PSY328H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Juvenile Delinquency, Impulsivity, Reduced Affect Display
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The pcl r is a 21-item clinical rating scale; each item reflects a different symptom or characteristic of psychopathy. The items are rated on a 3-point scale (0 = item doesn"t apply, 1 = item applies somewhat, The items are summed to yield total scores, ranging from 0 to 42, that reflect the degree to which an individual resembles the prototypical psychopath. Scoring pcl-r items requires clinical judgement and inference, as well as the ability to carry out the task in an objective, professional manner (hare, 1998). A cutoff score of 30 or greater (in some studies 25) is used to diagnose psychopathy. The pcl-r items are scored on the basis of an individual"s functioning over most of the life span. This means that a clinician or researcher who wants to measure change in psychopathic symptomatology during incarceration cannot use the pcl-r.
