PSYCHOPATHY AND AXIS-I AND AXIS-II PSYCHIATRIC-DISORDERS IN A FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIC POPULATION IN SWEDEN

The relationship between psychopathy and mental disorders was investig ated in 61 male subjects during a forensic psychiatric examination. Th e Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) and the Structured Clinical In terview for DSM-III-R (SCID) were used for the assessments. Although p sychotic subjects were excluded, the overall psychiatric morbidity in the study population was high. Comorbidity was common, irrespective of the degree of psychopathy. Psychopathy was strongly positively correl ated with substance abuse/dependence but negatively correlated with de pression. Almost all of the subjects with high PCL-R scores had DSM-II I-R antisocial and/or borderline personality disorders. However, some subjects with antisocial personality disorders had medium or low PCL-R scores. When the subjects were reassessed with diagnoses of DSM-IV an d ICD-10 personality disorders, the difference between psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder was reduced.