\Mama\lab resources\Interviews\Pcl interviews, score sheets, & guidelines\PCL-R\PCL-R rating guidelines2012

Edited on: 02/20/12

PCL-R Rating Guidelines

Item 1: Glibness/Superficial Charm

 If they describe themselves as charming and how they use their charm
 A lot will come from the interpersonal interaction with the interviewer
 Interview Items to look to: IV.-D (charming questions)

Item 2: Grandiose Sense of Self-worth

 “Cockiness”
 If they mention that they help and advise the other inmates or consider themselves more
intelligent then others
 Specific traits, but not globally grandiose=1; global grandiosity=2
 A lot will come from the interpersonal interaction with the interviewer
 If they discussing helping others, or giving a lot of advice to others, seen as a “rescuer”,
wants to counsel others
 Interview Items to look to: II.-H (intelligence) & I, V.-D, & K,
VIII.-C, D, & L

Item 3: Need for Stimulation/Proneness to Boredom

 Use of many types of drugs is a good indicator for us to use. E.g. "I've tried them all"
 If they say they got into crime because they were bored, they are probably 2.
 If they seem to present a theme of boredom in their lives, they are probably a 1 or 1+.
 Sensation seeking/risk taking & boredom both must be fulfilled for a score of 2.
 A 2 requires evidence of both STIMULATION AND BOREDOM
 Interview Items to look to: II.-A (boredom hx), reasons relationships ended, VII.-B, G,
& I, main cause of illegal activity, VIII.-K (types of drugs)

Item 4: Pathological Lying

 A 2 seems to enjoy lying, and will lie about something he/she knows you can easily
check on.
 People lying to avoid getting in trouble, but without enjoyment behind it, are usually1s.
 Factor in participant’s self-description of how good they are at lying.
 Gives/makes outright and outrageously untrue answers/statements
 File/interview discrepancies=1 unless discrepancies are pervasive (e.g. lying about crimes
or family), then they are a 2.
 Interview Items to look to: VIII.-F5, F6 (aliases, fooling people easily and for fun),
K10 (hx of lying and bragging about being good)

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Item 5: Conning/Manipulative
 Use specific questions about having relationships with multiple people, fraudulent
crimes, hustling, conning, soliciting prison staff, etc. to gauge this item.
 Interview Items to look to: IV.-C (manipulation of others via feigned emotions) & D
(items they’ve talked they’re way into or someone out of), VIII.-F6 (hustling, cons
they’ve run), F7, K1 (forgery), & K6 (some cases of sexual coercion)

Item 6: Lack of Remorse or Guilt

 Score of 0 is rare. Repeat offenders are a 1 if they have a record of repeating the same
types of crimes.
 Interview Items to look to: III.-G, VI.-F (response to what multiple relationships was
like), VIII.-A (who is to blame, how they feel), C (sentence fairness), D, E (effects of
crimes for others), I, & L (main failures)

Item 7: Shallow Affect

 Whether they have close friends or not can be helpful as does their description of
relationships with family and significant others.
 Look for shallow responses to the happiest and most depressing moments in their lives.
 Pay attention to their reaction to the question about loss of someone close, e.g. someone
who is hurt/sad/crying vs. someone who is “angry”. A response of “angry” is very
possibly from someone with shallow affect. How did they cope with it? A response of “I
just got over it” is one to look out for.
 Consider poorly processed emotions (e.g. “I got angry when my friend died.” or those
that aren’t genuinely or properly elaborated upon (e.g. “My girlfriend is special because
she does everything for me.”)
 Some signs of Not being Shallow = caring enough to motivate behavior in some way:
-Understand the consequences of their actions
-Help out siblings in a meaningful way
-Lasting relationships
 Interview Items to look to: III.-E, F (family attitudes)G &H, IV.-A, B, C (trust of
friends, emotionality), V.-B (children’s whereabouts), VI.-C, D (intimate relationship
characteristics)

