Understanding the Downward Extension of Psychopathy to Youth: Implications for Risk Assessment and Juvenile Justice

Vitacco, Michael J.; Vincent, Gina M.

doi:10.1080/14999013.2006.10471228

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…It is our contention that one treatment does not fit all; adolescents who commit impulsive aggression will likely require different treatment interventions than adolescents whose violence is highly calculated [Vitacco and Vincent, 2006]. Future research should evaluate which treatments work best for what types of violent adolescents.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…In contrast, 1 Questions have been raised regarding the developmental appropriateness of applying psychopathy to youth [Seagrave and Grisso, 2002]. This criticism is especially salient since little is known regarding the stability of psychopathy from adolescence to adulthood [Vitacco and Vincent, 2006]. Given that adolescence is a time of significant maturation and developmental changes, psychopathy should be considered a fluid construct in adolescence.…”

Section: The Roles Of Callousness and Psychopathy In Understanding VImentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Psychopathy has shown undeniable links to violent and aggressive behavior in both adults and adolescents [Vitacco and Vincent, 2006]. Studies using the most valid and reliable indicator of psychopathic traits, the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version [PCL:YV; Forth et al, 2003] have found it to be strongly related to both general and violent recidivism [e.g., Catchpole and Gretton, 2003;Ridenour et al, 2001].…”

Section: The Roles Of Callousness and Psychopathy In Understanding VImentioning

confidence: 99%

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Psychopathy and behavioral correlates of victim injury in serious juvenile offenders

Vitacco

Caldwell

Rybroek

et al. 2007

Aggressive Behavior

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The study examines delinquent behavior and psychopathy and assesses their relationship to victim injury in a population of 168 incarcerated juvenile delinquent males with lengthy histories of criminal and violent behavior. A series of multiple regressions found that 17% of the variance associated with level of victim injury was accounted for by a model that included the three-factor model of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version [Forth, Kosson, and Hare, 2003], criminal versatility, and age of onset of criminal offending. Notably, anger and DSM-IV symptoms of conduct disorder were not related to level of victim injury. The results of this study support an escalation hypothesis where individuals with earlier onset to criminal behavior and greater criminal versatility escalate to more severe violence. The current results demonstrate the importance of integrating established theories of juvenile delinquency when explaining severe violence in youth.

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Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: The Roles Of Callousness and Psychopathy In Understanding VImentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: The Roles Of Callousness and Psychopathy In Understanding VImentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Psychopathy and behavioral correlates of victim injury in serious juvenile offenders

Vitacco

Caldwell

Rybroek

et al. 2007

Aggressive Behavior

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“…short-term risk for violence; e.g. Vitacco & Vincent, 2006), others appear to discourage youth psychopathy assessment outside of research contexts (e.g. Edens et al, 2001), at least pending more supportive research data.…”

Section: Youth Psychopathy In Legal Contextsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Describing, diagnosing, and naming psychopathy: how do youth psychopathy labels influence jurors?

Boccaccini

Murrie

Clark

et al. 2008

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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Previous studies have reached opposing conclusions regarding how psychopathy assessment influences the court's response to a juvenile defendant. This study sought to clarify the apparent discrepancies across studies by distinguishing among three key variables: history of antisocial behavior (substantial versus minimal), psychopathic personality traits (present versus absent), and diagnostic label (no diagnosis, conduct disorder, psychopathy, or "is a psychopath"). We systematically manipulated these variables in vignettes describing expert testimony, and then distributed these vignettes to 891 jury-pool members. Descriptions of the antisocial behavior and psychopathic personality traits underlying diagnoses tended to have stronger effects than did the diagnostic labels (i.e. psychopathy or conduct disorder). However, labeling juvenile defendants with the colloquial term "psychopath" led jurors to believe that they posed greater risk for future crime and deserved greater punishment compared with juveniles described as meeting diagnostic criteria for psychopathy or conduct disorder. Results should influence the language forensic evaluators use in practice. Results should also inform research that investigates diagnostic labeling effects.

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“…One potential answer to this question would be to conduct a general assessment of violence potential and expand the data and subsequent opinion to sexual violence. Risk assessment with youth is complicated by the significant development and maturation that occurs during that time of life (Steinberg, 2007;Vitacco & Vincent, 2006). Despite these challenges, empirically-based predictors for violent behavior have been identified.…”

Section: Can Clinicians Employing a General Risk Assessment Approach mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing risk in adolescent sexual offenders: recommendations for clinical practice

Vitacco

Caldwell

Ryba

et al. 2009

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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Accurately predicting the likelihood that an adolescent with a sex offense history will reoffend is a precarious task that carries with it the potential for extreme consequences for the adolescent offender (e.g., lifelong public registration). Recently implemented laws regarding adolescent sex offenders are dramatically upstream of current knowledge. Several of these laws were ostensibly based on the misassumption that clinicians could accurately identify adolescents at the greatest risk for sexual recidivism. However, predicting which adolescents are at greatest risk to sexually recidivate is severely constrained by limited knowledge about which predictors are most accurately linked to sexual recidivism and uncertainty over how to best make use of instruments designed to predict recidivism. This paper reviews research on risk assessment and provides a set of recommendations for conducting risk assessments with adolescent sex offenders.

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Understanding the Downward Extension of Psychopathy to Youth: Implications for Risk Assessment and Juvenile Justice

Cited by 31 publications

References 59 publications

Psychopathy and behavioral correlates of victim injury in serious juvenile offenders

Psychopathy and behavioral correlates of victim injury in serious juvenile offenders

Describing, diagnosing, and naming psychopathy: how do youth psychopathy labels influence jurors?

Assessing risk in adolescent sexual offenders: recommendations for clinical practice

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