Psychopathy screening of incarcerated juveniles: a comparison of measures

How well do brief screening measures correspond with a full-scale assessment of psychopathy among juvenile offenders? This study compared 3 independent screening measures (the Antisocial Process Screening Device [APSD] Self-Report [A. A. Caputo, P. J. Frick, & S. L. Brodsky, 1999], the APSD Staff Rating [P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, 2001], and the Psychopathy Content Scale [D. C. Murrie & D. G. Cornell, 2000] on the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory [T. Millon, 1993]) with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; A. E. Forth, D. S. Kosson, & R. D. Hare, in press) in a sample of 117 incarcerated male juveniles. Modest correlations (.30-.49) were found between PCL:YV scores and those of the 3 screening measures, and there was moderate accuracy (67%-82%) in identifying youth who scored relatively high (> or = 25) on the PCL:YV. Although these results support the construct of adolescent psychopathy, they indicate substantial limitations in the use of psychopathy screening measures with juvenile offenders.     

Psychopathy and recidivism from mid-adolescence to young adulthood: cumulating legal problems and limiting life opportunities

This study examined the ability of psychopathy as indexed by the following 4 scales: Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (A. E. Forth, D. S. Kosson, & R. D. Hare, 1996/2003), Antisocial Process Screening Device (P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, 2001), Hare Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-II (R. D. Hare, 1991), and Personality Assessment Inventory-Antisocial Scale (L. C. Morey, 1991, 2007) to prospectively predict antisocial outcomes including general and violent recidivism across a 3- to 4-year time span. Results indicated that psychopathy was predictive of both general and violent recidivism from mid-adolescence to young adulthood even after accounting for 14 variables theoretically linked to offending. These findings add to the recent research showing stability in the psychopathy traits across time by also demonstrating that psychopathy in adolescents also has a real-world effect, including a cost to society with higher rates of offending in the community and a cost to youth with cumulating legal records that are likely to narrow their potential for prosocial growth in the community.     

The Millon adolescent clinical inventory and psychopathy

We investigated the ability of the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI; Millon, 1993) to assess psychopathy as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991). Participants were 90 adolescents in an inpatient psychiatric unit. The MACI Substance Abuse Proneness (r = .47), Unruly (r = .43), and Submissive (r = -.42) scales correlated most strongly with the PCL-R. Using a discriminant function analysis, the Substance Abuse Proneness scale correctly distinguished between high- and low-psychopathy groups in 79% of cases. Using a rational approach, we developed a psychopathy content scale using 20 MACI items. This content scale correlated with the PCL-R (r = .60) and distinguished high- and low-psychopathy groups in 83% (kappa = .66) of cases (sensitivity = 85%, specificity = 81%).     

Adolescent Psychopathy and Personality Theory—the Interpersonal Circumplex: Expanding Evidence of a Nomological Net

The construct validity of psychopathy was examined in a sample of 114 male and female young offenders (M_age = 15.16) at a southeastern detention center. The interpersonal circumplex served as a framework of general personality from which to examine the construct of adolescent psychopathy. A supplementary analysis of the psychopathy measures and the Big 5 factors of personality was also conducted using a matrix approach. Measures included: (a) Antisocial Process Screening Device (P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, 2001); (b) Child Psychopathy Scale (D. R. Lynam, 1996); (c) Psychopathy Checklist—Youth Version (A. E. Forth, D. S. Kosson, & R. D. Hare, 2003); and (d) Interpersonal Adjective Scales Revised—Big 5 Version (P. Trapnell & J. S. Wiggins, 1991; J. S. Wiggins, 1995). Results showed substantial convergence among the three psychopathy measures. In addition, meaningful associations between psychopathy and constructs within the interpersonal circumplex and broader domains of the Big 5 were obtained. Two psychopathy scales correlated to a higher degree than expected with neuroticism. These findings provide evidence linking personality theory to the concept of child and adolescent psychopathy, thereby adding to its construct validity. However, they do so with the caveat that youth may also be displaying some characteristics of neuroticism, suggesting that worry and anxiety may accompany psychopathic features in earlier developmental stages. The implications of the current study are discussed.     

