Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD): Further validation of the parent-report version in a nationally representative U.S. sample of 10- to 17-year-olds.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD; Salekin & Hare, 2016) is a new self-report and informant measure designed to assess psychopathic characteristic domains along with symptoms of conduct disorder in youth. Previous factor analytic studies on the PSCD have found that the items are accounted for by a four-factor model reflecting grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms. The present study examined the factor structure, psychometric properties, and criterion-related validity of the parent-report version of the PSCD (PSCD-P) in a nationally representative U.S. sample of children and adolescents (N = 1,091, Mage = 13.39, SD = 2.20, range age = 10-17; 50.0% boys, 76% White). Confirmatory factor analyses for the full (24-item) and a shortened (13-item) PSCD-P revealed good internal reliability estimates and support for the four-factor model (grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, CD). Results also provided evidence for (a) measurement invariance of the PSCD-P items across sex, race/ethnicity, and age of the child; (b) convergent validity with CD/oppositional defiant disorder symptoms and discriminant validity with a measure of neuroticism; and (c) criterion-related validity with respect to prosociality, peer and family functioning, reactive and proactive aggression, delinquency, academic performance, and substance use. The prevalence for psychopathic personality propensity was found to be 2%. We discuss clinical and research implications regarding the use of the parent-report version of the PSCD for school-aged children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder - Parent (PSCD-P): Convergent Validity, Incremental Validity, and Reactions to Unfamiliar Peer Confederates.

Youth who experience psychopathy display multiple impairments across interpersonal (grandiose-manipulative [GM]), affective (callous-unemotional [CU]), lifestyle (daring-impulsive [DI]), and potentially antisocial and behavioral features. Recently, it has been acknowledged that the inclusion of psychopathic features can offer valuable information in relation to the etiology of Conduct Disorder (CD). Yet, prior work largely focuses on the affective component of psychopathy, namely CU. This focus creates uncertainty in the literature on the incremental value of a multicomponent approach to understanding CD-linked domains. Consequently, researchers developed the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD; Salekin & Hare, 2016) as a multicomponent approach to assess GM, CU, and DI features in combination with CD symptoms. The notion of considering the wider set of psychopathic features for CD specification requires testing whether multiple personality dimensions predict domain-relevant criterion outcomes above-and-beyond a CU-based approach. Thus, we tested the psychometric properties of parents' reports on the PSCD (PSCD-P) in a mixed clinical/community sample of 134 adolescents (Mage = 14.49, 66.4% female). Confirmatory factor analyses resulted in a 19-item PSCD-P displaying acceptable reliability estimates and a bifactor solution consisting of GM, CU, DI, and CD factors. Findings supported the incremental validity of scores taken from the PSCD-P across multiple criterion variables, including (a) an established survey measure of parent-adolescent conflict; and (b) trained independent observers' ratings of adolescents' behavioral reactions to laboratory controlled tasks designed to simulate social interactions with unfamiliar peers. These findings have important implications for future research on the PSCD and links to adolescents' interpersonal functioning.