephen Porter, 1,4 Angela R. Birt, 2 and Douglas P. Boer 3 Using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991) diagnostic cutoff score of 30, the complete criminal career and community release profiles of 317 Canadian federal offenders (224 low scorers and 93 scoring within the psychopathic range) were investigated. Adult crimes were coded according to age at commission as well as either violent, nonviolent, or nonsexually violent. Changes in performance following release into the community also were examined. Results indicated that offenders scoring within the psychopathic range consistently committed more violent and nonviolent crimes than their counterparts for about three decades, spanning their late adolescence to their late 40s. Numbers of nonviolent criminal offenses committed by high PCL-R scorers declined considerably after age 30 relative to violent offenses, which declined and then rebounded in the late 30s before a major reduction was evidenced. Throughout adulthood, high PCL-R scorers failed during community release significantly faster than did low scorers. Importantly, from a risk management perspective, the release performance of low PCL-R scorers improved with age, whereas the opposite was seen for high scorers. Further, offenders scoring high on the PCL-R did not show a lower charge to conviction ratio with age, suggesting that they may not have been getting better at manipulating the legal system. Psychopathy is a destructive personality disorder associated with impulsivity, remorselessness, manipulation, lack of empathy, and general callousness (see Hart & Hare, 1997). With a prevalence of 15 25% in the federal offender population, psychopathy is an important risk factor for recidivism and, more specifically, for violence (e.g., Hemphill, Hare, & Wong, 1998; Salekin, Rogers, & Sewell, 1996; Tengström, Grann, Långström, & Kullgren, 2000). For example, an early study by Hare and Jutai 1 Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 2 Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 3 Regional Psychiatric Centre, Correctional Service of Canada, Matsqui, British Columbia, Canada. 4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 4J1, Canada; sbporter@is.dal.ca /01/ /1 C 2001 American Psychology-Law Society/Division 41 of the American Psychology Association

2 648 Porter, Birt, and Boer (1983) showed that about 18% of charges against offenders scoring high on the original Psychopathy Checklist (PCL; Hare, 1985) were for violence compared to 9% of charges against low scorers. Nearly all offenders scoring high on the PCL had perpetrated at least one violent crime compared to about half of the low scorers (Hare & McPherson, 1984; also see Serin, 1991). Recent data indicate that psychopathy is associated with premeditated, cold-blooded homicide (Woodworth & Porter, 2001) and more severe forms of sexual violence (e.g., Brown & Forth, 1997; Hare, Cooke, & Hart, 1999; Kosson, Kelly, & White, 1997), such as a pattern of targeting multiple victim types (Porter et al., 2000; Porter, Campbell, Woodworth, & Birt, 2001). Overall, the dominant clinical conception of a psychopathic individual is a dangerous person who preys on others across the lifespan (e.g., Hare, 1996, 1998; Simourd & Hoge, 2000). Nevertheless, the relationship between psychopathy and crime is complex when age is taken into consideration. In general, most crime is perpetrated by males in their late adolescence and early adulthood (e.g., Wilson & Herrnstein, 1985), after which most offenders commit fewer crimes or may even stop offending. However, given their callous personality features it might be expected that offenders with psychopathic traits would continue to commit crimes throughout adulthood. To our knowledge, only a small number of studies have directly addressed the relationship between psychopathy and age. Hare, McPherson, and Forth (1988) compared the conviction rates of offenders scoring high or low on the original PCL between the ages of 16 and 45. They found that offenders in the psychopathic range committed more crimes than their low scoring counterparts between the ages of 16 and 40, after which the conviction rate of high scorers decreased substantially relative to low scorers (whose offending was less frequent but more constant). The decrease in crime by offenders in the psychopathic range was largely accounted for by nonviolent offenses, suggesting that their capacity for violence was a relatively static characteristic (also see Harris, Rice, & Cormier, 1991). Hare, Forth, and Strachan (1992) updated and expanded on the Hare et al. (1988) study, reporting on the criminal behavior of 35 high scorers and 47 low scorers on the PCL or the PCL-R up to the age of 50. They found that high scorers engaged in more violent and nonviolent criminal behavior with the largest group differences found at younger ages. Other related research, utilizing a cross-sectional design, examined psychopathy and its factors (but not criminal behavior per se) as a function of age in a large of sample of inmates (Harpur & Hare, 1994). Results indicated that the affective/interpersonal features of psychopathy (e.g., lack of remorse) remained constant across the lifespan whereas characteristics associated with behavioral problems tended to decline with age. Based on this research and anecdotal evidence, Hare (1996) argued that individuals with psychopathic features likely do not change fundamentally with age but may engage in different types of antisocial behaviors with advancing age. Importantly, despite the enormous amount of research generated by (and widespread application in forensic settings internationally since) the publication of the PCL-R in 1991, little research has examined how release performance in the community, or the crime patterns in general, of high and low scorers are influenced by increasing age. One consequence of the philosophy of rehabilitation in correctional settings has been the opportunity for most offenders to be granted early release from

