No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version in Spanish Adolescents—Factor Structure, Reliability, and Relation with Aggression, Bullying, and Cyber Bullying
Abstract
The main aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish adaptation of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S) which assesses the interpersonal, affective and behavioral dimensions of psychopathy. The factor structure, reliability of the scale and subscales and their relationships with proactive and reactive aggression, bullying and cyberbullying were evaluated. A total of 993 adolescents (58.9 % girls) between the ages of 14 and 18 completed the YPI-S along with the aggression measures. The internal consistency of the total and the three subscales was good. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three factor structure which was invariant for boys and girls. At a correlational level the three factors were related to all aggressive measures, however different patterns emerged in regression analyses. Finally, a triple interaction between the three factors was the best predictor of proactive aggression. In conclusion, the results of this study show that the Spanish YPI-S is a reliable, valid, and time effective instrument to assess psychopathic traits.
... Colins et al. (2012) confirmed the proposed three-factor model of the YPI-S with youth community samples in Belgium, although Item 1 did not reach the minimum factor loading (i.e., .30). The same results were replicated with the emerging general population of adults in Sweden (Colins & Andershed, 2015) and with school-attending community samples in Spain (Orue & Andershed, 2015) and Italy (Fossati et al., 2016). Furthermore, in a study with adolescents in Ghana (Adjorlolo & Watt, 2017), while the same three-factor model was replicated, five items were removed from the tool (one item from affective domain, two items from behavioral domain, and two items from interpersonal dimension). ...
... Overall, the internal consistency of the YPI-S total score and dimensions were in the moderate to good range in the community (e.g., Colins & Andershed, 2015;Fossati et al., 2016;Orue & Andershed, 2015;van Baardewijk et al., 2010) and forensic Pechorro et al., 2017) samples. In support of the convergent validity of the YPI-S total score and dimensions, they were associated with narcissism, empathy, attentiondeficit/hyperactivity, impulsivity problems (e.g., van Baardewijk et al., 2010), conduct problems, self-reported offending, aggression, and delinquency (e.g., Colins & Andershed, 2015;Colins et al., 2012;Orue & Andershed, 2015). ...
... Overall, the internal consistency of the YPI-S total score and dimensions were in the moderate to good range in the community (e.g., Colins & Andershed, 2015;Fossati et al., 2016;Orue & Andershed, 2015;van Baardewijk et al., 2010) and forensic Pechorro et al., 2017) samples. In support of the convergent validity of the YPI-S total score and dimensions, they were associated with narcissism, empathy, attentiondeficit/hyperactivity, impulsivity problems (e.g., van Baardewijk et al., 2010), conduct problems, self-reported offending, aggression, and delinquency (e.g., Colins & Andershed, 2015;Colins et al., 2012;Orue & Andershed, 2015). YPI-S scores were also Psychometric evaluation of Persian YPI-S correlated with other measures assessing the psychopathy construct, such as the Antisocial Process Screening Device-Self Report (APSD-SR), the Self-Report of Delinquency Scale total score, and the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire Fossati et al., 2016). ...
Studies on psychopathy construct are mostly limited to Western cultures, and there is a lack of research on this area in non-Western countries, specifically in Iran. The present study aimed to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity of the Persian version of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory – Short Version (YPI-S) with a sample of 668 school-attending adolescents in Iran (46% girls; M age = 16.35). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed three-factor model. While the internal consistency of some YPI-S scores was unsatisfactory, the YPI-S scores showed the expected relations with external correlates (e.g., aggression, hyperactivity), supporting the validity of YPI-S scores. Our results supported the YPI-S for assessing psychopathic traits in Iranian adolescents. The modification of YPI-S factor structure, low factor loadings of some YPI-S items, and the inadequate internal consistency of some YPI-S dimensions indicate cultural influences on the assessment of cross-cultural traits.
... In recent years, in addition to Sweden, the YPI-S has been validated in Belgium [16,18], China [62], Ghana [1], Italy [27], Portugal [48,50], Spain [47], the Netherlands [58] and the United States [30]. In line with the YPI, a similar three-factor structure was found for the YPI-S (although there are also some indications for a bi-factor model, including a fourth general psychopathic traits factor [i.e., the total score], [62], a point of discussion that is also occasionally raised with the YPI [41,[62][63][64]). ...
... In addition, the number of studies investigating measurement invariance (MI) of the YPI-S across gender is still limited to date, although MI should be established to in order to meaningfully compare the observed test results between different groups [61]. The three-factor model of the YPI-S was found to show MI [17,47] or partial MI [49] in general population youths. MI was also given for the bi-factorial model of the YPI-S [62]. ...
... Given the MI in the current study, the results of boys and girls may be compared and girls actually seem to have lower scores on psychopathic traits (except for II) as measured with the YPI-S than boys. Furthermore, the previously described three-factor structure ( [1,16,18,27,30,47,48]; Pechorro, da Silva, et al., 2017; Pechorro, Gonçalves, et al., 2017 [59];), and generally marginal to good internal consistency [16,18,27,[47][48][49][50]59] were found. Results regarding the concurrent validity were less consistent. ...
Background
The aim of the current study is to examine the psychometric properties of the German Version of the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S).
Methods
A sample of 856 adolescents (age: 15–19) from the German-speaking part of Switzerland was included. All participants completed the 50-item YPI, of which we derived the 18 items of the YPI-S. Furthermore, participants completed the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version-2 (MAYSI-2), as well a self-report delinquency questionnaire.
Results
We were able to replicate a three-factor structure and found moderate to good internal consistency for the total score as well as for the three dimensions of the YPI-S. Measurement invariance across gender was established. Furthermore, we found positive small to medium correlations with both internalizing and externalizing mental health problems, substance abuse problems, and offending behavior.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that the German version of the YPI-S is a reliable and valid screening instrument for psychopathic traits in both boys and girls from the general population in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
... Therefore, it is of theoretical and practical importance to explore those factors that may contribute to an increase or decrease in youth cyberbullying perpetration. Callousunemotional traits, as a risk factor, can significantly predict more adolescents' cyberbullying (Fanti, Demetriou & Hawa, 2012;Orue & Andershed, 2015;Orue & Calvete, 2019;Wright, Harper & Wachs, 2019), much less is known about whether and how callous-unemotional traits increase the risk of college students' cyberbullying perpetration. Thus, the aims of the present study were to explore whether callousunemotional traits could significantly predict cyberbullying perpetration in Chinese college students and extend previous studies by examining the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms in this association. ...
... Two meta-analyses indicated CU traits were significantly and positively associated with bullying behaviors (van Geel, Toprak, Goemans, Zwaanswijk & Vedder, 2017;Zych, Ttofi & Farrington, 2019). In the digital era, numerous cross-sectional studies have also shown that CU traits are significantly and positively associated with adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration (Orue & Andershed, 2015;Orue & Calvete, 2019;Wright et al., 2019). Most importantly, results from the longitudinal study show that CU traits significantly predict adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration one year later, even after controlling for baseline cyberbullying perpetration (Fanti et al., 2012). ...
... Although the effect of CU traits on adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration has accumulated considerable empirical support (Fanti et al., 2012;Orue & Andershed, 2015;Orue & Calvete, 2019;Wright et al., 2019), the underlying mediation and moderation mechanisms are less clear. Thus, we formulated a moderated mediation model to test how CU traits work and whether all individuals are equally influenced by CU traits. ...
Although callous-unemotional traits have been shown to play an important role in cyberbullying perpetration, little is known about mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. In the present study, we examined the mediating role of moral disengagement in the association between callous-unemotional traits and cyberbullying perpetration and the moderating role of empathy. Six hundred and fifty Chinese college students completed the measures of callous-unemotional traits, moral disengagement, cyberbullying perpetration, and empathy. The results indicated that callous-unemotional traits were significantly and positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration, and moral disengagement partially mediated this relationship. Moderated mediation analysis further indicated that empathy moderated the relationship between callous-unemotional traits and moral disengagement as well as moral disengagement and cyberbullying perpetration. These two relationships became weaker for college students with higher levels of empathy. Results highlight the significance of identifying the mechanisms that moderate the mediated paths between callous-unemotional traits and college student cyberbullying perpetration.
... This trait is related to the apparent presence of anhedonia (Essau, Sasagawa, & Frick, 2006;Herpers, Rommelse, Bons, Buitelaar, & Scheepers, 2012). Research has shown that these callousunemotional traits are related to proactive aggression in general (Orue, Calvete, & Gámez-Guadix, 2016) as well as to bullying and cyberbullying (Ciucci, Baroncelli, Franchi, Golmaryami, & Frick, 2014;Fanti, 2013;Orue & Andershed, 2015). In fact, when the relationship between cyberbullying and each of the features of psychopathy has been studied independently, callousunemotional traits are the ones that have presented a closer relationship (Salekin & Frick, 2005;Vinet, 2010). ...
... People with these traits tend to presume that others envy them, and they present arrogant behaviors and attitudes. This feature of grandiosity has also been shown to be related to aggressive behaviors in adolescents as well as to behaviors of bullying (Fanti, Demetriou, & Hawa, 2012;Orue & Andershed, 2015), which is consistent with the notion that bullying is characterized by the aggressor's desire to obtain high status and a powerful position inside the peer group (Salmivalli, 2010). ...
... More recently, Fanti, Kyranides, Lordos, Colins, and Andershed (2018) found that in predicting conduct disorder symptoms, the combination of high initial levels of conduct disorder symptoms and CU traits as well as the combination of conduct disorder symptoms, grandiosity, and impulsivity can lead to clinical levels of future conduct disorder symptoms. In reference to cyberbullying behavior, Orue and Andershed (2015) found in a cross-sectional study that the interaction between grandiosity and callousunemotional traits significantly predicted cyberbullying behaviors. ...
... Thus, the combination of high levels on all dimensions of psychopathy should be expected to be highly associated with problem behavior, more so than the individual factors. However, the available evidence about this interaction effect between the three psychopathic traits is scarce (Orue and Andershed 2015;Salekin 2016b). To our knowledge, only a few studies (Colins et al. 2014a Orue andAndershed 2015) have been specifically designed to evaluate the presence of significant interaction effects among the psychopathy dimensions of GM, CU, and II traits in youth. ...
... However, the available evidence about this interaction effect between the three psychopathic traits is scarce (Orue and Andershed 2015;Salekin 2016b). To our knowledge, only a few studies (Colins et al. 2014a Orue andAndershed 2015) have been specifically designed to evaluate the presence of significant interaction effects among the psychopathy dimensions of GM, CU, and II traits in youth. Colins et al. (2014a) examined three-way interaction in a Swedish general population sample of 2,056 3-to5-year-old children. ...
... Using an observer-rated analogue of the YPI (i.e., the Child Problematic Traits Inventory; CPTI), Colins et al. (2014a) found evidence that the three-way interaction among GM, CU, and II dimensions was a strong predictor of concurrent conduct problems, suggesting the usefulness of the traits in terms of nomological network validity. Moreover, Orue and Andershed (2015) examined interaction effects in a sample of high school students, and showed that the interaction between the three factors of psychopathy was the best predictor of proactive aggression. ...
The aim of the present study was to investigate if interaction effects among Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) Grandiose-Manipulative (GM), Callous-Unemotional (CU), and Impulsive-Irresponsible (II) may add significant information in predicting self-reports of juvenile delinquent behavior among adolescents. A sample of 558 Italian high school students were administered the YPI and the Self-Reports of Delinquency Scale (SRDS) in order to evaluate interaction effects among YPI GM, CU, and II dimensions. Results showed a significant effect for a three-way interaction among the three YPI dimensions in predicting the SRDS total score, β = .19, p < .01. In conclusion, the findings seem to underline that a three-factor model of psychopathy may help clinicians and researchers in predicting self-reported delinquency better than the individual factors.
... The YPI-S, made of 18 items, comprised the same three dimensions of the original YPI (Callous-Unemotional, Grandiose-Manipulative, and Impulsive-Irresponsible), which are based on Cooke and Michie's three-factor conceptualization of psychopathy (Cooke and Michie 2001). The YPI-S has proven to be an economic, valid, and reliable three-factor measure aiming to assess psychopathic traits in boys and girls both from community and forensic settings (Colins and Andershed 2015;Colins et al. 2012;Fossati et al. 2015;Orue and Andershed 2015;Pechorro et al. 2015a;van Baardewijk et al. 2010). ...
