Brief Assessment of the Triarchic Model of Psychopathy: Evaluating the Short TriPM Scales with Exploratory Graph Analysis and Item Response Theory

The Triarchic model, a leading integrative framework for psychopathy, proposes three core traits: boldness, disinhibition, and meanness. Recent work has proposed a short, 15-item form of the 58-item TriPM, a widely used self-report instrument. The present research evaluated the psychometric features of this Short TriPM in a sample of adults (n =1151) using exploratory graph analysis and item response theory. Overall, the Short TriPM had many strengths, including strong support for the three-factor structure, good internal consistency, strong item fit, and essentially no gender-based differential item functioning. Correlations with HEXACO and Dark Tetrad traits in a subset of the sample (n = 530) resembled past findings. Overall, the Short TriPM appears promising for when when survey length is constrained.