The content validity of juvenile psychopathy: an empirical examination

This study examined the content validity of a juvenile psychopathy measure, the Childhood Psychopathy Scale (CPS; D. R. Lynam, 1997), based on a downward translation of an adult instrument, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991). The CPS was compared with two other indices of juvenile psychopathy: (a) an index derived from expert ratings and (b) an empirical index based on correlations with adult psychopathy. The 100 items of the Common Language Q-Sort (CLQ; A. Caspi et al., 1992) provided a common metric for the comparison. Psychopathy and personality were assessed at age 13 years with the mother-reported CPS and the CLQ. Psychopathy was assessed at age 24 years with the interviewer-rated Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995). Data from over 250 participants of the middle sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study were used to examine these relations. Item content analyses demonstrated considerable overlap among the three indices, indicating that the downward translation utilizes criteria similar to those of experts and the empirically-derived measure. In addition, these indices, even after removing overlapping items, demonstrated considerable convergence, also supporting the content validity of the downward translation. These results suggest that the downward translation method is adequate for understanding the juvenile psychopathy construct.     

Psychopathy scores and violence among juvenile offenders: a multi-measure study

This study examined the relations between psychopathy scores and violent behavior in 113 incarcerated adolescents. We compared the results of four different instruments designed to assess psychopathy features among juveniles-the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), two versions of the Antisocial Processes Screening Device (APSD), and a Psychopathy Content scale on the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI). We found that PCLY:YV scores were significantly correlated with violent offense history, unadjudicated violence, and institutional violence, as well as measures of the severity and instrumentality of prior violence. Receiver operating characteristic analyses generated statistically significant effect sizes (AUC values) ranging from 0.64 to 0.79. The three other measures generated statistically significant correlations with one or more of the violence criteria, although correlations and effect sizes tended to be smaller in magnitude. Our results offer some support for the validity of these measures of psychopathic features, and the value of the PCL:YV in particular, with respect to short-term measures of violence outcome among juvenile offenders.     

Factor structure of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) in incarcerated adolescents

Two studies are reported on the underlying dimensions of the psychopathy construct in adolescents as measured by the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL: YV; Forth, Kosson, & Hare, 2003). In Study 1, the PCL: YV item ratings for 505 male adolescents incarcerated in 5 different settings in North America were used to test the fit of 3 models that have been hypothesized to represent the structure of psychopathy in adults. A 4th model based on parceling PCL: YV items was also tested. In Study 2, these models were tested with a sample of 233 male adolescents incarcerated in 2 facilities in the United Kingdom. Model fit results indicated that the 18-item 4-factor model developed by Hare (2003) and a modified version of a 13-item 3-factor model developed by Cooke and Michie (2001) were associated with generally good fit. Because the 4-factor model is a less saturated model than the 3-factor model (better parameter to data point ratio), it survived a riskier test of disconfirmation. Implications for the nature of psychopathy in youth are discussed.     

Validity and structure of a self-report measure of youth psychopathy

An interest in early identification of youth who may be at risk of psychopathy has generated measures for age-appropriate screening and assessment. This study examines the structural, concurrent, and divergent validity of the Psychopathy Content Scale, a 20-item self-report instrument derived from the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI). Data for 481 youths who had taken the MACI, the Child Behavior Checklist Youth Self-Report (YSR), and the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument, Second Version (MAYSI-2), were analyzed. Results showed that the PCS is best described by a two-factor model and that analyses of the two factors offer limited support for convergent and divergent validity. High scores on both factors were associated with high YSR and MAYSI-2 scales, suggesting that the measure identified youth who were distressed on several measures of emotional, psychological, and behavioral disorder.     