Item 8: Callous/Lack of Empathy

 Good indicators of this is domestic violence (e.g. hitting, choking, or shoving romantic
partners), stealing from friends or family, abusing power relationship, nature of crime,
sex crimes, nature of worst thing ever done in a fight (e.g. continuing to beat someone
who is already down on the ground, stabbing others), abuse of children or those who are
cognitively or physically challenged
 Types of crimes like weapons, sexual, physical violence, etc…
 Interview Items to look to: III.-G, H, IV.-A, B, C (what does emotional mean?), VII.-
I&J, VIII.-A, E, F2 (worst thing in fight, domestic or child abuse), F4 (stolen from
family/friends?), F7 (attitudes about victims of cons), I, K2 & K58 (backside)

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Item 9: Parasitic Lifestyle
 Omit item if the person has never been out on his/her own, unless there is still sufficient
evidence of being parasitic (commonly omitted for 18-20 year olds if have not lived on
their own, but if have lived on own for years, where they are paying the bills or someone
is who is not their parents then do not omit).
 If make more money illegally (i.e. sell drugs)=1
 Interview Items to look to: V.-C (i.e. hustling, only supported by baby momma), VII.-A
(if no jobs), D (making a living without legitimate work), E, F, VIII.-F3 (drug sales,
pimping, etc.), F4, F6 (living off of others, being a “bugaboo”)

Item 10: Poor Behavioral Controls

 Item is meant to tap interpersonal behavior
 Spirit of item is over-reacting in inappropriate ways
 Consider over life-time
 Consider when alcohol is involved
 For Poor Behavioral Control I usually consider if the individual was in a gang and got
into fights as part of the gang (e.g., someone deemed it necessary/peer pressure). This is
because the flight then doesn't seem as much like a trait/internal motivation and more a
environmental one. This might lead me to decrease the severity of the rating (so if
someone had 20 fights but all gang related i might give them a 1 instead of a 2, but I'd be
sure that all were gang related and there was no other evidence).
 Interview Items to look to: II.-B (early fights with teachers), I (fighting with other
inmates), VII.-B (if fired for fighting/arguing with co-workers), VIII.-F2 (including
domestic incidents), G (adult record full of assaults), K4 & K10 (backside)

 For men:
>20 fights since 18y.o. = 2
2-3 batteries = 2

 Fighting against guards or other inmates routinely = 2

 This item is fairly static in men and ratings shouldn’t be lowered solely due to a drop off
in the number of fights he’s had in recent years. You can still ask about this drop in the
interview, for example if they are 40 you can ask how many fights they have been in
during the past 5 years. If there is a big drop off that can be useful for other items (i.e.
callous) but this item should be rated across the lifetime.

 Women:
Physical aggression is not as common in women, but look for them being overly,
extremely, or inappropriately irritable.

Item 11: Promiscuous Sexual Behavior

 If average number of sexual partners > 3, consider bumping up their score from 0 to 1.
 If greater than 10 in one year, consider bumping them up from 1 to 2.

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 Frequency is only ONE factor to consider. Other factors such as early sexual
experiences, age of partners, casual attitude, and variety of sexual practices and
experiences.
 If had a high number of partners in past, have they considerably reduced number of
sexual partners, or has pattern persisted throughout life?
 SEX CRIME is an AUTOMATIC 1
 Sex Assault is just coded as “Sex” for the purposes of versatility
 Interview Items to look to: V.-A (many children with many women), VI.-EG (sexual
variety, number of partners, and fidelity), VIII.-G (sex crimes), K6 (backside)

