“A Psychopath by Any Other Name?”: Juror Perceptions of the DSM-5 “Limited Prosocial Emotions” Specifier

Abstract

DSM-5 recently added the specifier "Limited Prosocial Emotions" (LPE) to the Conduct Disorder (CD) diagnosis, yet little is known about how these traits will affect attitudes toward CD youth. Laypersons attending jury duty (N = 326) were randomly assigned to one of four case vignette conditions in which a male juvenile offender was identified as having (a) CD symptoms only, (b) CD symptoms plus a diagnostic label, (c) CD symptoms plus a diagnostic label and description of LPE traits, or (d) CD symptoms plus a description of LPE traits and a "psychopath" label. LPE traits led to more negative perceptions of the youth (e.g., more dangerous, evil, and psychopathic) and adding the psychopath label to the LPE specifier resulted in somewhat stronger support for punishment and mandated treatment. The LPE specifier may provide useful diagnostic information, but these findings raise serious concerns that it will stigmatize youth in the legal system.

Dangerous, depraved, and death‐worthy: A meta‐analysis of the correlates of perceived psychopathy in jury simulation studies

“…The differential implications of describing a defendant with psychopathic traits, a label of psychopathy, or a combination of both has been discussed at length in the literature focusing on experimental designs (e.g., Boccaccini et al, ; Filone, Strohmaier, Murphy, & DeMatteo, ; Murrie et al, ); however, the studies included in this review typically described the defendant using the psychopathy label and traits together, or intentionally omitted information about personality and mental health status. A few included studies using an experimental design contained conditions in which only psychopathic traits were ascribed to the defendant (e.g., Edens, Guy, & Fernandez, ; Edens, Mowle, Clark, & Magyar, ). We provide preliminary evidence based on comparisons of predictor variable rating methods that perceptions of global psychopathy and specific psychopathic traits have generally comparable effects; however, future research using experimental conditions that isolate the effect of psychopathic traits and the diagnostic label are needed before conclusions can be drawn about how the communication of psychopathy evidence influences perceptions of psychopathy or moderates their effect on criterion measures.…”

The DSM-5 with Limited Prosocial Emotions Specifier for Conduct Disorder: a Systematic Literature Review

“…First, findings that approximately 50% of CD youth meet criteria for the DSM-5 specifier are difficult to converge with the idea that this subtyping scheme delineates a small subgroup of youth with CD. Second, there is evidence that CD + LPE youth may be perceived more negatively than CD Only youth (Edens et al 2017). Therefore, the concern that too many youth with CD are diagnosed with the DSM-5 LPE specifier is particularly salient, though it must be noted that this stigmatizing effect has not yet been replicated (Prasad and Kimonis 2018).…”

Development and Initial Validation of an Inconsistent Responding Scale for the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory

“…Similarly, random responding on the Egocentricity subscale of the Antisocial Features scale of the Personality Assessment Inventory-Adolescent (Morey, 2007) produces an average T-score of approximately 65. Because psychopathy assessments could adversely impact decision-making for juveniles in the legal system (e.g., Boccaccini, Murrie, Clark, & Cornell, 2008;Edens, Guy, & Fernandez, 2003;Edens, Mowle, Clark, & Magyar, 2017), careless responding could lead to inappropriate conclusions regarding the presence of psychopathic traits. Erroneous evidence of psychopathic traits could foster unwarranted legal consequences, such as waiver into the adult court system or denial of treatment services (Viljoen, McLachlan, & Vincent, 2010).…”