Elaborating on the longitudinal measurement invariance and construct validity of the Triarchic psychopathy scales from the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire

Because the construct of psychopathy is of chief interest across different disciplines, spanning developmental, clinical, and forensic psychology, its assessment bears far-reaching implications. One prominent contemporary conceptualization of psychopathy, the Triarchic Model, posits that a psychopathic personality encompasses three phenotypic constructs: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Recently, triarchic scales have been derived based on items from the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), and the psychometric characteristics of this approach (MPQ-triarchic [MPQ-Tri]) are promising. The present study examined the longitudinal measurement invariance and the construct validity of the MPQ-Tri scales in a large and diverse high-risk sample (N = 716) across four time points from age 16–25. First, we report and discuss implications of confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses of the MPQ-Tri scales. Next, we report evidence for longitudinal configural and partial scalar invariance. In addition, in line with previous studies, MPQ-Boldness showed relatively higher levels of rank-order and mean-level stability compared to MPQ-Meanness and Disinhibition. Finally, in terms of construct validity, the MPQ-Tri scales showed a pattern of association with external correlates across internalizing and externalizing domains that were largely in line with theoretical expectations. One partial exception concerned the limited discriminant validity of the MPQ-Meanness and Disinhibition scales. On balance, the present findings suggest that the MPQ-Tri scales fulfill their intended purpose, with some noted limitation, and provide grounds for the use of the MPQ-Tri scales in developmentally-informed studies on the etiology and consequences of psychopathy.