... Measurement invariance will allow trustworthy comparisons between groups, avoiding biased inferences (Millsap and Olivera-Aguilar 2012). To our knowledge, just one existing study tested the measurement invariance of the YPI-S in youth, uniquely across gender, with results supporting an invariant threefactor structure for Spanish boys and girls from the community (Orue and Andershed 2015). ...
... The YPI-S has shown to be highly correlated with the original YPI (e.g., Pechorro et al. 2015a;van Baardewijk et al. 2010). Moderate to high correlations between the YPI-S total score and its dimensions have also been demonstrated in previous research (e.g., Colins et al. 2012;Fossati et al. 2015;Orue and Andershed 2015;Pechorro et al. 2017a;van Baardewijk et al. 2010). ...
This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory - Short version (YPI-S) among a mixed-gender sample of 782 Portuguese youth (M=15.87 years; SD=1.72) collected in a school context. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis offered support for the expected 3-factor structure. Partial cross-gender measurement invariance and cross-sample measurement invariance of the YPI-S using a forensic sample of institutionalized males was established. The Portuguese version of the YPI-S showed adequate psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency, mean inter-item correlation, corrected item-total correlation, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. In support for criterion-related validity, the YPI-S also showed statistically significant associations with self-reported conduct disorder symptoms, alcohol abuse, and drug use. In terms of known-groups validity, males from the school sample scored lower than males from the forensic sample and higher than females from the school sample. The YPI-S seems to be a valuable brief and psychometrically reliable and valid self-report measure, which can be used to assess psychopathic traits in diverse samples of youth.
... Several previous studies have shown that bullies also exhibit some psychopathic traits. Namely, the interpersonal dimension of psychopathy (i.e., callous-unemotional traits) has been the most studied dimension, and several studies have shown it to be cross-sectionally related to both traditional bullying Fanti, Frick, & Georgiou, 2009;Fanti & Kimonis, 2013;Muñoz, Qualter, & Padgett, 2011;Thornton, Frick, Crapanzano, & Terranova, 2013;Viding, Simmonds, Petrides, & Frederickson, 2009) and cyberbullying (Ciucci, Baroncelli, Franchi, Golmaryami, & Frick, 2014;Fanti, 2013;Fanti, Demetriou, & Hawa, 2012;Orue & Andershed, 2015) among adolescents. ...
... Although few studies have analyzed the role of the other two dimensions (grandiose-manipulative and impulsive-irresponsible) in adolescents' bullying behavior, they appear to confer greater risk for engaging in bullying. For example, some previous studies have shown that the behavioral dimension of psychopathy, which includes impulsive and irresponsible behavior, is crosssectionally related to traditional bullying and cyberbullying (Orue & Andershed, 2015). This is consistent with the impulsivity that often characterizes traditional bullying (e.g., Low & Espelage, 2014) and cyberbullying (e.g., Gámez-Guadix, Villa-George, & Calvete, 2014). ...
... This is consistent with the impulsivity that often characterizes traditional bullying (e.g., Low & Espelage, 2014) and cyberbullying (e.g., Gámez-Guadix, Villa-George, & Calvete, 2014). Finally, the grandiosemanipulative dimension has also been cross-sectionally linked to traditional bullying and cyberbullying (Orue & Andershed, 2015;Stellwagen & Kerig, 2013), which is consistent with the idea that bullying behavior is motivated by the bully's desire to attain high status and a powerful, dominant position in his or her peer group (Salmivalli, 2010). ...
The aim of this study was to test a model in which psychopathic traits (callous-unemotional, grandiose-manipulative, and impulsive-irresponsible) and moral disengagement individually and interactively predict two types of bullying (traditional and cyberbullying) in a community sample of adolescents. A total of 765 adolescents (464 girls and 301 boys) completed measures of moral disengagement and psychopathic traits at Time 1, and measures of bullying and cyberbullying at Time 1 and 1 year later, at Time 2. The results showed that callous-unemotional traits predicted both traditional bullying and cyberbullying, grandiose-manipulative and impulsive-irresponsible traits only predicted traditional bullying, and moral disengagement only predicted cyberbullying. Callous-Unemotional Traits × Moral Disengagement and Grandiose-Manipulative × Moral Disengagement were significantly correlated with the residual change in cyberbullying. Callous-unemotional traits were positively related to cyberbullying at high levels of moral disengagement but not when moral disengagement was low. In contrast, grandiose-manipulative traits were positively related to cyberbullying at low levels of moral disengagement but not when moral disengagement was high. These findings have implications for both prevention and intervention. Integrative approaches that promote moral growth are needed, including a deeper understanding of why bullying is morally wrong and ways to stimulate personality traits that counteract psychopathic traits.
... The short version of the Youth Psychopathic Inventory (YPI-Short) (Orue & Andershed, 2015) was included to assess participants' psychopathic traits and consists of 18 self-report items. The dimensions measured in this questionnaire include grandiosity-manipulation, or the interpersonal dimension, callous-unemotional, or the affective dimension, and impulsive-irresponsible, or the behavioral future dimension. ...
... The 18 items in the questionnaire were scored on a 4-point Likert scale (Not applicable/Strongly applicable). The questionnaire has demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, both in other studies (α ≥ 0.68) (Orue & Andershed, 2015) and in the present study (α = 0.80). ...
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been frequently associated with the presence of psychopathic traits and low levels of altruism. However, there are psychological factors such as coping strategies and demographic variables (sex and socioeconomic status) that can also influence psychopathic and altruistic traits. This study explored the impact of ACEs on psychopathic and altruistic traits, considering participants’ coping strategies, in an underexplored population. A total of 420 young Spanish adults (18–20 years old, M = 18.92; SD = 0.77) completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, the Youth Psychopathic Inventory, the Altruistic Scale, and the Brief Coping Scale. Linear regression and comparative qualitative (fsQCA models) analyses indicated that total ACEs and avoidant emotion-focused coping (especially among males) were associated with higher psychopathic traits. Conversely, total ACEs and problem-focused coping (particularly among females) were linked to altruism. FsQCA models extended these findings, incorporating high SES to these previous profiles when predicting psychopathy and altruism. Thus, it is crucial to promote secure environments in childhood that facilitate the development of adaptive coping strategies. These strategies can mitigate the long-term effects of ACEs, reducing the likelihood of developing psychopathic traits while simultaneously increasing altruism.
... Our findings confirm the utility of the YPI-S for assessing self-reported psychopathic traits in emerging adulthood in line with the three-factor model of psychopathic personality (Cooke & Michie, 2001), while demonstrating the psychometric qualities and the validity of the French version of the YPI-S. First, CFA supported a three-factor structure in the total sample and among both men and women separately, which is in line to prior YPI-S studies conducted among adolescents (e.g., Colins, Noom et al., 2012;Orue & Andershed, 2015), and adults . Second, YPI-S scores as indexed by MIC were internally consistent to a satisfactory extent -on the other hand, the internal consistency of the Behavioral dimension appears problematic when we refer to ␣. ...
... Thus, combined with prior YPI-S work, the finding of the current study corroborate the idea that the YPI-S may be used in longitudinal studies seeking to measure psychopathic traits across different developmental periods without modification in format (i.e., self-report), factor structure (i.e., threefactors), and items (i.e., the same 18 items can be used in adolescents and adults, and 17 of these 18 items are incorporated in the childhood version of the YPI-S: the Child Problematic Trait Inventory; see . Our results also provide additional evidence in favor of the transcultural validity of the YPI-S and are therefore in line with previous studies showing its usefulness and reliability among adolescent from other countries (e.g., Orue & Andershed, 2015;Pechorro et al., 2017). However, it remains to verify whether the YPI-S factor structure is invariant on the one hand across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and on the other hand across countries. ...
Introduction
The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) is one of the most commonly used scales for measuring psychopathic traits from childhood to adulthood.
Objective
The aim of the current research was to scrutinize the psychometric properties of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S) translated into French.
Method
The factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity of YPI-S scores were examined in a sample of 757 emerging adults from the general population in France (aged 18–20 years; 54.43% women).
Results
Results of confirmatory factor analyses support the proposed 3-factor structure (observed in children and adolescents) among both men and women. The YPI-S total score and the 3 factor (Grandiose-Manipulative, Callous-Unemotional, and Impulsive-Irresponsible) scores were internally consistent. Correlations with external criterion variables of interest, including the Dark Triad construct and its components (psychopathy, machiavellianism and narcissism), reactive and proactive aggression, and delinquency, support the convergent validity of the interpretation of YPI-S scores. Finally, findings also suggest that YPI-S works consistently for both men and women.
Conclusion
In addition to demonstrating the psychometric qualities of the French version of the YPI-S, this research provides further evidences for the value of this brief and time-effective self-report instrument in the study of psychopathic traits across different developmental phases, and especially during the transition to adulthood.
... Further, Fanti et al. (2018) found that combining high initial levels of conduct disorder symptoms and the CU trait dimension-as well as combining conduct disorder symptoms, GM, and II-can predict later clinically significant conduct disorder symptoms. Finally, the interaction between the psychopathic trait dimensions has also been shown to be significant in predicting bullying and cyberbullying behavior (López-Larrañaga & Orue, 2019;Orue & Andershed, 2015). ...
... The items were rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not apply at all) to 4 (applies very well). The Spanish version was used in this study, and it showed good psychometric properties as well (Orue & Andershed, 2015). Cronbach's alphas were 0.82, 0.69, and 0.71 for GM, CU, and II, respectively. ...
This study examined the longitudinal relationships between three psychopathic trait dimensions (callous-unemotional, CU; grandiose-manipulative, GM; and impulsive-irresponsible, II) and their interaction in the prediction of psychological and physical child-to-parent violence (CPV). Furthermore, the study examined whether the predictive relationships were different for boys and girls. A total of 765 adolescents (463 girls), with a mean age of 15.28 years ( SD = 1.04), completed measures of the psychopathic trait dimensions (CU, GM, and II) and psychological and physical CPV at the beginning of the study and six months later. At the cross-sectional level, all the psychopathic trait dimensions were related to psychological and physical CPV, although the effect sizes were small. At the longitudinal level, II predicted increased psychological CPV. A significant three-way interaction between the three psychopathic trait dimensions (CU, GM, and II) indicated that the longitudinal association between II and physical CPV was higher for adolescents with high CU and low GM. However, the predictive model did not differ for boys and girls.
... Therefore, the study of all of the above factors contributing to the increase or decrease of youth cyberbullying is relevant. Emotional insensitivity of youth, as an essential component, can predict the occurrence of cyberbullying among adolescents and youths (Fanti, Demetriou & Hawa, 2012;Orue & Andershed, 2015). However, there is little research on how emotional insensitivity affects student cyberbullying. ...
... Correlation analysis showed that EI scores were significant and positively associated with destructive behaviour. In addition, there are works in which it is shown that due to the influence of the Internet, cyberbullying increases significantly (Orue & Andershed, 2015). ...
... Psychopathic traits are not perceived as a unidimensional construct and most studies have focused on the affective dimension (callous-unemotional traits), since lack of concern for others' feelings is highly predictive of both TB (e.g., Fanti and Kimonis 2012) and CB (e.g., Antoniadou et al. 2016a). Nevertheless, the other two dimensions have a significant impact on students' involvement as well; for example, grandiose-manipulative traits have been linked to CB (e.g., Orue and Andershed 2015) and TB (e.g., Fanti and Kimonis 2012), since students with high scores in this characteristic tend to have an arrogant and deceitful interpersonal style, which provides them with a power advantage over their peers. Even though both traditional (Schwartz et al. 2001) and cyber bullies (e.g., Antoniadou et al. 2016a) have been found to be highly impulsive, contrary to other traits, the impulsive-irresponsible dimension has been linked to being targeted as a traditional (e.g., Antoniadou et al. 2016a) and cyber victim as well (e.g., Kokkinos et al. 2014), since impulsive individuals have higher chances of involving themselves in risky experiences (Fanti et al. 2009). ...