Item 12: Early Behavior Problems

 Examples of 1s are people who may have skipped school or run away from home, but did
little else in terms of behavior problems. Or (correct if this is wrong) people who got into
lots of minor trouble but were raised in an environment conducive to trouble, such as a
bar.
 Important that these behaviors are 12 and younger
 Donal: my impression was that we do not really weight sub-cultural factors in making
this rating.
 Leah: if mom taught him how to shop-lift & was a drug addict, etc. I lower my rating a
bit, but take his actual crimes into account.
 For Early Behavioral Problems on one level is more about the acts themselves (e.g., did
they do it or not), on another level though the item says that behaviors have to be worse
than most children. It is important to get a sense for the individual's involvement, but I
feel as though if someone commits an act with weapons younger than 12 I'd give a 2,
regardless of environmental context. So, for early behavioral problems I wouldn't
consider environment as much (esp if the acts are callous/extreme in a "normal context").
The point in the addendum is that to first start with the crime (does that warrant a 2 or
1?), then if there are serious environmental factors that are unavoidable (e.g., parent
forcing them to commit crime) then consider lowering it.
 Interview Items to look to: II.-AF (trouble at school, suspensions, expulsions, early
counseling, ADHD), III.-A (getting along with parents, dealing with problems at home),
BD, VI.-E (early sexual activity), VIII.-G (early police contacts), K (early AODA), K
(entire backside <13)

Item 13: Lack of Realistic, Long-Term Goals

 0 = they know the level of their abilities and skills, and plan accordingly. Can give good
examples of the types of jobs they can get, which can be supported by their record.
 If the person has plans for college, but the rater is unsure of he/she is actually capable of
attending college; this is an example of a 1.
 If interviewee says “I’ll be in here forever” and he has a long sentence (i.e. 20 to life),
OMIT this item
 2 = plan to own a business, unrealistic intentions
“I don’t know what I’m going to do”
“Living in a mansion”
“Selling drugs”

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“I can’t really answer that question”
 Interview Items to look to: II.-C (spontaneous responses about educational intentions),
VII.-B (importance of a job), F (response about drifting), K (long-term goals related to
work), VIII.-L (satisfaction with life at the moment, things missing in life, failures?)

Item 14: Impulsivity

 Need variety
 Nothing else occurs to the person when acting; not considering other information
 Interview Items to look to: II.-C&F (quitting school multiple times) VI.-A&B (multiple
short marriages or live-in relationships), VII.-B (why they left jobs, quit without lining up
a new job), G, H, VIII.-B, H (respond: “I don’t think.”), J (main reason for criminal
activity)

Item 15: Irresponsibility

 If they haven’t lived independently, omit the item unless irresponsibility is still shown
(i.e. they get a 2 anyway).
 Need to be delinquent in 2 or more different areas to get a 2.
 If >2, definitely a 2.
 If 2 areas, and severe in both cases, or extremely severe in one of the cases = 2.
 If 2 areas, and low severity in each case= 1.
 Interview Items to look to: II.-F (not finishing degrees), III.-B (not doing what parents
wanted), V.-A (many kids with many women), BE, VII.-A (if no jobs or very spotty
work history), B (absenteeism, AODA at work, fired, quit, short-term employment), D, I
(not paying bills), J, VIII.-F1 (OWI, reckless driving), G (record of reckless crimes or
neglect), K (not taking control of addiction, excessive drug usage)

Item 16: Failure to Accept Responsibility for Own Actions

 Asking if there’s anything they did to make it right can give you some useful info.
 If in the past there was a failure to accept, but now completely accept it, pay attention to
subtle things, work hard to test the boundaries– but if they are indeed completely
accepting now, can give a 1, if on a repeat offense. [In other words, take into account
both past behavior AND current view]
 If this is their 1st offense, and they seem genuinely to be taking responsibility, then a 0
may be given.
 Interview Items to look to: IV.-D (minimizing temper), V.-E (minimizing kids’ needs
not being met), VI.-B (end of relationship), VII.-B (why fired, missing work, etc.), VIII-A
(who is to blame, description of crime, how he feels), C (how case was handled), E, F2
(effects of worst thing in fight or severity of domestic abuse), G (minimizing adult record
or severity of record), I (response to question about saying something to victims “I
don’t have any”), J, K (how much AODA contributed to crime)

Item 17: Many Short-term Marital Relationships

 Count the ones they’re actively living with, not just visiting to sleep over. In other words,
some degree of commitment.

