Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version

Abstract

The current study examined the psychometric properties (factor structure, reliability and validity) of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth et al., 2003) in Spanish samples of male justice-involved youths between 15 and 22-years old. The PCL:YV was administered to two groups of youths who were incarcerated (n = 62; n = 95) and a sample of youth on probation (n = 122). Confirmatory factor analyses showed acceptable-to-good fit for three- and four-factor models. The four-factor hierarchical model with a second-order higher factor representing the whole psychopathy construct was considered for further analyses. PCL:YV scores showed high internal consistency and inter-rater reliability. Low-to-moderate convergence with other measures of psychopathic traits evinced an adequate convergent validity. Convergent and discriminant validity of the PCL:YV total scores were also confirmed considering several measures of psychopathology and personality traits. Importantly, the differential external correlates of the PCL:YV factors provide support for a multidimensional conceptualization of the psychopathy construct. Altogether, these results reveal adequate psychometric properties of the PCL:YV in Spanish population of justice-involved youths and justifies its use to assess psychopathic traits in this kind of populations.

Prevalence of Dangerousness to the Public, Criminogenic Risk Factors and Psychopathic Traits in Child-to-Parent Offenders and Contrast with Non-Child-to-Parent Offenders

“…Psychopathic traits were assessed with the Spanish adaptation [ 35 ] of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; [ 36 ]) which is, in turn, an adaptation to youngers of the adult version of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; [ 21 ]). The checklist consists of 20 items scored by clinicians (clinical judgments) on a 3-point Likert scale (from 0 = Does not apply at all, 1 = Partially applies, to 2 = Definitely applies) designed to assess psychopathic traits in adolescents (the Spanish adaptation ranges from 14 to 24 years).…”

Adolescent psychopathic traits and adverse environments: Associations with socially adaptive outcomes

“…Psychopathic traits are characterized by interpersonal (e.g., manipulation, grandiosity), affective (e.g., callousness, unemotionality), and behavioral (e.g., impulsivity, sensation seeking) dimensions or facets that collectively form a cohesive superordinate construct that resembles prototypical psychopathy (Ivanova-Serokhvostova et al, 2022;Neumann et al, 2007). Studies often find that the facets differentially correlate with outcomes (Neumann et al, 2007;Ojanen & Findley-Van Nostrand, 2019), although youth who score higher on all facets (i.e., more closely resembling prototypical overall psychopathy) may also present unique societal and mental health challenges (e.g., Andershed et al, 2018;Bégin et al, 2023;Salekin, 2017).…”

Prevalence of Dangerousness to Public, Criminogenic Risk Factors and Psychopathic Traits in Child-to-Parent Offenders and Contrast with Non-Child-to-Parent Offenders

“…Psychopathic traits were assessed with the Spanish adaptation [35] of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; [36]) which is, in turn, an adaptation to youngers of the adult version of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; [21]). The checklist consists of 20 items scored by clinicians (clinical judgments) on a 3-point Likert scale (from 0 = Does not apply at all, 1 = Partially applies, to 2 = Definitely applies) designed to assess psychopathic traits in adolescents (the Spanish adaptation ranges from 14 to 24 years).…”