3 Psychopathic Behavior Throughout Adulthood 649 prison. For example, most Canadian offenders will be released automatically after two thirds of their prison term unless they represent a very high risk to reoffend. It appears that offenders with psychopathic traits are not accommodated well by a correctional or rehabilitative approach to criminal justice as evidenced by their high recidivism rate (e.g., Hemphill et al., 1998; Rice, Harris, & Cormier, 1992) and poor response to existing treatment approaches (e.g., Ogloff, Wong, & Greenwood, 1990). Accordingly, research indicates that when high PCL-R scoring offenders are released conditionally in the community, they fare worse than their low scoring counterparts. Hart, Kropp, and Hare (1988) found that the one-year failure rates of high, medium, and low scorers on the original PCL were 62, 47, and 20%, respectively. Subsequent research found a similar pattern with different offender groups (e.g., Serin, 1991; Serin, Peters, & Barbaree, 1990). However, few studies have examined whether performance following conditional release changes across the criminal career. Not only would such research provide important information on the nature of the disorder but it would also have significant implications for risk assessment. It also should be noted that an examination of changes in release performance provides an indirect gauge of treatment response. Most federal offenders in Canada (including high PCL-R scoring offenders) will receive treatment during incarceration. If intervention is effective, one would expect that performance following release should improve with time (or at least not become worse). Also, relatively little research has been conducted concerning the specific types of and changes in criminal behavior throughout adulthood in large samples of offenders scoring high and low on the PCL-R. In the present study, we hoped to provide a snapshot of crime and conditional release in high and low scorers on the PCL-R across the criminal career. Although many studies of criminal behavior or risk have used a retrospective or postdictive design (e.g., Douglas & Webster, 1999), it is important to consider the potential limitations of this approach. For example, some of the 20 items on the PCL-R (e.g., juvenile delinquency) relate to antisocial behavior suggesting that PCL-R scores might be inflated by examining criminal histories. However, the evidence suggests that this does not pose a significant problem (especially in examining changes in criminal behavior over time). First, in all published studies addressing reliability, PCL-R total scores (ranging from 0 to 40) have been found to be highly reliable across trained raters and over time (e.g., Alterman, Cacciola, & Rutherford, 1993; Hare et al., 1990; Rutherford, Cacciola, Alterman, & McKay, 1996). For example, a recent study of test-retest reliability indicated that PCL-R scores were reliable over a 2-year period in both men and women (Rutherford, Cacciola, Alterman, McKay, & Cook, 1999). Second, it is generally recognized that psychopathy is a rich clinical construct that considers multiple aspects of an individual s affective, personality, and behavioral functioning from early childhood onward (unlike Antisocial Personality Disorder which is defined primarily by antisocial conduct). That is, the core traits associated with psychopathy appear to emerge at a young age (e.g., Frick, 1998) and persist across the lifespan (e.g., Harpur & Hare, 1994). Studies (concerning the relationship between psychopathy and criminal behavior) that have omitted items relating to criminality (e.g., Hare & McPherson, 1984) have yielded findings similar to those that have not made such an omission. Perhaps most convincingly, in a recent

