The language of the psychopath: characteristics of prisoners' performance in a sentence completion test
Date
2004Author
Endres, JohannISSN
0957-9664Source
Criminal Behaviour & Mental HealthVolume
14Pages
214-226Google Scholar check
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Aim and background: Verbal productions of prisoners were studied as possible correlates of psychopathic personality. Method: A sample of 76 inmates of a German high-security prison were administered a new sentence completion test (SCT). The subjects' verbal responses to 63 sentence cues were coded using 23 content and linguistic categories which had been derived from Loevinger's stage model of ego development. Moreover, the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) was scored for each subject after a clinical interview and a perusal of the prisoner's file. Results: Moderate positive correlations were found between PCL-R scores and cognitive and linguistic characteristics in the SCT (concerns with exerting power and being dominated, use of coarse language and the expression of dysphoric emotions). These characteristics were highly sensitive but not specific to psychopaths. Conclusions: In the context of recent research, verbal patterns are seen, together with interpersonal behaviour patterns and linguistic properties, as valid indicators of psychopathy and might be particularly useful when biographical information is kicking. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)