... While specific hypotheses were not formulated due to the scarce investigation of the issue, at least four types of participant groups were expected (uninvolved, victims, bullies, and bully/victims) according to their involvement in CB/CV and TB/TV (Hollá 2016). In terms of their characteristics, uninvolved students were anticipated to have the most adaptive psychosocial profile (i.e., the highest scores in social relations and social skills and the lowest in psychopathic traits, online disinhibition, and social anxiety), victims were expected to be more frequently girls and to have low scores in social relations and social skills (e.g., Aoyama 2010; Hoff and Mitchell 2009) and high in social anxiety (e.g., Kowalski and Limber 2007;Van den Eijnden et al. 2014) and impulsive-irresponsible traits (e.g., Antoniadou et al. 2016a;Kokkinos et al. 2014), bullies were expected to be more frequently boys Olweus and Limber 2010) and to have the highest scores in psychopathic traits (e.g., Antoniadou et al. 2016a;Fanti and Kimonis 2012;Orue and Andershed 2015), while finally bully-victims were expected to have higher scores in psychopathic traits than uninvolved and victims. ...
Although increasingly more studies investigate the relationship of cyber and traditional bullying/victimization, it’s unclear whether the phenomena are distinct. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles that Greek Junior High school students engage in cyber and traditional bullying/victimization incidents, as well as the psychosocial and emotional profile of the students that are classified into each participant role. Overall, 1,097 Greek Junior High school students (mean age= 13.95, 51% girls), completed a self-report questionnaire about cyber and traditional bullying/victimization, empathy, psychopathic traits, online disinhibition, social skills, social anxiety and peer relations. Latent Profile Analysis indicated four distinct groups of participants (“uninvolved”, “bullies”, “victims”, “bully/victims”). ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis analyses showed that “uninvolved” students had the most adaptive profile (low scores in psychopathic traits and online disinhibition and high in social skills), while students who frequently bullied both online and offline (“bullies”), were the least functional of the sample (e.g., high scores in psychopathic traits and low in empathy and social skills) and differed on several characteristics from those classified as “bully/victims”. Finally, victims had a poor psychosocial profile (e.g., high social anxiety and poor social relations). These findings confirm that cyber aggression is part of a general bullying/victimization pattern and that students are most effectively classified based on their behavior and not the context of manifestation. Findings can contribute to the ongoing debate on the similarities/differences of cyber and traditional bullying/victimization, as well as their simultaneous occurrence.
Access to full-text view-only version: https://rdcu.be/bnCzQ
... Psychopathy is correlated with dysfunctional impulsivity [3] and limited self-control [4]. Abundant studies have shown that psychopathy predicts many kinds of aggressive behaviors [5][6][7], such as physical aggression [8][9][10], relational aggression [11,12], verbal aggression [8], proactive aggression [6,13,14] and cyber-aggression/bullying [15][16][17][18]. ...
... Psychopathy was positively related to proactive aggression (Study 1), which was consistent with the findings of existing research [1,14,50]. Psychopathy also positively predicted aggressive online comment behavior (Study 2), which was consistent with the findings of related cyber-aggression/bullying research [15][16][17][18]. Individuals with high psychopathy scores were prone to implementing more proactive aggression (Study 1) and expected to leave more aggressive online comments on news websites (Study 2). ...
Psychopathy is the most notorious trait in the Dark Triad, and it is strongly linked to many kinds of aggressive behaviors. However, not every individual who is characterized by psychopathy engages in aggression, which suggests that certain factors may attenuate the intensity of the relations between psychopathy and aggression. The purpose of the current study was to explore the protective roles of the consideration of future consequences (CFC) (high CFC-Future and low CFC- Immediate) in attenuating aggression related to psychopathy using proactive aggression (Study 1) and cyber-aggression (Study 2) behavior indexes. College students (Study 1; N = 1,058) and adults (Study 2; N = 350) voluntarily participated in this study. The results demonstrated that the relationship between psychopathy and aggressive behaviors was moderated by CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate. Individuals with high psychopathy scores who also had high CFC-Future scores or low CFC-Immediate scores exhibited less proactive aggression (Study 1) and left fewer aggressive online comments on news websites (Study 2). The results of the present study suggested that CFC serves as a buffer against aggression related to psychopathy and may extend the knowledge of the relationship between psychopathy and aggression.
... First, youth who are only high on CU traits can be differentiated from those who are high on all psychopathic trait dimensions, with the latter group displaying the highest levels of concurrent or past CP, aggression and antisocial behavior (e.g., Christian et al. 1997;Colins et al. 2012;Frick and Hare 2001). Second, prior work has shown that the interaction effect between the three psychopathic traits dimensions exhibits a stronger relation with concurrent or past CP (Colins et al. 2014) and proactive aggression (Orue and Andershed 2015) than any psychopathic trait dimension on its own (main effect). In sum, there is evidence to suggest that when classifying individuals on all psychopathic trait dimensions a more severe subgroup of children with CP can be identified. ...
... SD). This finding dovetails well with evidence that the combination of psychopathic traits dimension is most strongly related to concurrent CP and aggression (Colins et al. 2014;Orue and Andershed 2015), confer the greatest risk for future antisocial behavior (Fanti and Kimonis 2012), and are associated with stability of CP (Klingzell et al. 2016). ...
The aim of this study was to compare two youth psychopathy models (i.e., callous-unemotional versus multidimensional model) in their ability to predict future and stable conduct problems (CP). At baseline, mothers and fathers of 321 boys and 369 girls (ages 7–12) completed measures that tap callous-unemotional and other psychopathic traits. Parent-reported CP was collected at baseline and at 6- and 12 month follow-ups. Children were assigned to mutually exclusive groups based on their levels of CP and psychopathic traits. Children with CP who manifested callous-unemotional traits (Callous-Unemotional + CP) were occasionally at risk for future and stable CP. Yet, across gender, children with CP scoring high on all psychopathic trait dimensions (Psychopathic Personality + CP) showed the most robust and highest risk for future and stable CP. Also, Callous-Unemotional + CP children, and children who were only high in CP, often were at similar risk for future CP. The findings suggest that the callous-unemotional model is less sufficient than the multidimensional model in predicting future and stable CP. This can be concluded for both boys and girls and calls for more research reconsidering the multidimensional nature of psychopathy for CP subtyping purposes.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1007/s10862-018-9653-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
... That is, a three-factor model of psychopathy that does not include an antisocial factor (Cooke and Michie, 2001). Research using the YPI or its shorter version, Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short (YPI-S), supports its associations with delinquency, conduct problems and externalizing psychopathology using data from diverse nations, including Belgium (Colins et al., 2012a(Colins et al., , 2012b, France (Pihet et al.,2 0 1 4 ), The Netherlands (van Baardewijk et al., 2010;Zwaanswijk et al., 2016), Spain (Orue and Andershed, 2015), Finland (Oshukova et al., 2015), Portugal (Pechorro et al., 2015(Pechorro et al., , 2017, USA (DeLisi et al., 2018;Farina et al., 2018), China (Yang et al., 2019) and Iran (Ebrahimi et al., 2022), among others. ...
Purpose
Recent developments in the psychometric assessment of youth psychopathic traits suggest that the inclusion of a conduct disorder (CD) factor to the traditional three factors of the psychopathy construct may improve the incremental validity of these measures. The purpose of the current study is to examine whether the addition of a CD factor incrementally improves the ability of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory Short version (YPI-S) to predict criminal recidivism.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal quantitative research design was used with a sample detained male youth (N = 214, M age = 16.4 years, SD age = 1.3 years).
Findings
Results using the area under the curve analysis suggest that the inclusion of a CD factor slightly improves the capacity of the YPI-S to predict one-year general criminal recidivism, but it does not significantly increase its capacity to predict violent criminal recidivism. Results also indicate that a CD scale outperforms the YPI-S, even with an additional CD factor included, in terms of predicting one-year general and violent recidivism.
Practical implications
Self-reported youth psychopathic trait measures, even those that include a CD factor as a fourth factor, should be used with caution when the aim is to predict youth criminal recidivism.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study using a self-reported youth psychopathic traits measure with a CD factor to examine youth criminal recidivism.
... Psychopathic traits. The Spanish version of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S) [28] was used to evaluate the three facets of psychopathy, namely, grandiose-manipulative (GM, e.g., "it's easy for me to manipulate people"), callous-unemotional (CU, e.g., "to be nervous and worried is a sign of weakness"), and impulsive-irresponsible (IMP, e.g., "I consider myself as a pretty impulsive person"). The YPI-S is composed of 18 items (6 items each facet) scored on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 (does not apply at all) to 3 (apply very well). ...
The goal of this study was to examine the distinctiveness of reactive aggression (RA) and proactive aggression (PA) from a variable- and person-based approach, their psychosocial correlates and behavioral outcomes, and analyze their replicability across two samples of adolescents. The forensic sample was composed of 231 juvenile offenders and the community sample included 321 youth. At a variable-based level, the results of the factor analysis supported the original two-factor model of aggression, and RA and PA showed differential associations with a set of psychosocial correlates and behavioral outcomes. At a person-based level, three subgroups were identified, namely low aggression, moderate RA, and mixed aggression. The mixed aggression group showed the most severe profile in both samples. These results support the distinctiveness of RA and PA at a variable-based level but lead to consider PA as a severity marker rather than a distinct subgroup at a person-based level.
... The victimization experiences of TGD people appear to be expressions of the same gender-based oppression they experience offline. This includes discrimination, harassment, vilification, actual or threatened violence, negative stereotyping, exclusion/rejection, invalidation or non-confirmation of gender identity [42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]. ...
Cyberbullying and non-consensual sexting are prevalent and potentially harmful online behaviours. However, little is known about the attitudes and beliefs that underpin these behaviours in ciswomen and cismen and the extent to which they explain the online experiences of trans and gender diverse (TGD) people. A sample of 638 ciswomen, 722 cismen, and 146 TGD adults 18 to 66 years of age (M = 23.27, SD = 3.66), completed a survey of online perpetration behaviours, victimization experiences, and positive attitudes/beliefs about cyberbullying and sexting. MANCOVAs revealed significant gender differences in terms of both cyber and sexting perpetration and victimization. On average, ciswomen reported 8% less cyberbullying perpetration and 17% less non-consensual sexting perpetration than cismen, and experienced 77% more victimization from non-consensual sexting. TGD adults similarly reported 8% less cyberbullying perpetration than cismen, but also 65% less non-consensual sexting perpetration than cismen, as well as experiencing 77% more victimization from non-consensual sexts. MANCOVAs also revealed that cismen held more positive attitudes and beliefs about cyberbullying and sexting than ciswomen and TGD adults. Multigroup path analyses further revealed that positive attitudes and beliefs were related to perpetration behaviours but differently for different genders, with pro-cyberbullying attitudes/beliefs associated with perpetration behaviours in TGD adults, and pro-sexting attitudes/beliefs associated with perpetration behaviours in cisgender adults. These results highlight gender differences in online perpetration and victimization, extend this observation to TGD populations, and demonstrate the importance of underlying attitudes and beliefs.
... The response format uses a 4-point Likert-type scale. The scale showed good psychometric properties in the original study and subsequent studies across Anglo-Saxon and Spanish samples of adolescents (e.g., Orue & Andershed, 2015). In the current sample of young adults, CFA analysis revealed a second order model with a good fi t for the three theorized dimensions (interpersonal, affective, and behavioral). ...
Background:
Deviant behavior is a psychosocial problem that has attracted great interest from both the scientific community and society at large due to its prevalence and negative consequences. Valid, reliable measures of deviant behaviors are critical for providing a better understanding of their causes and outcomes. The central aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Deviant Behavior Variety Scale (DBVS) in a sample of young Spanish adults.
Method:
Participants comprised 490 young adults (62.4% female) aged between 18 and 20 years old (M= 18.90; SD= .77).
Results:
Confirmatory factor analyses yielded a single-factor structure model of DBVS showing, in general, satisfactory or good fit indexes. Moreover, convergent validity was confirmed by assessing correlations between deviant behavior (r = .77) and psychopathy (r = .45), showing that both variables were correlated. Intraclass reliability (ICC) results demonstrated the test-retest reliability of the DBVS, and Kuder-Richardson 20 (KR-20 = .79) showed appropriate internal item consistency.
