2026-06-08T04:38:08Zhttps://docta.ucm.es/rest/oai/request
oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/84782023-08-25T19:09:44Zcom_20.500.14352_14col_20.500.14352_15
Docta Complutense author Sanz García, Ana author Gesteira Santos, Clara author Sanz Fernández, Jesús author García Vera, María Paz 2023-06-17T09:15:10Z 2023-06-17T09:15:10Z 2021 1664-1078 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661044 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8478 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661044 The main objective of this study was to systematically and meta-analytically review the scientific literature on the prevalence of psychopathy in the general adult population. A search in PsycInfo, MEDLINE, and PSICODOC identified 15 studies published as of June 2021. Altogether, 16 samples of adults totaling 11,497 people were evaluated. Joint prevalence rates were calculated using reverse variance heterogeneity models. Meta-regression analyses were conducted to examine whether the type of instrument, sex, type of sample, and country influenced prevalence. The meta-analytical results obtained allow us to estimate the prevalence rate of psychopathy in the general adult population at 4.5%. That being said, this rate varies depending on the participants' sex (higher in males), the type of sample from the general population (higher in samples from organizations than in community samples or university students), and the type of instrument used to define psychopathy. In fact, using the PCL-R, which is currently considered the “gold standard” for the assessment and definition of psychopathy, the prevalence is only 1.2%. These results are discussed in the context of the different theoretical perspectives and the existing problems when it comes to defining the construct of psychopathy. eng Prevalence of Psychopathy in the General Adult Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis journal article URL https://docta.ucm.es/bitstreams/d2b82b0c-e50c-4c15-afe3-ac76504ca36e/download File MD5 175189d8e849003dc4b6f52a98092443 1844909 application/pdf fpsyg-12-661044.pdf URL https://docta.ucm.es/bitstreams/f0c5cb26-fedd-4a88-9b11-055e3605bb44/download File MD5 4da80ed8ba4bf3d890d01e83d4067b78 80014 text/plain fpsyg-12-661044.pdf.txt