4 650 Porter, Birt, and Boer meta-analytic review of the relationship between psychopathy and both general and violent recidivism, Salekin et al. (1996) compared studies using a postdictive (retrospective) approach with those using a predictive (prospective) approach. They found that the average effect sizes of the two groups did not differ (retrospective d =.75; prospective d =.79). Together, these findings provide strong evidence that PCL-R scores represent a generalized assessment of lifetime traits and behaviors and that investigating the relationship between scores and past criminal behavior can yield valid and meaningful findings. The purpose of the present study was to shed light on the relationship between psychopathy and age by examining a sample of serious criminal offenders (including many violent sexual offenders) who had been scored by professionals on the PCL-R. We had the opportunity to explore the complete criminal and conditional release profiles of a large group of high and low PCL-R scoring offenders across adulthood. The adult criminal history of each offender was analyzed to determine crime patterns, both nonviolent and violent, over time. In addition, changes in performance in the community following release from prison and the ability to avoid conviction following a charge were examined. METHOD Sample Participants included all male offenders (N = 317) who: (1) had been incarcerated (including new admissions) in a medium security federal prison between November 1997 and June 1998, and (2) who had undergone a PCL-R assessment by a psychologist (trained in PCL-R administration) during their current term of incarceration. At any one time, this prison holds approximately offenders with sentences of 2 years or more, who are a highly diverse group of violent and nonviolent federal offenders (including many violent and sexual offenders as well as some protective custody inmates at risk in other institutions), with current sentences of at least 2 years. In terms of ethnicity, the sample was comprised of 70.8% Caucasian, 23% North American Native, 2.2% Black, and 4.0% unknown. Age scores approximated a normal distribution (as reflected by a histogram and a skewness near 0) with a mean age of 43.5 years (SD = 11.5, range of ). Using a PCL-R diagnostic cut-off score of 30, 224 offenders scored outside the psychopathic range (<30) and 93 offenders scored within the psychopathic range (30 40). The PCL-R scores were normally distributed with a mean of 24.7 (SD = 6.84), a median of 25.0, of and a range of Materials The PCL-R has been widely adopted in the assessment of psychopathy in prison and forensic psychiatric populations. Psychopathy, as measured by the PCL-R, is characterized by 20 criteria relating to affective/interpersonal traits (e.g., glibness/ superficial charm, pathological lying, lack of remorse, shallow affect; Factor 1) and a chronically impulsive and unstable lifestyle (e.g., need for stimulation, lack of

5 Psychopathic Behavior Throughout Adulthood 651 realistic goals, promiscuity; Factor 2). The psychometric and predictive qualities of the instrument are excellent (e.g., Fulero, 1995; Stone, 1995). Although there is an ongoing debate over whether psychopathy represents a discrete or a continuous variable (e.g., Harris, Rice, & Quinsey, 1994), recent research strongly suggests that persons scoring high on the PCL-R may represent a distinct clinical entity or taxon (see Hart & Hare, 1997). A score of 30 is widely recommended as the appropriate cut-off for diagnostic purposes (see Hare, 1991). In the Canadian correctional system, risk assessments routinely include an evaluation of psychopathy by forensic psychologists who have been well trained in the administration of the instrument (i.e., having attended an intensive training workshop on the administration of the PCL-R). A file search yielded all available PCL-R scores and corresponding Factor 1 (F1) and Factor 2 (F2) scores as reported in official risk assessments on these offenders. Individual PCL-R item scores were not consistently available and as a result were not included. All PCL-R assessments had been conducted during the offenders current incarceration, most often as part of the intake assessment or assessment for parole purposes. Data on Crime and Conditional Release Profiles In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police maintain a central registry of all federal offenders. The identities of all offenders are first confirmed on the Fingerprint Sheet (FPS) after which their charges and convictions are recorded with dates on the official criminal record. For this study, the criminal records were obtained from institutional files, and the complete offense history of each offender up to and including the current offense was coded. All documented charges and convictions were coded according to the classification scheme suggested in the PCL-R manual. Crimes were coded as either violent (robbery, assault, murder, possession of weapon, sex offenses, kidnapping, arson), nonviolent (theft, drug offenses, major driving offenses, fraud, escape, obstruction of justice, miscellaneous), or nonsexually violent (all violent crimes excluding sexual offenses). The FPS documents instances of conditional release (e.g., parole), release violations (e.g., new charges during release period), and re-incarcerations. In order to document criminal career profiles as a function of age, all crimes and conditional releases were categorized according to the age in which they occurred. The age categories coded were (with cumulative percentiles in parenthesis): (3.1), (11.6), (25.2), (41.5), (58.5), (72.0), (83.6), (91.2), and 60 over (100). The average number of days between a release date and a new charge/violation was then calculated for each offender within the different age categories. One consideration for conditional release performance was length of opportunity to commit offenses. For example, if offenders with high PCL-R scores spent less time free in the community than their counterparts, their offending patterns could be underestimated. It is possible to provide an estimate of length of opportunity time in the community by determining when an offender is released on a major form of release and when his next charge or release violation occurred. This was accomplished by totaling the number of days between a recorded release and the next charge or conviction across the criminal career.