Conclusions:
This study found that the Spanish version of DBVS presented promising psychometric properties supporting it is a reliable, valid measure for assessing young adults‚ involvement in deviant behaviors.
... These findings suggest that reactive aggressors are less capable of emotional regulation and behavioral inhibition than proactive aggressors. Nevertheless, Orue and Andershed [45] provided evidence that the interplay between impulsivity and narcissism may predict the development of proactive aggression. Although impulsivity was not directly associated with proactive aggression, adolescents who showed high levels of narcissism and impulsivity displayed more proactive aggression than those who had neither of these traits. ...
This pioneering study examined how psychosocial factors predicted reactive and proactive aggression among adolescents and young adults in Hong Kong during the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement. A total of 1027 local secondary and tertiary students (578 male, 449 female) aged from 12 to 25 years (M = 16.95, SD = 3.30) completed a questionnaire measuring political participation and attitudes, victimization experiences, aggression, life satisfaction, moral disengagement, and psychopathic traits. ANCOVA and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. The results revealed that compared with non-protesters, protestors had more negative traits and poorer well-being (higher levels of reactive aggression, moral disengagement, narcissism, and impulsivity; lower life satisfaction; more experiences of victimization by strangers related to political disputes). Nonetheless, protesters had similar psychosocial correlates of reactive and proactive aggression when compared to the non-protesters. Among the protesters, reactive aggression was positively predicted by anger towards the government, moral justification, diffusion of responsibility, impulsivity, and narcissism and negatively predicted by satisfaction with the government, advantageous comparison, and dehumanization. Furthermore, proactive aggression was positively predicted by narcissism, euphemistic language, and advantageous comparison and negatively predicted by moral justification. The implications of the findings for psychotherapy, school education, parenting, and social policies are discussed.
... However, several interrelated dimensions of psychopathy may differentially influence aggressive behavior and its underlying behavioral and neural underpinnings. Indeed, Grandiose-Manipulative interpersonal characteristics (marked by lying, manipulating and a grandiose sense of self-worth), Impulsive-Irresponsible traits (characterized by impulsivity and irresponsibility) and Callous-Unemotional traits (characterized by a lack of empathy, remorse and shallow affect; Andershed et al., 2002) have all been differently associated with aggression (Jambroes et al., 2018;Orue et al., 2016;Orue and Andershed, 2015) and with altered brain structure and function in the ACC, Insula and dlPFC (Poeppl et al., 2019;Yang and Raine, 2009). Hence, considering individual differences in psychopathic traits may further elucidate why young adults behave aggressively in social contexts. ...
Early adulthood has long been recognized as a potential turning point for the development of antisocial behavior, due to changes in social contexts and ongoing psychological and neurobiological maturation. However, it remains unclear how different developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior, their neural underpinnings, and individual differences in psychopathic traits may help explain the distinct developmental outcomes of individuals who persist in or desist from antisocial behavior in early adulthood - such as how they respond to others in social contexts. Therefore, in the current study, young adults (aged 18-30, 68% male) with a persistent or desistant antisocial trajectory (N = 54), as well as healthy controls (N = 39), completed the Social Network Aggression Task, during which they received positive, neutral, or negative feedback on a personal profile and got the opportunity to retaliate by blasting a loud noise. On a behavioral level, results indicated that in all groups, negative peer feedback evoked higher retaliatory aggression, compared to positive and neutral feedback. On a neural level, when receiving social feedback, individuals with persistent or desistent trajectories showed both similar and dissociable patterns of neural activity; desisting and persisting trajectory groups showed higher activity in the Insula, and the desisting trajectory group showed higher activity in dlPFC. Finally, when participants retaliated, they showed increased dlPFC and ACC activity following positive relative to neutral and negative feedback, where ACC activity correlated most strongly with inhibition of retaliatory responses in the desisting trajectory group. Together, these findings provide novel insights in dissociable patterns of brain activity that may increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying different developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior.
... One strategy that is deemed important for studying psychopathic personality is the examination of a threeway interaction among the psychopathy components (e.g., Lilienfeld, 2018;Somma et al., 2018). Prior work that relied upon different informants and psychopathy measures revealed a three-way interaction effect among the three psychopathy components in predicting conduct problems , conduct disorder symptoms , delinquency (Somma et al., 2018), and proactive aggression (Orue & Andershed, 2015). However, testing three-way interactions is power consuming and often difficult to replicate (Colins, Fanti, Salekin, et al., 2017;Lilienfeld, 2018). ...
The idea that very young children can manifest a constellation of personality traits that looks like psychopathy has rarely been explored. To fill this void, data from 2,247 children, aged 3–6 years (M = 4.25; SD = 0.91), from the Estudio Longitudinal para una Infancia Saludable (ELISA) were utilized. Parents and teachers completed questionnaires at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Using three parent-rated psychopathy dimensions as indicators, the authors conducted latent profile analysis and arrived at five latent classes: Control (39.2%), Impulsive-Need for Stimulation (34.8%), Grandiose-Deceitful (16.5%), Callous-Unemotional (6.2%), and Putative Psychopathic Personality (PP, 3.3%). Children in the PP class, overall, engaged in higher levels of concurrent, future, and stable conduct problems and reactive and proactive aggression, and lower levels of prosocial behavior, as rated by parents or teachers. Findings also revealed meaningful differences between the remaining four classes. Person-oriented analyses seem to offer a fruitful avenue to identify 3- to 6-year-olds who exhibit a putative psychopathic personality and are at risk for future maladjustment.
... Studies describing the association between CU traits and cyberbullying in adolescents showed that the two dimensions are significantly and positively associated [29,[66][67][68], and that adolescents with high CU scores who manifest cyberbullying behavior tend to ignore the fear and the distress of the victims [69,70], thus increasing the risk in victims of developing symptoms of psychological distress [65,[71][72][73][74]. For this reason, it is particularly important to study and prevent cyberbullying as it is easier to carry out than traditional bullying and leads to greater personal and social consequences [65]. ...
In youths, callous–unemotional (CU) traits and conduct problems (CP) are independently associated with bullying perpetration and these effects are also observed when controlling for sex. Moreover, research indicates that the co-existence of high levels of both CU and CP further increase the risk. Although several studies have examined the relationship between CU traits and traditional bullying, few have also included a measure of cyberbullying and very few of them have focused the early adolescence. The aim of this study was to replicate and extend these findings in a large sample of Italian early adolescents considering both traditional and cyberbullying behaviors. Data were extracted from the Bullying and Youth Mental Health Naples study (BYMHNS) which included 2959 students of 10–15 years of age. CP, CU traits, traditional bullying behaviors, and cyberbullying behaviors were assessed by multi-item self-report scales. As expected, we replicated the significant and specific association between CU traits and traditional bullying, extending the findings to cyberbullying. In addition, in the latter case the effect was moderated by CP. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results were discussed.
... Two meta-analyses show that callous-unemotional traits are significantly and positively associated with bullying behaviors (van Geel et al., 2017;Zych et al., 2019). Moreover, growing studies have shown that callousunemotional traits are significantly and positively associated with adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration (Orue and Andershed, 2015;Orue and Calvete, 2019;Wright et al., 2019). Most importantly, a longitudinal study shows that after controlling for baseline cyberbullying perpetration, callous-unemotional traits can also significantly predict adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration after one year (Fanti et al., 2012). ...
Cyberbullying perpetration has become an international public health concern among adolescents. However, it is less clear whether anger rumination potentially increases adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration up to now, and there is a limited understanding of factors that may affect this relationship. Therefore, the current study examined the relationship between anger rumination and adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration and attempts to determine whether moral disengagement and callous-unemotional traits moderated this relationship at the same time. Two thousand four hundred and seven Chinese adolescents completed the measurements of anger rumination, moral disengagement, callous-unemotional traits, and cyberbullying perpetration. Results showed that adolescents with high anger rumination were likely to engage in cyberbullying perpetration, even after controlling age and gender. Compare to low moral disengagement adolescents, high moral disengagement adolescents were more likely to bully others online when they have high levels of anger rumination. Moreover, anger rumination significantly predicted adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration when their moral disengagement and callous-unemotional traits were both high, or one was high. On the contrary, when adolescents’ moral disengagement and callous-unemotional traits were both low, this effect became nonsignificant. The current study first explored the relationship between anger rumination and adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration and clarifying the moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. Adolescents should be taught to manage and express their emotions properly, establish the right moral standards and reduce moral disengagement, as well as care more about others, in order to provide appropriate intervention.
... Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S, Orue & Andershed, 2015) was used to evaluate the three facets of psychopathy, namely Grandiose-Manipulative (GM, e.g., "it's easy for me to manipulate people"), Callous-Unemotional (CU, e.g., "to be nervous and worried is a sign of weakness"), and Impulsive-Irresponsible (IMP, e.g., "I consider myself as a pretty impulsive person"). The YPSI-S is composed of 18 items (6 items each facet) scored on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (does not apply at all) to 3 (apply very well). ...
Since the conceptual distinction of reactive and proactive aggression has
been proposed, numerous studies have tried to disentangle the correlates
of each function of aggression. While reactive aggression tends to be more
strongly related to impulsivity, angry reactivity, or hostility, proactive
aggression has proved to be more associated with psychopathic traits and
goal-directed behaviors. However, in addition to the current debate about
the actual distinction of reactive and proactive aggression, the study of
gender differences is still scarce. Thus, the aim of the current study is to
evaluate the distinctiveness of reactive and proactive aggression by means of
the examination of their differential personality correlates (i.e., HEXACO,
psychopathic traits, and impulsivity facets), as well as the assessment ofgender differences in those relationships. To that end, a sample composed of
326 young adults aged 18–34 was recruited in Spain. The results evidenced
unique associations of reactive and proactive aggression with a set of
personality traits, including the HEXACO factors, psychopathic traits, and
impulsivity facets, both at raw and residual level. Furthermore, when all the
variables were entered in the model, proactive aggression remained strongly
related to the factor of Honesty/humility and Emotionality, whereas reactive
aggression remained associated with the impulsive/irresponsive factor of
psychopathy and, specifically, with the facet of negative urgency, as well as
with lack of Agreeableness. Likewise, some gender differences emerged as
regards certain correlates. Specifically, proactive aggression was related
with lack of Agreeableness and sensation seeking only in males and with the
impulsive/irresponsive factor of psychopathy only in females, although these
differences were not statistically significant. The conceptual and practical
implications of these finding are discussed in terms of prevention.
... The impulsivity trait was measured with the impulsiveirresponsible subscale of The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Form (YPI-S; van Baardewijk et al., 2010), with 6 items rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale. The YPI-S has shown good psychometric properties in the Spanish population (Orue & Andershed, 2015). ...
This study aimed to address how multiple risk factors that were previously related and derived from ecological levels, when taken together, could explain child-to-mother and child-to-father violence. A total of 298 Spanish adolescents (140 girls) who had committed CPV, with a mean age of 15.91 (SDage = 1.89), offender residents of specialized closed institutions for adolescents who had aggressed their parents (49.5%) and educational centres (50.6%) completed all measures. Both models obtained adequate fit indexes and explained about 50% of the variance in the two types of violence. At contextual (exosystem) level, peer deviance was indirectly related to both types of CPV. At family level (microsystem), the strongest direct predictor in both models was parental ineffectiveness in applying discipline. An additional direct path to child-to-mother violence was the use of corporal punishment. At individual level (ontogenic), the two strongest direct predictors in both models were adolescents’ impulsivity and substance abuse. The models highlight the complexity of the variables involved in the development of CPV. Regarding intervention implications, the models show the importance of paying attention to family variables, such as parents’ mode of implementation of disciplinary measures, and individual factors, such as adolescents’ impulsivity and substance abuse.
