Psychopathic personality is associated with a myriad
of social and behavioral problems, including
violence, criminal activity, and overall failure to
conform to social standards. In this study,
psychopathic and antisocial personality traits are
measured among a sample of college students via self-
report surveys using questions derived from Hare's
Psychopathic Checklist-Revised (PCL-R, 1991).
Reliability and factor analyses were used to
validate the inventory and create factor-based
indices that were used to predict antisocial
behavioral outcomes including violence, seeking
revenge on persecutors, and suicidal ideation, in
addition to other analogous and deviant behaviors.
Findings showed a relationship between personality
and behavior, indicating that characteristics of
one's personality may aid in the prediction and
prevention of deviant behaviors. Implications for
public policy, including the identification of
traits that may be related to the propensity for
such behaviors, are reviewed in the context of
school shootings such as the incident at Columbine
High School.