Design and field test of a psychometric instrument for measuring antisocial tendency

In this study, a theory-based psychometric instrument, the Antisocial Personality Trait Inventory (APTI), is evaluated for its ability to differentiate control subjects from an identified prisoner sample based on an estimate of antisocial tendency within each subject. The ability of the APTI to differentiate control subjects from prisoners is compared to the ability of two cognate scales, the Psychopathic Deviant scale (Pd) from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Second Edition (MMPI-2) and the Antisocial Personality Scale from the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory - Third Edition (MCMI-III APS). One hundred and twenty-two control subjects and two hundred and four individuals currently incarcerated in a federal penal facility completed the APTI and the two cognate scales. The results indicate that the APTI was better able to differentiate the control from prisoner sample than either of the two cognate scales and that scores on the MCMI-III APS were unrelated to membership in one sample group or the other. A discussion is offered regarding the possible strengths of the APTI as compared to the cognate scales. An argument is made for the use of theory-based rather than behavior-based inventories in the psychometric measurement of antisocial personality traits.