More specifically, the authors examined the relationship of psychopathy with treatment compliance and treatment response in female offenders in order to test the validity of the psychopathy concept and the effectiveness of the Hare checklists in accurately identifying mental health symptoms in female offenders. Participants were 404 female offenders who were housed in a maximum-security prison in Maryland. All were enrolled in a substance abuse program as part of a larger study. All participants were administered the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version. Results of Cox regression analysis revealed that psychopathy scores on the PCL-R were associated with poor treatment response in terms of program retention, removal for noncompliance, violent and disruptive rule violations, and avoidance of urinalysis testing. Higher psychopathy scores were consistently related to higher rates of institutional infractions and, once released, fewer incident-free days prior to re-arrest. Overall, psychopathy scores more accurately predicted new charges in the community than the other variables. As such, the authors conclude that the Hare psychopathy checklists can be validly used for the assessment and individual treatment planning of female offenders. Tables, references