Assessment of psychopathy in a population of incarcerated adolescent offenders.

Abstract

The reliability, validity, and factor structure of a modified version of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) for adolescents was investigated, completed using file information only, in a sample of incarcerated Black and White male adolescents. Interrater reliability and internal consistency were high, and confirmatory factor analyses and coefficients of congruence showed that the factor structure in this sample resembled the 2-factor solution found in adults. No significant racial differences were found for reliability or mean PCL-R scores. In addition, relationships between PCL-R scores and psychometric measures and behavioral indicators of maladjustment were similar to those previously found in adult populations. The construct of psychopathy, as defined by the PCL-R modified for use with adolescents, appears applicable to both Black and White adolescent male offenders. The study gives evidence for the structural and substantive validity of the modified PCL-R in this population. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) has proven reliable and useful in subgrouping adult offenders who are incarcerated, White, and male. This study examined the usefulness of this instrument with a population of incarcerated Black and White male adolescent offenders. The Criminal Psychopath Although most psychologists, and many lay people, profess to know what psychopathy is, the process of diagnosing psychopathy for clinical and research purposes has been varied (Hare, 1985). Cleckley's seminal work, The Mask of Sanity (1976), considered by many to have captured the essence of psychopathy, has greatly influenced the conceptualizations of clinicians as well as guided much modern research on psychopathy. Cleckley, in narrowing and refining the term psychopathy, described the disorder through a list of specific traits. Hare (1991) developed the revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R), a 20-item diagnostic scale explicitly tied to Cleckley's classic work, as a means of identifying individuals with psychopathy in a criminal offender population. The structural validity of the PCL-R has been established in adult male offenders through studies demonstrating high interrater reliability and high internal consistency (Hare, 1991). Harpur, Hakstian, and Hare (1988) factor analyzed the original PCL (Hare, 1980) and identified an oblique two-factor struc

The relation of psychopathy to concurrent aggression and antisocial behavior in high‐risk adolescent girls and boys

“…Corrado et al, 2004;Forth et al, 2003;Kosson et al, 2002), and are within the same range as mean scores typically seen in samples of incarcerated youth in the U.S. (i.e. 24; Brandt et al, 1997;Forth et al, 2003). For the 13-item, three-factor model, mean total scores ranged from 2 to 25 (M ¼ 14.12, SD ¼ 4.73).…”

“…Psychometric properties of the PCL:YV are similar to the PCL-R and include adequate levels of internal consistency and item homogeneity in samples of adolescent males (alpha range ¼ 0.75-0.89; Brandt, Kennedy, Patrick, & Curtin, 1997;Forth, Hart, & Hare, 1990), as well as good to excellent levels of inter-rater reliability (0.81-0.98; Hume, Kennedy, Patrick, & Partyka, 1996;Toupin et al, 1996). Using intra-class correlation coefficients for a two-way random effects model for absolute groups, the ICC 1 was satisfactory for PCL:YV total score based on file-only training cases (0.87; n ¼ 5).…”

Nipping psychopathy in the bud: an examination of the convergent, predictive, and theoretical utility of the PCL‐YV among adolescent girls

“…Each of the 20 items was scored on a threepoint scale (0 ¼ item doesn't apply, 1 ¼ item applies somewhat, 2 ¼ item definitely applies). Reliability studies have demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency and inter-rater agreement (e.g., r ¼ 0.81 to r ¼ 0.93; see, e.g., Brandt, Wallace, Patrick, & Curtin, 1997;Forth, 1995;Vincent et al, 1999). The ICC 1 for PCL-YV total scores in the current study was 0.89 (C.I.…”

Adolescents auteurs d’agressions sexuelles : aspects étiologiques, diagnostiques et pronostiques

“…Ces prévalences augmentent même lorsque ces adolescents sont pris en charge à la suite du délit sexuel [6]. De même, s'il semble établi que l'abus sexuel peut conduire à des problèmes de comportement sexuel chez les enfants, son rôle étiologique dans la délinquance sexuelle juvénile demeure imprécis [12].…”