6 652 Porter, Birt, and Boer Given the large size of the data set, two complete rounds of coding were conducted to ensure accurate data classification/entry. RESULTS Preliminary Analyses Ethnicity and Psychopathy Using a Kruskal Wallis one-way analysis of variance, no relationships were found between ethnicity and PCL-R full scores, χ 2 (4) = 1.80, p >.05, F1 scores, χ 2 (4) = 7.00, p >.05, or F2 scores, χ 2 (4) = 1.48, p >.05. For PCL-R full scores, the various ethnic groups showed the following breakdown of scores: Caucasian (M = 24.76, SD = 6.94), North American Native (M = 24.83, SD = 6.10), Black (M = 23.11, SD = 10.36), and other/unknown (M = 23.35, SD = 7.28). Age at First Offense The mean age at first adult offense differed between high and low PCL-R scorers, t(315) = 3.96, p < High scorers began committing crimes about 5 years earlier on average (M = 20.01, SD = 4.07) than low scorers (M = 25.24, SD = 12.45). F2 scores, r(310) =.54, p <.0001, but not F1 scores, r(310) =.04, p >.05, were significantly related to age at first offense. Total Offenses Across Adulthood As expected, the mean number of offenses committed across adulthood differed between high and low PCL-R scoring groups, t(315) = 4.83, p < High PCL-R scorers committed about twice as many crimes on average (M = 38.18, SD = 37.13) as low scorers (M = 21.96, SD = 21.94). Notably, high PCL-R scoring offenders had a range of offenses on their records and 21.5% of them had fewer than 10 offenses. Both F1, r(311) =.14, p <.05 and F2 scores, r(310) =.31, p <.001 were positively correlated with total criminal offenses perpetrated in adulthood. Violent and Nonviolent Offenses Across the Criminal Career A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with PCL-R group (low vs. high) as the independent variable and the different crime categories as dependent variables indicated that there were significant differences in the frequency of specific crimes across adulthood, Hotellings trace =.16, F(14, 301) = 3.33, p < Univariate analyses indicated that high PCL-R scorers had committed significantly (ps <.05) more thefts (M = 16.43, SD = vs. M = 6.06, SD = 8.97), robberies (M = 2.73, SD = 7.69 vs. M = 1.16, SD = 3.09), drug offenses (M = 1.28, SD = 2.50 vs. M = 0.65, SD = 1.48), escapes (M = 2.99, SD = 3.42 vs. M = 1.65, SD = 3.02), kidnappings (M = 0.73, SD = 1.69 vs. M = 0.36, SD = 1.06), obstructions of justice (M = 0.76, SD = 1.16 vs. M = 0.33, SD = 0.95), and miscellaneous offenses (M = 1.66, SD = 3.36 vs. M = 1.00, SD = 1.78), whereas low scorers had committed significantly more sex offenses (M = 4.04, SD = 5.79 vs. M = 2.95, SD = 7.83).

