Gender differences in risk factors for violence: an examination of the predictive validity of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth.

The research literature on predicting violence is particularly lacking in specifying risk factors for violence in adolescent girls. The recently developed Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth [SAVRY; Borum et al., 2006] shows promise as it is empirically derived and incorporates dynamic factors in its assessment of risk. To date, there exists little information attesting to the reliability and validity of the SAVRY, and few investigations of the SAVRY's utility across gender. This study investigated the SAVRY in a sample of 144 high-risk adolescents (80 males and 64 females), focusing on gender discrepancies in the predictive utility of the measure. Results indicate that the SAVRY moderately predicts violent and non-violent reoffending in the entire sample, and also suggest that the SAVRY operates comparably across gender. Although not precluding the existence of gender-specific domains of risk, current results suggest that validated risk factors in boys hold relevance for the prediction of violence and delinquency in girls.

Psychopathy in a noninstitutional sample: differences in primary and secondary subtypes.

Early theoretical conceptualizations suggest psychopathy is a heterogeneous construct whereby psychopathic individuals are found in diverse populations. The current study examined male and female psychopathy subtypes in a large sample of undergraduate students (n = 1229). Model-based cluster analysis of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Short Form (PPI-SF) revealed two clusters in both male and female students. In males, the primary subtype evidenced greater psychopathic personality traits (i.e., Social Potency, Fearlessness, and Impulsive Nonconformity) and lower anxiety (i.e., higher Stress Immunity), whereas the secondary subtype displayed fewer psychopathic personality traits (i.e., Machiavellian Egocentricity and Blame Externalization) and higher anxiety (i.e., lower Stress Immunity). In females, the primary subtype exhibited higher scores across all PPI-SF subscales and lower anxiety whereas the secondary subtype reported lower PPI-SF subscale scores and higher anxiety. Across a diverse array of personality, affective, and behavioral external correlates, differences between the subtypes and with nonpsychopaths emerged. Implications for psychopathy in noninstitutional populations with respect to theory, research, and gender are discussed.

Psychopathic traits in youth: is there evidence for primary and secondary subtypes?

The current study employed model-based cluster analysis in a sample of male adolescent offenders (n = 94) to examine subtypes based on psychopathic traits and anxiety. Using the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth et al. 2003) and the self-report Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD; Caputo et al. 1999), analyses identified three clusters in males that varied in the severity of psychopathic traits (low, moderate, and high) and anxiety. The high psychopathic group exhibited more negative personality traits and was judged to be at greater risk for dangerousness whereas the low psychopathic group exhibited more positive personality traits and was judged to be at lower risk for dangerousness. Implications regarding potential developmental differences between adolescent and adult psychopathy, as well as treatment considerations are discussed.

Memory for committing a crime: effects of arousal, proximity, and gender.

Few researchers have investigated the memories of active participants in an emotionally arousing crime. The present study used a mock crime paradigm to explore participant memories for a low, moderate, or highly arousing event. Forty-seven undergraduate participants committed a "theft" of an exam from a professor's office. Two weeks after the theft, participants completed a cognitive interview, recalled objects from the professor's office, and constructed a map of the route to and from the crime room. Arousal improved reports on a map recall task but no other recall indices. Although there was a general superiority of recall of proximal over distal details, arousal only infrequently interacted with proximity. Some support was found for proximity (spatial-temporal distinction) as a useful proxy for centrality. Future work will benefit from an examination of the overlap between definitions of centrality and proximity with more traditional stimuli.

Short-term stability of psychopathic traits in adolescent offenders.

There is considerable debate about the assessment of psychopathic traits in adolescence due in part to questions regarding the stability of traits. We investigated the 6-month stability of psychopathic traits in a sample of 83 male adolescent offenders using an augmented protocol for the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version and the self-report Antisocial Process Screening Device. Findings suggested moderate to high stability of psychopathic traits, as indexed by total scores, and low to moderate stability of psychopathic traits at the factor level. The interpersonal and behavioral traits demonstrated greater stability relative to the affective traits, and stability varied by developmental stage, with lower stability in early adolescence. Implications for understanding the developmental expression of psychopathic traits in adolescence, as well as for clinical-forensic practice, are discussed.

Youth with psychopathy features are not a discrete class: a taxometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: Recently, researchers have sought to measure psychopathy-like features among youth in hopes of identifying children who may be progressing toward a particularly destructive form of adult pathology. However, it remains unclear whether psychopathy-like personality features among youth are best conceptualized as dimensional (distributed along a continuum) or taxonic (such that youth with psychopathic personality characteristics are qualitatively distinct from non-psychopathic youth). METHODS: This study applied taxometric analyses (MAMBAC, MAXEIG, and L-Mode) to scores from two primary measures of youth psychopathy features: the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (N = 757) and the self-report Antisocial Process Screening Device (N = 489) among delinquent boys. RESULTS: All analyses supported a dimensional structure, indicating that psychopathy features among youth are best understood as existing along a continuum. CONCLUSIONS: Although youth clearly vary in the degree to which they manifest psychopathy-like personality traits, there is no natural, discrete class of young 'psychopaths.' This finding has implications for developmental theory, treatment, assessment strategies, research, and clinical/forensic practice.

Psychopathy and nonverbal indicators of deception in offenders.

The current study examined psychopathy and nonverbal indicators of deception in an incarcerated sample. Nonverbal behaviors were coded from videotapes of 45 male offenders telling true and fabricated stories about crimes. Interpersonal features of psychopathy were associated with inflated views of lying ability, verbosity, and increases in blinking, illustrator use, and speech hesitations. While lying, the more psychopathic offenders spoke faster and demonstrated increases in blinking and head movements. Indicators of deception in offenders were somewhat different from those typically observed in non-offender populations. These findings indicate that personality factors may have an impact on nonverbal indicators of deception in criminal justice settings where the detection of deception is of utmost concern.

Internal consistency reliability of the self-report antisocial process screening device.

The self-report version of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) has become a popular measure for assessing psychopathic features in justice-involved adolescents. However, the internal consistency reliability of its component scales (Narcissism, Callous-Unemotional, and Impulsivity) has been questioned in several studies. This study evaluates the internal consistency reliability of the self-report APSD by examining various indices (e.g., Cronbach's alpha, mean interitem correlation) across 11 studies. Whereas the Narcissism and Impulsivity scales display moderate to good reliability, internal consistency indices for the Callous-Unemotional scale are consistently poor across studies. Suggestions are made for revisions to this scale that would substantially improve its internal consistency reliability.

The validity of the Antisocial Process Screening Device as a self-report measure of psychopathy in adolescent offenders.

There is a growing interest in the assessment of adolescent psychopathy to enable early treatment and intervention. Recently, a self-report measure has been developed to assess psychopathic traits in adolescents. The Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD), a self-report measure of psychopathic traits, and the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), a clinical rating scale, were administered to a sample of 100 incarcerated male adolescent offenders to assess the concurrent validity of the APSD. Results indicated that the APSD had limited concurrent validity with respect to the PCL:YV and that there appears to be a method effect in the measurement of psychopathy. Thus, it appears the APSD did not assess psychopathy in a manner parallel to that of the PCL:YV.