Evaluating the Construct Validity of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in China

The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) scale is an efficient measure of psychopathy with promising psychometric properties. However, the cross-cultural utility of the LSRP has not been well documented, and no study has explored measurement invariance of the LSRP across East Asian and North American samples. We translated the LSRP into Chinese (Study 1) and investigated the validity and reliability of the Chinese LSRP using a sample of 226 university students in China (Study 2). Confirmatory factor analyses supported Brinkley, Diamond, Magaletta, and Heigel’s (2008) three-factor model (Egocentricity, Callousness, and Antisocial). Evidence for configural and partial metric (but not scalar) invariance of the factor structure was observed when comparing Chinese and U.S. university samples. However, response thresholds were significantly different between the two samples. The Chinese LSRP scores also demonstrated encouraging convergent and discriminate validity in terms of their associations with external criteria. We discuss the implications for cross-cultural assessment of psychopathy.