7 Psychopathic Behavior Throughout Adulthood 653 Interestingly, high scorers were not more likely than low scorers to have committed homicide. However, for high PCL-R scorers, there was a significant positive relationship between F1 scores and homicide, r(92) =.23, p <.05, but no such relationship for F2 scores, r(92) =.08, p >.05. The opposite was true for low scorers: homicide was significantly related to F2 scores, r(217) =.19, p <.01, but not F1 scores, r(219) =.05, p >.05. Overall, there were statistically significant differences in the commission of nonviolent crimes, F(2, 314) = 20.69, p <.0001, violent crimes, F(2, 314) = 3.74, p <.05, and nonsexual violent crimes, F(2, 314) = 9.12, p <.01, across adulthood. Specifically, high PCL-R scoring offenders committed about twice as many (M = 27.91, SD = 35.10) nonviolent offenses as low scoring offenders (M = 13.39, SD = 19.76). For violent crimes, high PCL-R scorers had committed a mean of (SD = 12.01) crimes compared to M = 8.57 (SD = 7.24) crimes by low scorers. For nonsexual violent crimes, high PCL-R scorers had committed a mean of 7.32 (SD = 9.74) crimes compared to M = 4.52 (SD = 5.56) crimes by low scorers. F1 scores were significantly correlated with total number of violent, r(311) =.11, p <.05 and nonviolent crimes, r(311) =.11, p <.05. F2 scores were correlated with number of both nonviolent, r(309) =.33, p <.0001 and nonsexual violent offenses, r(309) =.26, p <.001. Changes in Crime Across the Criminal Career as a Function of Psychopathy Overall, there was a negative correlation between age and F2 scores, r(310) =.40, p <.001. There also was a modest positive correlation between age and F1 scores, r(310) =.13, p <.05. Taken together, there was a modest negative correlation between age and PCL-R full scores, r(310) =.18, p <.01. To examine possible changes in nonviolent and violent criminal behavior across adulthood, a mixed MANOVA was conducted with age as a repeated independent variable, PCL-R group (high vs. low) as a between-subjects independent variable, and numbers of nonviolent, violent, and nonsexual violent crimes as dependent measures. Overall, frequency of criminal behavior differed according to both age, F(27, 288) = 14.66, p <.0001, and PCL-R group, F(3, 312) = 8.97, p < The interaction between age and psychopathy was significant, F(27, 288) = 2.06, p <.01. Univariate analyses indicated that violent crime, F(9, 2826) = p <.0001, nonviolent crime, F(9, 2826) = , p <.0001, and nonsexual violent crime, F(9, 2826) = 37.34, p <.001 each changed as a function of age. Pairwise comparisons (ps <.05) revealed that between the ages of 20 and 24 years offenders committed more violent crimes than all other age groups except years. Offenders committed more violence between the ages 25 29, 30 34, and than they committed when they were 40 years of age (but the three younger groups did not differ from one another nor did the older groups). In terms of nonviolence, every age group differed from one another, with each successive age group committing fewer crimes. In terms of nonsexual violence, a similar pattern emerged with significantly fewer (nonsexual) violent crimes committed in each successive age group. The interaction of age and psychopathy was significant for violent crime, F(9, 2826) = 3.37, p <.001, nonviolent crime, F(9, 2826) = 12.28, p <.001, and nonsexual violent crime,

8 654 Porter, Birt, and Boer Fig. 1. Mean number of violent crimes across adulthood as a function of PCL-R scores. F(9, 2826) = 2.87, p <.01. Follow-up univariate analyses revealed that high PCL-R scorers committed significantly more violent crimes from the ages of to than low PCL-R scorers. High PCL-R scorers committed more nonviolent crimes consistently from age 20 to 39. Finally, high PCL-R scorers committed significantly more (nonsexual) violence between and years of age. Figures 1, 2, and 3 show the changing patterns in violent behavior, nonviolent, and nonsexual violent behavior as a function of psychopathy across adulthood. 5 One possibility concerning the dramatic decline in violent offending in high PCL-R scorers after the age of 44 (following a rebound in the late 30s) was that there were none left in the sample (one could surmise that they have a lower longevity than other offenders due to lifestyle or that they were no longer getting caught for offenses). However, we found that there were 34 high scorers (36.6%) remaining in age groups above 44 years compared to 100 low scorers (44.6%). Criminal diversity was calculated by totaling the number of different types of crimes committed according to the various crime categories (although criminal 5 Note that these figures depict the mean number of offenses within each age group ( actual/true offending) and do not necessarily reflect the amount of opportunity time for high and low PCL-R scorers to offend within each age group (even though, overall, we estimated that the groups have similar offending opportunity time over adulthood). Thus, for example, if high scorers have less opportunity in terms of release time to commit offenses during a particular age category the potential discrepancy in offending between the groups could be under-estimated.

9 Psychopathic Behavior Throughout Adulthood 655 Fig. 2. Mean number of nonviolent crimes across the adulthood as a function of PCL-R group. diversity is a PCL-R item we were, of course, interested in possible age changes). As would be expected, high scorers on the PCL-R had committed a wider variety of crimes (M = 6.67, SD = 2.56) than low scorers (M = 4.97, SD = 2.69), t(313) = 5.17, p < A mixed MANOVA with psychopathy group and age as independent variables and criminal diversity as the dependent variable revealed significant effects for both age, F(9, 306) = 77.95, p <.0001, and psychopathy, F(1, 314) = 21.42, p < Univariate analyses indicated that high PCL-R scorers committed more diverse crimes at ages and than their low scoring counterparts. Overall, the pattern of results suggested that all offenders became less diverse over time but that the change is more pronounced for high PCL-R scoring offenders (who were far more diverse to begin with). Proportion of Charges to Convictions With Age To examine whether offenders scoring high on the PCL-R were more likely to avoid convictions (but not necessarily avoiding getting caught) as they got older, the proportion of charges to convictions was calculated for each offender. Across the adult criminal career, the likelihood of conviction among the low and high psychopathy groups did not differ statistically, t(314) = 0.43, p >.05. The proportions of convictions were 70.5 and 72.4% for low and high scorers, respectively. However,