... isomorphic with psychopathy construct (Orue & Andershed, 2015); rather, it seems to represent a developmental risk factor for an array of different maladaptive personality dimensions that are rooted in antagonism . When we estimated a Dark Triad latent construct explaining the correlation between TDM-IV, FFNI-SF Antagonism and Extraversion, and all TriPM scale scores to examine the "core" of the Dark Triad construct, relative importance weights analysis showed that lack of concern for feelings of others, as well as lack of guilt or remorse about the negative or harmful effects of one's actions on others (i.e., PID-5 Callousness trait scale; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and use of subterfuge to influence or control others (i.e., PID-5 Manipulativeness trait scale; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) were common features of the Dark Triad latent construct. ...
The present study aimed to test the relationships of Dark Triad constructs with propensity toward moral disengagement and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) Alternative Model of Personality Disorder (AMPD) maladaptive personality traits. A total of 279 community-dwelling adult participants (41.6% male; Mage = 32.27 years) were administered the Two-Dimensional Mach-IV Scale, Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory-Short Form, Triarchic Psychopathy Measure, Personality Inventory for DSM-5, and Moral Disengagement Scale. Multiple regression results showed differential associations between Dark Triad construct traits and propensity toward moral disengagement. Correlation analyses showed that all Dark Triad trait dimensions could be substantially described in terms of AMPD maladaptive trait profile. When the effect of Moral Disengagement Scale scores was taken into account in relative importance weights analysis (Radjusted2 = .66), DSM-5 AMPD maladaptive trait profile explained 27% of the variance in the "Dark Triad" latent factor over and above the effect of moral disengagement. As a whole, our findings supported the idea that the Dark Triad personality constructs are likely to share a common core of antagonistic maladaptive personality traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
... These three subdimensions map broadly onto Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition, respectively (Patrick et al., 2009). In four studies of youth samples, three-way potentiating interactions (Colins et al., 2014;Fanti, Kyranides, Lordos, Colins, & Andershed, 2018, Orue & Andershed, 2015Somma, Andershed, Borroni, & Fossati, 2018) have emerged among the three YPI subdimensions in statistically predicting externalizing behavior, such as conduct problems and proactive aggression. ...
Personality disorders have long been bedeviled by a host of conceptual and methodological quandaries. Starting from the assumption that personality disorders are inherently interpersonal conditions that reflect folk concepts of social impairment, the authors contend that a subset of personality disorders, rather than traditional syndromes, are emergent interpersonal syndromes (EISs): interpersonally malignant configurations (statistical interactions) of distinct personality dimensions that may be only modestly, weakly, or even negatively correlated. Preliminary support for this perspective derives from a surprising source, namely, largely forgotten research on the intercorrelations among the subscales of select MMPI/MMPI-2 clinical scales. Using psychopathic personality as a case example, the authors offer provisional evidence for the EIS hypothesis from four lines of research and delineate its implications for personality disorder theory, research, and classification. Conceptualizing some personality disorders as EISs elucidates long-standing quandaries and controversies in the psychopathology literature and affords fruitful avenues for future investigation.
... These three subdimensions map broadly onto Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition, respectively (Patrick et al., 2009). In four studies of youth samples, three-way potentiating interactions (Colins et al., 2014;Fanti, Kyranides, Lordos, Colins, & Andershed, 2018, Orue & Andershed, 2015Somma, Andershed, Borroni, & Fossati, 2018) have emerged among the three YPI subdimensions in statistically predicting externalizing behavior, such as conduct problems and proactive aggression. ...
In our article (Lilienfeld et al., 2019), we hypothesized that psychopathy and some other personality disorders are emergent interpersonal syndromes (EISs): interpersonally malignant configurations of distinct personality subdimensions. We respond to three commentaries by distinguished scholars who raise provocative challenges to our arguments and intriguing suggestions for future research. We clarify the role of folk concepts in our understanding of psychopathy, offer further suggestions for testing our interactional hypotheses, consider the role of boldness in motivational accounts of psychopathy, and discuss future directions for incorporating developmental considerations and the role of victims in our EIS account. We are optimistic that this account will prove to be of heuristic value, and should encourage researchers and theoreticians to explore alternative models of psychopathy and other personality disorders.
... Third, it may be, that it is something in the specific combination of the three psychopathic traits dimensions that put youth at a higher risk for negative outcomes. In support for this notion, several studies have found a three-way-interaction effect between the three psychopathic traits dimensions in relation to concurrent and future antisocial behavior in youth (e.g., Colins et al. 2014;Fanti et al. in press;Orue and Andershed 2015). This study also provides information about the prognostic usefulness of psychopathic traits in youth without CP at baseline (i.e., the Callous-Unemotional Only and Psychopathic Personality Only groups). ...
The aim of this study was to compare callous-unemotional (CU) traits versus the multidimensional psychopathy construct in their ability to predict future and stable antisocial behavior. At baseline, a community sample of 996 Cypriot 12-year old adolescents (52% girls) completed measures that tap conduct problems (CP) and psychopathic traits, including CU. CP, aggression, and substance use were self-reported at 1–3 year follow-ups. Youths were assigned to six mutually exclusive groups based on their baseline levels of CP and psychopathic traits. Youth with CP scoring high on all three psychopathic traits dimensions (Psychopathic Personality + CP) showed the most robust and highest risk for future and stable CP, aggression, and substance use, followed by youth who were high on all three psychopathic traits dimensions but displayed no concurrent CP (Psychopathic Personality Only) and CP youth with low levels of psychopathic traits (CP Only). Youth with CP who merely manifested callous-unemotional traits (Callous-Unemotional + CP) were only at risk for future CP. The findings suggest that the CU traits-based approach for subtyping children with CP is less informative compared to a subtyping approach using various psychopathic traits dimensions in predicting future and stable forms of various antisocial outcomes. These findings and their consistency with prior work indicate the need for additional research to examine the various psychopathic traits dimensions rather than focusing solely on CU traits, especially for CP subtyping purposes.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1007/s10862-018-9659-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
... Testing measurement invariance across gender is particularly relevant because researchers often compare mean levels of psychopathic traits across gender (e.g., Andershed et al. 2007;Declercq et al. 2009) and test if relations between these traits and criterion measures of interest are similar in males and females (e.g., Miller et al. 2011;Orue and Andershed 2015). However, gender differences can only be meaningfully interpreted when the tool used to assess these traits measures the same construct in both genders (Vandenberg and Lance 2000). ...
The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) and its short version (YPI-S) in a sample of 2081 Chinese 11- to 19-year-old school-attending youth (Mage = 14.27, SD = 1.62). Confirmatory factor analyses showed that a bifactor model best fit the data at the subscale level for the YPI and at the item level for the YPI-S. The internal consistency of the YPI and YPI-S scores ranged from marginal to good. Measurement invariance testing revealed that the bifactor model of the YPI-S was equivalent across gender, while the bifactor model of the YPI showed moderate differences between boys and girls. Both the YPI and YPI-S total and factor scores were positively related to Antisocial Process Screening Device scores and Rule-Breaking and Aggressive behavior, though these relations were most often stronger for the YPI scores. In conclusion, the Chinese-language versions of the YPI and YPI-S hold promise as assessment tools to measure psychopathic traits in Chinese adolescents but are not without limitations. Whereas the YPI-S is more time-effective and yields scores that are more internally consistent than the YPI, the YPI seems to outperform the YPI-S in terms of convergent and criterion validity.
... Of the six YPI-S studies published to date (Colins et al. 2012;Colins et al. 2014;Colins and Andershed 2016;Orue and Andershed 2015;Pechorro et al. 2015b;van Baardewijk et al. 2010), only one (i.e., Colins et al. 2014) used a forensic sample of detained girls, but all revealed the expected threefactor structure, namely the Interpersonal, the Affective, and the Behavioral dimensions. However, some studies (e.g., Colins et al. 2012;Pechorro et al. 2015a) found that item 5 ("I have probably skipped school or work more than most other people") of the YPI-S showed low standardized loadings (.11 and .28, ...
The association between psychopathic traits and antisociality among females is an important and understudied area of research. Drawing on 377 female adolescents (103 selected from forensic settings and 274 selected from school settings) from Portugal, the current study examined the psychometric properties of the Antisocial Process Screening Device Self-Report (APSD-SR) and Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory - Short version (YPI-S) in female youth populations. When comparing these two measures the YPI-S revealed clearer results in terms of its three-factor structure and internal consistency, and stronger convergent validity coefficients. The APSD-SR revealed problems in terms of its factor structure and internal consistency of its Callous-Unemotional (CU) and Impulsivity dimensions. Convergent validity was demonstrated among these measures and with measures of other facets of the psychopathy construct (CU traits, narcissism) and related constructs (reactive and proactive aggression), and discriminant validity was found with a measure of basic empathy. Expected significant associations were found in terms of criterion-related validity with several indicators of delinquent careers including age of criminal onset, Conduct Disorder (CD), crime seriousness, violent crimes, alcohol use, and drug use.
... All these measures have been previously used in different studies conducted in the Spanish context, showing evidence of internal consistency and construct validity when assessing the intended constructs [16,26,32,33]. ...
Developmental heterogeneity of youth conduct problems has been widely assumed, leading to the identification of distinctive groups at particular risk of more serious problems later in development. The present study intends to expand the main results of a prior study focused on identifying developmental trajectories of conduct problems (Stable-low, Stable-high, and Decreasing), by analyzing their developmental course and related outcomes during middle/late adolescence and early adulthood. Two follow-up studies were conducted 10 and 12 years after the initial study with 115 and 122 youths respectively (mean = 17.29 and 19.18). Overall results underline that the Early-onset persistent group showed the highest risk-profile; the Childhood-limited group revealed a moderate level of later maladjustment; and the Adolescence-onset group, currently identified, showed a significant peak of risk particularly in middle/late adolescence. These findings provide a more comprehensive representation of youth conduct problems, and open new means of discussion in terms of preventive intervention.
... Low, positive and statistically significant correlations were observed between CV and grandiose-manipulative r(1097) ¼ 0.25, p < 0.01, r 2 ¼ 0.057, callous-unemotional r(1097) ¼ 0.17, p < 0.01, r 2 ¼ 0.029, and impulsive-irresponsible traits r(1097) ¼ 0.27, p < 0.01. The correlations of CB with callous-unemotional r(1097) ¼ 0.19, p < 0.01 and impulsive-irresponsible traits r(1097) ¼ 0.29, p < 0.01, r 2 ¼ 0.072 were significant but low, which has been found in recent studies (Orue & Andershed, 2015) (Table 6). Generally, the correlations were to the expected direction; only the correlation of callous-unemotional traits with CB was lower than expected (similarly to Fanti, Demetriou, & Hawa, 2012). ...
This study investigated the construct validity of a newly developed Greek questionnaire assessing cyber-bullying (CB) and cyber-victimization (CV), the Cyber-Bullying and Victimization Experiences Questionnaire-Greek (CBVEQ-G), constructed due to dearth of relevant measures. Analyses were performed on data collected from 1097 Greek adolescents. The structure of the CBVEQ-G was modeled by means of confirmatory factor analysis, and its convergent validity was tested against theoretically related measures. Results supported the validity and reliability of a correlated two-factor (CB, CV) model, while the correlated four-factor model was marginally supported. Measurement invariance across gender and grade level was established, while significantly positive correlations were found between cyber and traditional bullying/victimization, and between CB and antisocial personality traits.
Background: Child-to-parent violence is a family issue that needs a systemic and integral approach for its evaluation. The main objective of this longitudinal study was to assess the moderating effects of adolescents’ borderline personality and psychopathic traits (grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, and impulsive-irresponsible dimensions) in the predictive association between inadequate parental strategies (psychological aggression, corporal punishment, and ignoring misbehavior) and child-to-parent violence. Sex differences were analyzed. Method: The community sample comprised 671 adolescents aged from 12 to 17 years old (Mage = 13.39, SD = 1.15; 50.8% girls, 47.7% boys, and 1.5% non-binary), assessed twice, six months apart from each other. Results: Results showed slightly different patterns of violence towards fathers and mothers – ignoring misbehavior predicted aggression toward mothers, while psychological aggression predicted aggression toward fathers. Moderation analyses showed that the predictive association from ignoring misbehavior to both child-to-father violence (CFV) and child-to-mother violence (CMV) was only significant for adolescents who were high in the psychopathic trait of callous-unemotional, and the predictive association from psychological aggression to CFV was only significant in those adolescents who scored low in the borderline personality trait. Some sex specificities emerged. Conclusions: These findings support the relevance of working on parents’ discipline strategies and add the need to work on adolescents’ emotional regulation to prevent or deal with child-to-parent violence.