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 Interview Items to look to: VI.-A, B (total number of live-in relationships), VIII.-F6
(living off of others—may provide evidence if they reported no live-in relationships)

Item 18: Juvenile Delinquency

 Be sure to go by age 17 and below.
 Some records may not use the same criteria.
 >=1 major crime = 2 & >=1 minor crime = 1
 Many times have to rely on the interview for info on this item.
 If they’ve spent any time at a juvenile correctional facility (e.g. Ethan Allen [“Wales”] or
Lincoln Hills in Wisconsin)=2
 “History” means if they’ve done it once, there is now a history.
 Interview Items to look to: III.-C (out of home placements for delinquency/crime),
VIII.-G (juvenile record)

Item 19: Revocation of Conditional Release

 Don’t count juvenile revocations
 Remember to omit item for individuals who have had no formal contact with the criminal
justice system as an adult prior to the current offense.
 For a 2, there must be formal (file) recognition of the violations (i.e. new charges,
revoked for violations, re-incarcerated, etc.)
 If violated parole, but no revocation occurred (i.e. ATR) =1
 Minor stuff done multiple times = 1
 Breach of court=1
 Escapeif he has Violations of Parole or is Revoked, add # of VOP/Revocations to the
Escape section in Criminal versatility as well (basically these should count as charges if
they are not listed in the charge section of the PSI or in the interview)
 If the inmate claims they have not been revoked or VOP, BUT have a Bail Jump, this
counts as a 2
 Interview Items to look to: VIII.-A (violations of parole or revocations ever?)

Item 20: Criminal Versatility

 Count all offenses, including adult and juvenile records (if available) OR self report.
 Reckless Endangerment goes under “criminal negligence.”
 Fleeing goes under “obstruction of justice.”
 Disorderly Conduct goes under “miscellaneous.”
 Shooting a gun in public (i.e. into the air) goes under “weapon” & “miscellaneous.”
 Coding an Endangering Safety charge depends on what the crime was (i.e. could be
“criminal negligence” or “weapon.”)
 If a weapon was used, regardless of the type of weapon, during the commission another
crime, it is always double-coded as “weapon” & whatever the other charge was (i.e.
“robbery.”)
 If charged with something like Carrying a Concealed Weapon, then only code as
“weapon.”
 Code crime regardless if convicted or charged. So, even if part of a plea bargain,
dismissed, read-in, found not guilty, it should still be factored into criminal versatility.

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 Code more severe/serious offense (i.e. if initially charged with Battery, but was then pled
down to Disorderly Conduct, code as the more severe charge of Battery.) BUT, don’t
double-code for Battery and Disorderly Conduct.
 When coding Escape, use caution with Failure to Comply with Orders of
Probation/Breach of Probation. Minor violations (i.e. dirty UAs, etc.) should not be
counted as Escape, although they are technically violations of the probation order. All
other items (i.e. Bail Jumping, Failure to Appear, etc.) should be counted as Escape.
 All drug charges are coded under “drugs,” even though the term “narcotic” is used. So, a
charge for possession of marijuana should be treated the same as possession of crack
cocaine—both go under “drugs.”
 SEX ASSAULT= 1 sex (against child=molestation in parenthetical section)
 The categories in the brackets do not count in Criminal versatility, those can be
considered for scoring other items in the PCL-R
 Include fines as well (if the fine is for a “real charge”, e.g. not truancy)
 Interview Items to look to: VIII.-A, G (adult record)
 If the crime involves pornography and touching the child while watching, it should be
coded as a sex crime.
 If the crime involves just showing the child pornography (and does not include touching),
it should be coded as criminal negligence. The courts seem inconsistent in how they are
using this charge (sex crime or child endangerment), so my feeling is that we should read
the history of the crime and decide for ourselves.
 If you do not have a detailed history of what happened during the crime, then assume it is
criminal negligence.