10 656 Porter, Birt, and Boer Fig. 3. Mean number of nonsexual violent crimes across the adulthood as a function of PCL-R group. overall, there was a modest positive correlation between age and likelihood of conviction, r(316) =.12, p <.05. Nevertheless, when the two groups were examined separately, this relationship was no longer statistically significant. Changing Performance on Release Throughout Adulthood The mean number of days spent successfully in the community following a conditional release prior to any release violation, charge, or conviction was calculated across the criminal careers. In total, there was at least one documented conditional release for 124 of the offenders in this sample (51 high PCL-R scorers, 73 low scorers). As expected, there was a significant difference in the mean length of successful time in the community following conditional release among the two groups, t(123) = 2.17, p <.05. High PCL-R scoring offenders spent fewer mean days on successful release (M = 473.4, SD = 536.7) than low scoring offenders (M = , SD = ) across adulthood. Using a continuous score approach, PCL-R scores and mean successful days on conditional release were found to be negatively correlated, r(122) =.23, p <.01. There also were significant negative correlations between mean successful days following a conditional release with each of the following variables: F2 scores, r(122) =.35, p <.001, number of nonviolent crimes, r(122) =.25, p <.01, and number of nonsexual violent crimes committed, r(122) =.28, p <.01.

11 Psychopathic Behavior Throughout Adulthood 657 Fig. 4. Mean number of successful days in the community prior to a crime/violation following conditional release as a function of psychopathy. Of greater interest was the pattern of behavior that high and low PCL-R scorers on conditional release exhibited as a function of age. A Cox regression survival analysis with age as a covariate indicated that age was a significant factor in release performance, χ 2 (1) = 13.10, p <.001. As Fig. 4 indicates, low PCL-R scoring offenders showed significantly better conditional release performance with increasing age, r(6) =.83, p <.05. The release performance of high PCL-R scoring offenders, however, remained poor and even got worse with age, r(6) =.88, p <.05. Additionally, high PCL-R scorers were significantly more likely to have escaped or attempted escape, Fs(1, 315) ranging from 2.36 to 15.54, ps <.05 during the ages of 20 24, 30 34, 35 39, and years. Interestingly, offenders who scored high on the PCL-R were released conditionally more often on average (M = 1.08, SD = 1.26) than low scoring offenders (M = 0.78, SD = 1.26), F(1, 315) = 7.53, p <.01. However, as mentioned, they reoffended more quickly (M = days, SD = 536.6) than other offenders (M = days, SD = 972.8) so it was estimated that high PCL-R scorers had spent similar amounts of time in prison as low scorers over adulthood, F(1, 315) = 1.69, p >.05. DISCUSSION Psychopathy is a personality disorder associated with callous, selfish, and reckless behavior (e.g., Hare, 1993, 1996, 1998), often manifested as the persistent manipulation of others and criminal behavior. The present study provided a snapshot of age-related crime and release performance profiles in a large sample of