Objectives: This study contributes to the neuroscience of offending behavior by addressing two aims: a) to examine differences in the cortical features in a group of male serious juvenile offenders (21 OG), versus controls (28 CG), both ranging from 18 to 21 years old; and b) to determine to what extent the differential cortical features and the risk psychological profile discriminate between the two groups. Method: Besides cortical measures, demographics, executive functioning, childhood trauma, psychopathic traits, psychopathological symptoms, and antisocial and delinquent behavior were assessed. Results: Whole-brain analysis of the cortical mantle identified increased cortical thickness in the cluster comprising the right middle temporal gyrus and a smaller surface area in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex for the OG compared to the CG. The discriminant function correctly classified 100% of cases of the CG and 94.7% of the OG. Right temporal cluster, childhood trauma, callousness and symptoms of interpersonal sensitivity, psychoticism, depression, phobic anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive behavior contributed to the OG. In turn, the lateral orbitofrontal cluster, psychopathic traits of grandiosity, unemotionality, and thrill seeking, and working memory contributed to the CG. Conclusions: The increased right middle temporal gyrus of the OG could be indicative of impaired brain development in social cognition processes since it appeared in combination with the higher risk profile. The reduced orbitofrontal cortex could be indicative of immature brain development in emotional control processes since it appeared in combination with the normative psychological profile in adolescence. Based on these novel findings, areas of potential improvement for research and intervention are suggested.
Research is yet to examine whether the items of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) function equally well across race/ethnicity and gender. The current study applies an item response theory analysis to detect differential item functioning (DIF) of the YPI subscale across White, Black, and Hispanic youth and males and females among a sample of justice-involved youth. Significant DIF was detected for several items between Black youth and White youth and Black youth and Hispanic youth. Few incidences of DIF emerged between White and Hispanic youth and between males and females. The findings suggest that subscales of the YPI provide more information for White and Hispanic youth compared with Black youth. They also suggest that while there was significant DIF in the difficulty of items, the direction of DIF did not substantially favor one group or another. Thus, the findings suggest that the YPI produces comparable estimates of psychopathic traits for females and males and for White and Hispanic youth. However, the results raise concerns about comparing YPI subscale scores between White and Black youth and Hispanic and Black youth. The findings have important implications for the use of the YPI subscales among diverse samples.
Despite the number of benefits associated with use of the Internet, a number of antisocial behaviors have emerged online. In this chapter, the role of psychopathy as a predictor of antisocial online behaviors is considered. Research exploring trait psychopathy and its relation to cybercrime and cyber abuse is presented. The role of psychopathy in cyberbullying, trolling, cyberstalking, online child pornography, and cyber fraud is discussed. In addition, psychopathy is also related to broader antisocial online behaviors, such as cyber aggression and social media addiction. In this chapter, I present previous research interpretations of the strong association between psychopathy and antisocial online behaviors and discuss implications of these findings. Finally, I offer suggestions for moving toward safe online spaces.
Purpose
To predict the effect of parental attitude and proactive and reactive aggression on the cyberbully, cyber victims, and cyberbully/victim among students aged 9–14 years.
Methods
This study is a cross‐sectional, correlational, and predictive study. The sample included 360 students. Data were collected with the “Adolescence Information Form,” “Parental Attitude Scale,” “Proactive–Reactive Aggression Scale,” and “Cyberbully/Victim Questionnaire.” Logistic regression analysis was used.
Findings
This study was determined that proactive–reactive aggression and parental attitude predicted 30.3% of cyberbully/victim cases. Proactive aggression and Internet usage time are essential predictors of cyberbullying cases.
Practice Implications
To protect and improve their children's health, children should be informed about cyberbullying, proactive–reactive aggression, and the duration of Internet use.
Abstract
As psychopathy is one of the major personality disorders, relating to severe pathological syndromes of personality, clarity concerning the nature of the latent structure of psychopathy is necessary for accurate assessment. In the present study, psychopathy was assessed by the Youth Psychopathy Trait Inventory-Short Version (YPI-SV), with using three subscales, using 339 Chinese male prisoners aged 18 to 35 years old. Three different taxometric analyses were used to assess the taxonicity of psychopathy, and a three-factor solution to the YPI-SV was used as the basis of the analysis. Consistency tests of the three different procedures showed strongly that the latent structure was dimensional rather than categorical. Moreover, the mean Comparison Curve Fit Index (CCFI) was close to 0.40, which also clearly indicates a dimensional result. These results confirm the fact that the factor solution applies in most studies of psychopathy.
The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between psychopathic traits and aggressive behavior in adolescents. We assessed four subtypes of aggression (proactive-overt, reactive-overt, proactive-relational and reactive-relational). Gender was included as a moderator of those relationships. The sample comprised 765 adolescents (464 girls) who completed measures of psychopathic traits (callous–unemotional, grandiose–manipulative and impulsivity) and aggression at Time 1 and one year later. Participants were between 14 and 18 years old. Results showed that callous–unemotional (CU) traits predicted proactive-overt and proactive-relational aggression. Grandiose–Manipulative (GM) predicted proactive-overt and reactive-overt aggression, and Impulsivity-Irresponsibility (II) predicted reactive-overt aggression. The path from CU traits to proactive-overt aggression was higher in girls, and the path from GM to proactive-overt aggression was higher in boys. Results indicate that research on psychopathic traits needs to include both girls and boys to identify gender-specific manifestations of these traits.
Prior studies with children and adolescents have shown that Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S) scores are internally consistent and manifest expected relations with external variables of interest. In the present study, the factor structure and the internal consistency of YPI-S scores, and the convergent validity of the interpretation of YPI-S scores were tested in a sample of 2,500 emerging adults from the general population in Sweden (aged 20-24 years; 52.6% women). Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support a 3-factor structure among both men and women that is similar to prior YPI-S studies conducted with children and adolescents. The YPI-S total score and the 3 factor scores were internally consistent. Correlations with external variables, including aggression and delinquency, support the convergent validity of the interpretation of YPI-S scores. Finally, the strength of these zero-order and partial correlations, overall, was not significantly different across gender. In conclusion, this study provides initial evidence that the YPI-S may hold promise as a brief and time-effective self-report tool for assessing psychopathic traits in emerging adults. The present findings also suggest that the YPI-S performs in a consistent manner across gender. Recommendations for future research with the YPI-S are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
(c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
We examined the validity of a measurement system for the study of aggression that distinguishes among four principle dimensions of aggressive behaviour: overt and relational aggression (i.e., the "whats") and instrumental and reactive aggression (i.e., the "whys"). The sample comprised 1723 adolescents (Grades 5 through 10) from Berlin, Germany. The internal validity of the measurement system was strongly supported, revealing four discrete dimensions of aggression: two overriding forms (overt and relational) and two underlying functions (instrumental and reactive). The differential and unique patterns of criterion-related validity strongly supported the distinctions among the constructs. The importance of disentangling these dimensions in understanding the development of aggressive behaviour is discussed.
Objective: Psychopathy is a multidimensional construct comprising traits of narcissism, impulsivity, and callous-unemotionality (CU). Prior cross-sectional research supports an association between the CU dimension of juvenile psychopathy and peer bullying, but not victimization; however the relationship between the other psychopathy dimensions and “bully,” “bully victim,” and “victim” classifications has been largely neglected in research despite compelling empirical and theoretical support. Method: The current study addresses this critical gap in the literature using a longitudinal study design. The sample comprised 1416 (50.1% girls) Greek Cypriot adolescents (M age = 12.89) who completed a battery of self-report measures. Results: CU traits, narcissism, and impulsivity each added incremental variance beyond conduct problems (CP) to predicting bullying, whereas only impulsivity predicted victimization, one year later. Person-centered analyses clarified that CP and all psychopathy dimensions predicted membership into “bully” and “bully victim” groups, although the highest narcissism scores distinguished bullies. Impulsivity predicted membership into “victim” and “bully victim” groups, with the latter group scoring significantly higher. Conclusions: Notwithstanding other important unexamined factors known to contribute to bullying and victimization, our findings suggest that among psychopathy dimensions, narcissism best predicted which youth bullied, whereas impulsivity best distinguished youth susceptible to peer victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
In this study, we assessed the validity of the Psychopathic Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) in a Spanish sample of juvenile court-involved youths. Although recent Anglo-Saxon literature on the topic supports the usefulness of psychopathic traits in adolescent offenders for predicting recidivism and future violence, little is still known about their predictive ability for other cultures. The results of this study suggest that the PCL:YV possesses adequate concurrent criterion-related validity (by using selfreported version of Antisocial Process Screening Device) and retrospective validity (particularly as regards the antisocial, but also the affective–interpersonal domain). Specifically, retrospective validity was confirmed by positive correlations with history of truancy at school, poor parenting, parental delinquency, self-reported antisocial
behaviour and illicit behaviour patterns including violent offences recorded in official files; however, careful analysis revealed that the Lifestyle and Antisocial factors are the main dimensions related to past offences, whether violent or otherwise. In conclusion, the PCL:YV is a convenient instrument for assessing psychopathy, and, hence, the risk of criminality, in youths.
Understanding the development of psychopathic personality from childhood to adulthood is crucial for understanding the development and stability of severe and long-lasting conduct problems and criminal behavior. This paper describes the development of a new teacher rated instrument to assess psychopathic personality from age three to 12, the Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI). The reliability and validity of the CPTI was tested in a Swedish general population sample of 2,056 3- to 5-year-olds (mean age = 3.86; SD = .86; 53 % boys). The CPTI items loaded distinctively on three theoretically proposed factors: a Grandiose-Deceitful Factor, a Callous-Unemotional factor, and an Impulsive-Need for Stimulation factor. The three CPTI factors showed reliability in internal consistency and external validity, in terms of expected correlations with theoretically relevant constructs (e.g., fearlessness). The interaction between the three CPTI factors was a stronger predictor of concurrent conduct problems than any of the three individual CPTI factors, showing that it is important to assess all three factors of the psychopathic personality construct in early childhood. In conclusion, the CPTI seems to reliably and validly assess a constellation of traits that is similar to psychopathic personality as manifested in adolescence and adulthood.
Purpose
Measures of adolescent psychopathy have yet to be examined in offending trajectory studies. This may explain why identifying etiological differences between individuals following high-rate and moderate-rate offending trajectories has remained elusive. The current study used the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) to examine psychopathic traits and offending trajectories within a sample of incarcerated offenders.
Methods
Convictions were measured for Canadian male (n = 243) and female (n = 64) offenders at each year between ages 12 and 28. Semi-parametric group based modeling identified four unique trajectories: adolescence-limited (AL) (27.3% of sample), explosive-onset fast desister (EOFD) (30.6%), high-rate slow desister (HRSD) (14.6%), and high frequency chronic (HFC) (27.5%).
Findings
Both a three and a four factor model of psychopathy were tested, and both factor structures were positively and significantly associated with the HRSD and HFC trajectories. Regarding individual factors of psychopathy, the ‘Antisocial’ factor of the PCL:YV was the only individual dimension significantly associated with membership in high-rate compared to moderate-rate offending trajectories.
Conclusions
Psychopathic traits appear more commonly present amongst individuals who follow chronic versus moderate offending trajectories. Implications for early intervention and risk management of offenders are discussed.
