Abstract
This research examined psychopathy as a factor in murders committed by female offenders, in comparison to male offenders. Research was focused on the theory that psychopathy played a role in these murders committed by females, at the same rate as in males. The original sample was selected from murderers serving twenty years or more in American prisons. These offenders were then given the PCL-R, which were scored. The final sample size was selected by randomly choosing participants from each sub-category once everyone had been tested. The sub-categories included female psychopaths and non-psychopaths, as well as male psychopaths and non-psychopaths. They included fifty non-psychopaths, balanced among genders, as well as fifty total offenders that were positive for psychopathy; they were also
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These offenders were serving twenty years or more in an American prison. Subjects had to have served at minimum one year in prison. They also could not have been diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder in in the last five years, and they could not be on any psychoactive drugs, whether prescription or recreationally. The sample size was narrowed down once the participants were given the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Once being narrowed down, the sample size included 25 psychopathic males, 25 non-psychopathic males, 25 psychopathic females, and 25 non-psychopathic females.
Measure
The offenders were individually interviewed in a quiet room, and given the PCL-R. The PCL-R is an interview that consists of twenty questions related to traits of psychopathy. Each question is scored from zero to two, and the points from each question are added up. The subjects are then given a score, up to forty. A score of thirty or higher determines that the participant is psychopathic.
Design
This factorial study looks at the impact of psychopathy on both male and