12 658 Porter, Birt, and Boer federal offenders as a function of psychopathy. Results indicated that psychopathy was associated with a distinctive evolution of crime and release performance over the adult lifespan. As expected from previous research, high scorers on the PCL-R were far more prolific than their low scoring counterparts, evidenced by nonviolent and violent crime. The findings suggest that both type of crimes committed and performance while on release changed across the criminal career as a function of psychopathy. Clearly, both high and low PCL-R scoring offenders engage in considerably more criminal activity in early adulthood regardless of the type of crime considered. However, high PCL-R scoring offenders committed dramatically more nonviolent crimes in their early adulthood and continued to commit more violent, nonviolent, and nonsexual violent crimes than other offenders for about 30 years. Exploring this observation further, while the nonviolent criminal behavior of high scorers declined after their late 20s (similar to their low scoring counterparts), their violent behavior rebounded in their late 30s (for reasons unknown) and then showed a rapid decline (unlike their counterparts). In fact, the discrepancy between high and low scoring PCL-R offenders in terms of violent offending was greater between the ages of 35 and 39 than in young adulthood. Nonetheless, high scorers showed a dramatic decrease in violent offending after their mid-40s to a level lower than their counterparts despite the fact that there was a similar proportion of high scorers remaining in the sample at older ages. It should be kept in mind, however, that the apparent reduction in criminal behavior in psychopathic offenders at higher ages depicted in our age crime curves cannot yet be interpreted as a clear reduction in criminal propensities because it was not possible to control for differential opportunity in the criminal groups. Whereas we focused on the pattern of criminal behavior, future studies should examine more systematically the reason for the patterns we found. Regardless of their decline in crime (especially nonviolent offending) across adulthood, high PCL-R scoring offenders continued to experience a high degree of problems following release into the community. Overall, they were re-incarcerated at a considerably faster rate following release than low scoring offenders and, whereas the ability of low PCL-R scorers to remain crime-free in the community improved remarkably with age, high PCL-R scorers actually got worse. Although we did not examine specifically why the offenders were being re-incarcerated, it should be noted that Harris et al. (1991) found that the differential risk for violent recidivism (between psychopathic and nonpsychopathic offenders) also widened with age. Notably, in our sample, high scorers also consistently escaped more often from early adulthood until their mid-40s. Some potential limitations in this research should be noted. First, we relied upon official criminal records as our prime source of criminal career data. It is recognized that many criminal offenses go unreported or unsolved raising the possibility that the official criminal records may underestimate offending patterns. Criminal records may also occasionally not represent accurately the nature of the offense committed (for example, in Canada, although infrequent, plea bargaining sometimes results in a sexual assault being recorded as an assault). In addition, criminal records give the date of adjudication, not the date of crime commission. Second, this study was not prospective (although we plan to follow as many offenders in the sample as possible longitudinally). As mentioned earlier the issue of possible circularity has been

13 Psychopathic Behavior Throughout Adulthood 659 raised in concern with the study of the relation between psychopathy and crime. The present study examined changes in crime and release performance associated with age so the issue may not be of direct relevance. Nevertheless, as mentioned earlier, psychopathy is not defined by criminal behavior or release performance and most items on the PCL-R do not reflect criminal behavior directly. In fact, many individual offenders scoring high on the PCL-R within this sample had very few crimes on their record and many low scoring offenders had long, violent histories. In addition, psychopathy is highly reliable over lengthy periods of adulthood (e.g., Rutherford et al., 1999) validating that individual incidents of antisocial behavior do not significantly influence PCL-R scores (in accordance with proper rating recommendations; also see Woodworth & Porter, 2001). Given the cross-sectional nature of the study, another possible limitation is that the older offenders may not be representative of older offenders with high PCL-R scores in general. It is plausible that these offenders could be the most hard-core criminals whereas other high scorers desist at a younger age. On the other hand, it may be that older high scorers in prison are more representative of high scorers in general than incarcerated low scorers (which we suspect is true). Future research could address this issue by examining differences in high scorers who do and do not continue to commit crimes with advancing age. In most published studies of psychopathy and recidivism some high scorers do not recidivate. Further, the results may not necessarily extend to serious offenders in general given that this was a large, diverse group of violent and nonviolent federal offenders, including many sexual offenders or protective custody inmates or both with sentences of at least 2 years. Despite these possible limitations, our findings have important implications for risk assessment and management. Further evidence was obtained that offenders with psychopathic traits pose a high risk for diverse forms of criminal behavior and poor performance following release. Importantly, unlike their low scoring counterparts, increasing age did not reduce high PCL-R scorers risk for problems in the community. Mental health professionals in prison settings may keep in mind that older nonpsychopathic offenders pose a considerably lower threat than do younger nonpsychopathic offenders. However, we found no evidence that older offenders scoring high on the PCL-R were more successful following release than their younger counterparts. Future longitudinal research is needed to carefully delineate changes in all aspects of psychopathic behavior beginning from early childhood, including an examination of changes in performance in the community following incarceration. A more complete understanding of the causes of psychopathy and its criminal manifestations across the entire lifespan may ultimately help prevent or alleviate its serious consequences to victims of crime. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to express appreciation to the Correctional Service of Canada for allowing and helping us to collect the data for this study. Thanks to Mary Ann Campbell, Michael Woodworth, and Hugues Hervé for comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Thanks also to Christine Brimson, Naomi Doucette,

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