A non-arbitrary method for the identification and scale setting of latent variables in general structural equation modeling is introduced. This particular technique pro- vides identical model fit as traditional methods (e.g., the marker variable method), but it allows one to estimate the latent parameters in a nonarbitrary metric that re- flects the metric of the measured indicators. This technique, therefore, is particularly useful for mean and covariance structures (MACS) analyses, where the means of the indicators and latent constructs are of key interest. By introducing this alternative method of identification and scale setting, researchers are provided with an addi- tional tool for conducting MACS analyses that provides a meaningful and non- arbitrary scale for the estimates of the latent variable parameters. Importantly, this tool can be used with single-group single-occasion models as well as with multi- ple-group models, multiple-occasion models, or both. In this brief note, a non-arbitrary method for identification and scale setting of la- tent variables in general structural equation modeling (SEM) and, more specifi- cally, with mean and covariance structures (MACS) analyses, is introduced. In so doing, the two most common methods for identifying and scaling constructs are re- viewed and the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches are discussed. For simplicity, demonstration focuses on the common SEM situation in which (a) constructs have multiple indicators, (b) most indicators load only on one construct (i.e., "simple structure"), and (c) each indicator has the same possible response scale (i.e., same range of possible outcomes). In other words, the discussion of identification and scale setting applies to rather unrestricted assumptions about the
This article reviews the current research literature on the development of aggression and callous-unemotional traits. Research suggests there are two functions to aggression, reactive and instrumental, and each has concomitant cognitive and emotional factors associated. Furthermore, callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., an absence of empathy and guilt) have been shown to be associated with the instrumental type of aggression. Research on CU traits suggests that there are distinct developmental mechanisms operating in the development of aggressive and violent behavior for youths with and without these traits. These distinct developmental mechanisms have important implications for the assessment and treatment of aggressive and violent youths.
We examined the validity of a measurement system for the study of aggression that distinguishes among four principle dimensions of aggressive behaviour: overt and relational aggression (i.e., the “whats”) and instrumental and reactive aggression (i.e., the “whys”). The sample comprised 1723 adolescents (Grades 5 through 10) from Berlin, Germany. The internal validity of the measurement system was strongly supported, revealing four discrete dimensions of aggression: two overriding forms (overt and relational) and two underlying functions (instrumental and reactive). The differential and unique patterns of criterion-related validity strongly supported the distinctions among the constructs. The importance of disentangling these dimensions in understanding the development of aggressive behaviour is discussed.
The adolescent Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) and its child version (YPI-CV) are sound but lengthy instruments for measuring psychopathic traits in youths. The current study develops psychometrically strong short versions of these instruments. Samples used for item reduction were community samples of adolescents (n = 2105, age 16–19, 49% boys) and children (n = 360, age 9–12, 52% boys). Stepwise parallel reduction using principal components analyses and content-related arguments resulted in two highly similar short instruments of 18 items each. In both versions, near identical and theoretically comprehensible three factor structures were demonstrated, which were crossvalidated in independent samples (CFI = .97 and .97; RMSEA = .044 and .038, respectively). Results were similar for boys and girls. The short instruments were reliable (Cronbach’s αs of .85 and .83) and covered all core characteristics of the psychopathic personality construct. The short versions showed a high convergence with the original long instruments (r = .95 and .93, respectively) and similar correlations to external criterion measures of conduct problems. Therefore, the abbreviated versions are practical and valid alternatives for the original YPIs when administration time is limited.
The study examined the reliability and validity of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) and the Childhood Psychopathy Scale (CPS) in a community sample of 182 Flemish adolescents in the age range of 9 to 19 years. Data were gathered by means of parent, teacher, and self-report, and the factor structure was examined by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistencies of the resulting scales and associations with measures of disruptive behavior disorders and internalizing problem behaviors were explored. Results confirmed the underlying a priori structure of both APSD and CPS.
Bullying and victimization occurring in adolescence can have a long-lasting negative impact into adulthood. This study investigates whether conduct problems (CP) and dimensions of psychopathy predict the developmental course of bullying and victimization from ages 12 to 14 among 1,416 Greek-Cypriot adolescents. Results indicate that initial levels of bullying were highest among adolescents scoring high on narcissism, impulsivity, or CPparticularly for those also showing high callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Bullying behaviors were also more stable among youth scoring high on narcissism. Further, youth high on impulsivity showed more stable victimization by peers across development. Importantly, adolescents high on CP+CU were at greater risk for engaging in bullying across development compared with those scoring lower on CU traits or CP.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages
Conduct problems (CP) and callous-unemotional (CU) traits can have a long-lasting negative impact into adulthood. Importantly, among youth with CP, those high on CU traits engage in a more severe, aggressive, and persistent pattern of antisocial behavior. The current study investigates the co-occurrence between CP and CU traits among a large sample of Greek-Cypriot adolescents (N = 1,674; 50.1 % girls). Five distinct groups were identified with Latent Profile Analysis: low risk (48.7 %), average risk (33.8 %), co-occurring high CP-high CU (5.4 %), high CP-low CU (5.2 %), and low CP-high CU (6.9 %). Although more boys were identified in the higher risk groups, boys and girls within each group were not differentiated on levels of CP or CU traits during early adolescence. Youth in the identified groups were compared on early (Mean age = 12.12) and middle (Mean age = 14.02) adolescence individual and contextual factors. Youth with high CP-high CU were at higher risk for behavioral (bullying and substance use), individual (inattention, impulsivity, narcissism), and contextual (low family-support) problems compared to youth in the high CP-low CU and low CP-high CU groups, providing evidence that the combination of CP and CU traits might constitute a pathological group. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of sub-typing CP based on CU traits for the forthcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Additional novel findings suggested that adolescents scoring high on CP, irrespective of CU, were not differentiated on hyperactivity, victimization, and anxiety/depression, and adolescents scoring high on CU traits, with or without CP, reported similar low levels of self-esteem and peer and family social-support.
This study investigated 3 broad classes of individual-differences variables (job-search motives, competencies, and constraints) as predictors of job-search intensity among 292 unemployed job seekers. Also assessed was the relationship between job-search intensity and reemployment success in a longitudinal context. Results show significant relationships between the predictors employment commitment, financial hardship, job-search self-efficacy, and motivation control and the outcome job-search intensity. Support was not found for a relationship between perceived job-search constraints and job-search intensity. Motivation control was highlighted as the only lagged predictor of job-search intensity over time for those who were continuously unemployed. Job-search intensity predicted Time 2 reemployment status for the sample as a whole, but not reemployment quality for those who found jobs over the study's duration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S; van Baardewijk et al., 2010) is a self-report measure to assess psychopathic-like traits in adolescents. The aim of the present study is to investigate the factor structure, the internal consistency, and the criterion validity of the YPI-S in 768 Belgian community adolescents (45.4 % males). In general, our study supported the YPI three factor structure while relevant indices showed that the instrument is internally consistent. In addition, relations between the YPI-S total score and dimension scores on the one hand and external criterion measures (e.g. conduct problems and self-reported offending) on the other hand were generally in line with predictions. The present study replicated and substantially extended previous findings of the YPI-S in a sample of community youth. Future studies are needed to test whether findings from community samples can be replicated in clinical-referred and justice-involved boys and adolescents.
Using a multimeasure longitudinal research design, we measured psychopathy with the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) and the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL-YV) among 122 offending girls. We examined the psychometric properties of the YPI, investigated the association between the YPI and the PCL-YV, and assessed their concurrent and longitudinal association with externalizing problems on the Youth/Adult Self-Report and violent and delinquent behaviors on the Self-Report of Offending. Alphas for the YPI were adequate and there were small to moderate correlations between the YPI and PCL-YV, suggesting that each assesses distinctive personality features. The YPI and the PCL-YV were approximately equivalent in their association with concurrent and longitudinal outcomes with two exceptions, where the YPI demonstrated a stronger association with antisocial behavior. Concurrently, there was a divergent relationship between the psychopathy factor scores and antisocial outcomes. Within 2 years, the psychopathy affective factor, which constrained the YPI and PCL-YV to be equivalent, was associated with externalizing behaviors and the YPI affective factor was associated with violent offending. Approximately 4½ years later, neither measure was significantly related to antisocial behavior after accounting for past behavior. Reasons for continuity and discontinuity in risk identification are discussed.
A large sample (N = 425) of young adult males from the Pittsburg Youth Study (PYS; Loeber, Farrington, Stouthamer-Loeber, & Van Kammen, 1998) was used to test the item-level structure of the short-form version of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP; Paulhus, Neumann, & Hare, in press) and the standard version of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI; Andershed, Kerr, Stattln, & Levander, 2002). Also, structural equation modeling analyses examined how the SRP and YPI factors were linked to external correlates involving criminal offenses and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. The modeling results indicated acceptable fit for the latent structure of both instruments and the SRP and YPI factor correlations were strong, particularly for conceptually-related scales. Finally, both instruments showed similar patterns in predicting externalizing and internalizing psychopathology, as well as criminal offenses. Taken together, the results provide evidence of convergent and construct validity across the two instruments. New insights into the link between psychopathy and the external correlates in young adult males are discussed.
Despite substantial evidence for the fit of the 3- and 4-factor models of Psychopathy Checklist-based ratings of psychopathy in adult males and adolescents, evidence is less consistent in adolescent females. However, prior studies used samples much smaller than recommended for examining model fit. To address this issue, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis of 646 adolescent females to test the fit of the 3- and 4-factor models. We also investigated the fit of these models in more homogeneous subsets of the full sample to examine whether fit was invariant across geographical region and setting. Analyses indicated adequate fit for both models in the full sample and was generally acceptable for both models in North American and European subsamples and for participants in less restrictive (probation/detention/clinic) settings. However, in the incarcerated subsample, the 4-factor model achieved acceptable fit on only two of four indices. Although model fit was not invariant across continent or setting, invariance could be achieved in most cases by simply allowing factor loadings on a single Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (Forth, Kosson, & Hare, 2003) item to vary across groups. In summary, in contrast to prior studies with small samples, current findings show that both the 3- and 4-factor models fit adequately in a large sample of adolescent females, and the factor loadings are largely similar for North American and European samples and for long-term incarcerated and shorter-term incarcerated/probation/clinic samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
The current study investigated the relation of callous-unemotional (CU) traits to bullying, victimization, and proactive and
reactive aggression. We also examined whether CU traits will be more strongly related to groups of children exhibiting combined
or pure forms of proactive and reactive aggression and combined or pure forms of bullying and victimization. The findings
suggested that the presence of CU traits, which consists of three dimensions of behavior, uncaring, callousness, and unemotional,
may designate important subgroups of aggressive children. Evidence suggested that the adolescents characterized by higher
levels of CU traits were more likely to exhibit combined proactive and reactive aggression in comparison to pure forms of
proactive or reactive aggression. Additionally, bullies scored higher on the uncaring dimension, and bully-victims (adolescents
exhibiting both bullying and victimization) scored higher on the callous dimension. In contrast, victims of bullying scored
lower on the uncaring dimension of behavior.
In this study, a questionnaire (Cyberbullying Questionnaire, CBQ) was developed to assess the prevalence of numerous modalities of cyberbullying (CB) in adolescents. The association of CB with the use of other forms of violence, exposure to violence, acceptance and rejection by peers was also examined. In the study, participants were 1431 adolescents, aged between 12 and17years (726 girls and 682 boys). The adolescents responded to the CBQ, measures of reactive and proactive aggression, exposure to violence, justification of the use of violence, and perceived social support of peers. Sociometric measures were also used to assess the use of direct and relational aggression and the degree of acceptance and rejection by peers. The results revealed excellent psychometric properties for the CBQ. Of the adolescents, 44.1% responded affirmatively to at least one act of CB. Boys used CB to greater extent than girls. Lastly, CB was significantly associated with the use of proactive aggression, justification of violence, exposure to violence, and less perceived social support of friends.
This study investigated the relationship between cognitive mechanisms, applied by people to rationalize and justify harmful acts,
and engagement in traditional peer and cyber aggression among school children. We examined the contribution of moral
disengagement (MD), hostile attribution bias, and outcome expectancies, and we further explored the individual contribution of
each MD mechanism. Our aim was to identify shared and unique cognitive factors of the two forms of aggression. Three hundred
and thirty-nine secondary school children completed self-report measures that assessed MD, hostile attribution bias, outcome
expectancies, and their roles and involvement in traditional and cyber aggression. We found that the MD total score positively
related to both forms of peer-directed aggression. Furthermore, traditional peer aggression positively related to children’s moral
justification, euphemistic language, displacement of responsibility and outcome expectancies, and negatively associated with hostile
attribution bias. Moral justification also related positively to cyber aggression. Cyber aggression and cyber victimization were
associated with high levels of traditional peer aggression and victimization, respectively. The results suggest that MD is a common
feature of both traditional and cyber peer aggression, but it seems that traditional forms of aggression demand a higher level of
rationalization or justification. Moreover, the data suggest that the expectation of positive outcomes from harmful behavior
facilitates engagement in traditional peer aggression. The differential contribution of specific cognitive mechanisms indicates the
need for future research to elaborate on the current findings, in order to advance theory and inform existing and future school
interventions tackling aggression and bullying.
