A total score of 10-19 on the PCL-R diagnoses an individual as mildly psychopathic, a score of 20-29 diagnoses them as moderately psychopathic, and a score of 30-40 diagnoses them as severely psychopathic.Īdministering the PCL-R requires appropriate credentials and training. Up to five items on the list may be omitted with the test still being considered reliable. If there is insufficient data to score a particular item on the list, it is omitted. A score of 0 means the item does not apply, 1 means it applies to some extent, and 2 means it applies and there is a good match. Each item on the PCL-R is scored on a scale from 0-2. The PCL-R contains 20 items that rate individuals on their personalities and lifestyles. This test was designed to diagnose unsuccessful, or “failed,” psychopaths and it is important to note that most psychopaths are not detected by the criminal justice system. It has also been validated for assessing psychopathy in females in forensic settings. Robert Hare and his students developed the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) for assessing psychopathy in males in forensic settings.
Hare and the Assessing Psychopathy with the PCL-R workshop offered by Dr.
This information has been compiled from the book, Without Conscience by Dr. An Introduction to the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)