[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 51(2) of Journal of Counseling Psychology (see record 2007-16897-001). On page 134, line 8, right column, under the heading Checklist for Evaluating Mediation Analyses Using Multiple Regression, the question incorrectly asks, "Was the relation between the predictor and the outcome (Path b) greater than or equal to the relation between the predictor and the mediator (Path a)?" The correct question is "Was the relation between the mediator and the outcome (Path b) greater than or equal to the relation between the predictor and the mediator (Path a)?"]
The goals of this article are to (a) describe differences between moderator and mediator effects; (b) provide nontechnical descriptions of how to examine each type of effect, including study design, analysis, and interpretation of results; (c) demonstrate how to analyze each type of effect; and (d) provide suggestions for further reading. The authors focus on the use of multiple regression because it is an accessible data-analytic technique contained in major statistical packages. When appropriate, they also note limitations of using regression to detect moderator and mediator effects and describe alternative procedures, particularly structural equation modeling. Finally, to illustrate areas of confusion in counseling psychology research, they review research testing moderation and mediation that was published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology during 2001. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
Although knowing and feeling the emotions of other people might result in less bullying, we argue that not caring about these feelings will also be important. That is, what good is empathy, if one does not care about the feelings or values of others? We examined self-reports of callous-unemotional traits (CU: Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits), bullying, and empathy in 201 children (ages 11-12 years). Results show children high on CU to be lowest in affective empathy and highest in direct bullying. While all subscales of the ICU were related to affective empathy, only the uncaring subscale was uniquely related to cognitive empathy. Empathy did not explain differences in bullying when taking into account CU traits. Therefore, failing to care about others is more important than empathy for explaining the direct and indirect bullying these children take part in. Implications for targeting different forms of empathy in treatment are considered.
This study reports the development of the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), and the differential correlates of these two forms of aggression. Antisocial, psychosocial and personality measures were obtained at ages 7 and 16 years in schoolboys, while the RPQ was administered to 334 of the boys at age 16 years. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a significant fit for a two-factor proactive-reactive model that replicated from one independent subsample to another. Proactive aggression was uniquely characterized at age 7 by initiation of fights, strong-arm tactics, delinquency, poor school motivation, poor peer relationships, single-parent status, psychosocial adversity, substance-abusing parents, and hyperactivity, and at age 16 by a psychopathic personality, blunted affect, delinquency, and serious violent offending. Reactive aggression was uniquely characterized at age 16 by impulsivity, hostility, social anxiety, lack of close friends, unusual perceptual experiences, and ideas of reference. Findings confirm and extend the differential correlates of proactive-reactive aggression, and demonstrate that this brief but reliable and valid self-report instrument can be used to assess proactive and reactive aggression in child and adolescent samples.
There is limited knowledge about the unique relations between adolescent reactive and proactive aggression and later psychosocial adjustment in early adulthood. Accordingly, this study prospectively examined associations between adolescent (mean age = 16) reactive and proactive aggression and psychopathic features, antisocial behavior, negative emotionality, and substance use measured 10 years later in early adulthood (mean age = 26). Study questions were examined in a longitudinal sample of 335 adolescent males. Path analyses indicate that after controlling for the stability of the outcome and the overlap between the two subtypes of aggression, reactive aggression is uniquely associated with negative emotionality, specifically anxiety, in adulthood. In contrast, proactive aggression is uniquely associated with measures of adult psychopathic features and antisocial behavior in adulthood. Both reactive and proactive aggression uniquely predicted substance use in adulthood, but the substances varied by subtype of aggression. Implications for findings are discussed.
This study assesses the association between cognitive schemas of justification of violence, grandiosity and abuse, and reactive and proactive aggressive behavior, and whether this association is mediated by social information processing (SIP). For this purpose, a sample of 1371 adolescents (638 girls and 580 boys) completed measures of cognitive schemas, SIP, and Reactive-Proactive Aggression. The results showed that the cognitive schemas of justification of violence and narcissism are more relevant for proactive aggression, whereas the abuse schema is more relevant for reactive aggression. SIP mediated particularly the association between cognitive schemas and reactive aggression. Each cognitive schema was shown to be associated with some particular SIP component: justification of violence and abuse with the component of interpretation, and narcissism with the experience of anger, Moreover, the abuse schema was negatively associated with the selection of aggressive responses. Lastly, a general model of paths between schemas, SIP, and aggression was found to be quite similar for boys and girls, although the former scored higher in proactive aggression, partly because of their higher scores in the justification of violence and narcissism schemas.
The present article reports on an attempt to import the concept of psychopathy at the childhood level. Childhood psychopathy was assessed in 430 boys ages 12 and 13 years by using caretaker reports on a translation of an adult psychopathy assessment instrument. A systematic construct validation approach revealed that childhood psychopathy fits into the nomological network surrounding adult psychopathy. Children with psychopathic personalities, like their adult counterparts, were serious and stable offenders, impulsive, and more prone to externalizing than internalizing disorders. Childhood psychopathy also provided incremental validity in predicting serious stable antisocial behavior in adolescence over and above other known predictors and one other classification approach. These results suggest that psychopathy has a childhood manifestation that can be measured reliably. Implications and future directions are outlined.
This study examined the structure of psychopathic traits in 2 samples of children. The nonreferred community sample included 1,136 children recruited from elementary schools in 2 school districts in the southeastern United States. The clinic sample included 160 children referred to an outpatient mental health clinic serving the same geographic region. In both samples, parent and teacher ratings of psychopathic traits were subjected to a principal-axis factor analysis, and the congruence of the factor structure across samples was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. In both samples, 1 dimension that consisted of the callous and unemotional traits that have been hallmarks of most clinical descriptions of psychopathy was isolated. Two other dimensions consisting of narcissistic traits and impulsivity emerged in the community sample. Both the narcissism and impulsivity dimensions were highly related to symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, the callous and unemotional traits were only weakly associated with these symptoms after controlling for the other dimensions of psychopathy.
Psychopathy is characterized by diverse indicators. Clinical accounts have emphasized 3 distinct facets: interpersonal, affective, and behavioral. Research using the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R), however, has emphasized a 2-factor model. A review of the literature on the PCL-R and related measures of psychopathy, together with confirmatory factor analysis of PCL-R data from North American participants, indicates that the 2-factor model cannot be sustained. A 3-factor hierarchical model was developed in which a coherent superordinate factor, Psychopathy, is underpinned by 3 factors: Arrogant and Deceitful Interpersonal Style, Deficient Affective Experience, and Impulsive and Irresponsible Behavioral Style. The model was cross-validated on North American and Scottish PCL-R data, Psychopathy Screening Version data, and data derived from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) antisocial personality disorder field trial.
Examined the relative and combined associations among relational and overt forms of aggression and victimization and adolescents' concurrent depression symptoms, loneliness, self-esteem, and externalizing behavior. An ethnically diverse sample of 566 adolescents (55% girls) in Grades 9 to 12 participated. Results replicated prior work on relational aggression and victimization as distinct forms of peer behavior that are uniquely associated with concurrent social-psychological adjustment. Victimization was associated most closely with internalizing symptoms, and peer aggression was related to symptoms of disruptive behavior disorder. Findings also supported the hypothesis that victims of multiple forms of aggression are at greater risk for adjustment difficulties than victims of one or no form of aggression. Social support from close friends appeared to buffer the effects of victimization on adjustment.
The role of callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct problems in predicting conduct problem severity, severity and type of aggression, and self-reported delinquency at a 1-year follow-up was investigated in a sample of 98 children (mean age 12.43; SD = 1.72) recruited from a community-wide screening. Children with both CU traits and conduct problems had a greater number and variety of conduct problems at follow-up than children who at the screening had high levels of conduct problems alone. However, this poorer outcome for children with CU traits could largely be accounted for by differences in initial level of conduct problem severity. Children with CU traits and conduct problems were also at risk for showing higher levels of aggression, especially proactive aggression, and self-reported delinquency. Importantly, these outcomes could not be solely explained by initial level of conduct problem severity. Finally, CU traits predicted self-reported delinquency in some children who did not initially show high levels of conduct problems and this predictive relationship seemed to be strongest for girls in the sample who were high on CU traits but who did not show significant conduct problems.
Psychopathy is characterized by diverse indicators. Clinical accounts have emphasized 3 distinct facets: interpersonal, affective, and behavioral, Research using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), however, has emphasized a 2-factor model, A review of the literature on the PCL-R and related measures of psychopathy, together with confirmatory factor analysis of PCL-R data from North American participants, indicates that the 2-factor model cannot be sustained. A 3-factor hierarchical model was developed in which a coherent superordinate factor, Psychopathy, is underpinned by 3 factors: Arrogant and Deceitful Interpersonal Style, Deficient Affective Experience, and Impulsive and Irresponsible Behavioral Style. The model was cross-validated on North American and Scottish PCL-R data, Psychopathy Screening Version data, and data derived from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) antisocial personality disorder field trial.
Callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been associated with problems in behavioral adjustment in past research which has led to proposals to include them in diagnostic classification systems for child behavior problems. In the current study, the factor structure of a comprehensive measure of CU traits was tested in a sample of 540 Italian children in grades 6 and 8. Consistent with past factor analyses in other countries, CU traits could be described as having three subfactors (i.e., callousness, uncaring, unemotional) which load on an overarching general factor. Importantly, this factor structure was invariant across gender and grade. Consistent with past studies, CU traits were positively associated with school behavior problems, bullying, and reactive aggression and this was largely accounted for by the callousness and uncaring subscales. The current results advance past work in showing that these associations extend to cyberbullying and to bullying reported by both self-report and by peer nominations. Further, CU traits were also associated with lower levels of academic achievement, and this was also largely accounted for by the callousness and uncaring dimensions. Finally, although the unemotional subscale did not show consistent associations with problems in behavioral or academic adjustment, it did contribute independently to the prediction (negatively) of peer-reported prosocial behaviors.
There is a growing interest in the identification of psychopathic traits in infancy and adolescence. This effort will enable the development of predictive models of aggressive and violent behavior, in order to intervene effectively both in preventive and therapeutic levels. Several authors have suggested that the presence or absence of psychopathic traits, together with the factors that sustain, maximize or minimize them, can help in the identification of the etiology and developmental trajectories of anti-social individuals.
Two measures of psychopathic features in youths, the self-report version of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) and the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory (YPI) were administered to 165 youths in a juvenile diversion program. For both measures, internal consistency was poor for the scales that assess the affective domain of psychopathic features; otherwise, internal consistency was excellent for the YPI and generally superior to that of the APSD. However, the published three-factor models for both measures did not replicate when examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Both measures obtained the expected correlations with measures of a variety of criminal justice (e.g., age of delinquency onset, past year delinquent behavior) and psychological constructs (e.g., internalizing and externalizing behavior), providing evidence of construct validity for both measures. The YPI appears to be the better measure for exploring the construct of psychopathy in adolescents. Recommendations are made concerning revisions to the APSD.
Juvenile sex offenders were compared to other juvenile offenders in the degree of violence against women they witnessed in their families of origin. Poor impulse control, a callous and unemotional interpersonal style, and sexist attitudes toward women were tested as potential mediators of this relation. Participants were 70 incarcerated juvenile males, ages 13 to 18, from three offender categories: 23 sex offenders, 17 violent offenders, and 30 noncontact offenders. Results indicated that the witnessing of severe domestic violence was related not only to juvenile sex offending but to contact offending in general. There were no group differences on measures of poor impulse control or sexist attitudes toward women. However, sex offenders were found to have more callous and unemotional traits than other offenders. Therefore, although these traits do not mediate the effects of witnessing family violence, they do seem to be important in distinguishing juvenile sex offenders from other juvenile offenders.