Reliability, diagnostic efficiency, and validity of the Millon adolescent clinical inventory: examination of selected scales in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents

This study examined the internal consistency, diagnostic efficiency, and validity of selected scales of the Millon adolescent clinical inventory (MACI; Millon et al., Manual for the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory, National Computer Systems, Minneapolis, MN, 1993). 241 psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents were administered the MACI and a battery of established self-report measures and a multidisciplinary team independently assigned DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses at the time of discharge. The internal consistency of MACI scales ranged from 0.71 to 0.93. Conditional probabilities (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power) were calculated for selected disorders using independently generated clinical diagnoses as the standard. The diagnostic efficiencies for the selected scales were variable, with adequate performance for predicting classes of diagnoses but not for specific diagnoses. The MACI showed good criterion validity for most disorders, with participants with a clinical diagnosis having a significantly higher corresponding MACI scale score than participants not assigned that diagnosis. Concurrent validity, tested by correlating MACI scale scores with those of relevant, validated measures, was generally good. The MACI appears to be a psychometrically sound self-report instrument and appears valuable as a screening instrument for many problems found in adolescent psychiatric inpatients.     

Concurrent validity of the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory as a measure of depression in hospitalized adolescents.

This study examined the concurrent validity of the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI; Millon 1993) in the assessment of depression among 88 adolescent inpatients. Doleful Personality and Depressive Affect scales were moderately predictive of a clinical diagnosis of depression, but both scales were strongly associated with scores on the Children's Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1992). The Suicidal Tendencies scale was weakly associated with placement on suicide precautions. Overall, these results provide moderate support for the use of the MACI in the assessment of hospitalized adolescents.     

Capturing the four-factor structure of psychopathy in college students via self-report

A number of self-report psychopathy scales have been used successfully in both clinical and nonclinical settings. However, their factor structure does not adequately capture the four factors (Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle, and Antisocial) recently identified in the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) and related measures. This deficit was addressed by upgrading the Self Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP-II; Hare, Hemphill, & Harpur, 1989). In Study 1 (N = 249), an exploratory factor analysis of this experimental version revealed oblique factors similar to those outlined by Hare (2003). In Study 2 (N = 274), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed this structure, that is, four distinct but intercorrelated factors. The factors exhibited appropriate construct validity in a nomological network of related personality measures. Links with self-reports of offensive activities (including entertainment preferences and behavior) also supported the construct validity of the oblique four-factor model.     

Incremental validity of the Psychopathy Checklist facet scores: predicting release outcome in six samples

The incremental validity of the 4 facet scores (Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle, Antisocial) of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991, 2003) and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995) was evaluated in 6 forensic/correctional samples with average follow-ups ranging from 20 weeks to 10 years. Results indicated that whereas Facet 4 (Antisocial) achieved incremental validity relative to the first 3 facets (Interpersonal, Affective, and Lifestyle) in predicting recidivism in all 6 samples, a block of the first 3 facets achieved incremental validity relative to the 4th facet in only 1 sample. Thus, although there was consistent support for the incremental validity of Facet 4 above and beyond the first 3 facets, there was minimal support for the incremental validity of Facets 1, 2, and 3 above and beyond Facet 4. The implications of these findings for the psychopathy construct in general and the PCL-R/SV in particular are discussed.     

Construct validity of psychopathy in a community sample: a nomological net approach.

The construct validity of psychopathy was examined within a sample of 326 male and female university students. The interpersonal circumplex served as a nomological net for the examination of convergences between psychopathy measures and convergent and discriminant validity with a measure of personality disorders was examined using a matrix approach. Measures included: (a) Antisocial scale of the Personality Assessment Inventory (Morey, 1991); (b) Self-Report Psychopathy scale (Hare, 1991); (c) Psychopathic Personality Inventory (Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996); (d) Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 (Hyler, 1994); and (e) Interpersonal Adjective Scales Revised-Big 5 (Trapnell & Wiggins, 1991). Results indicated (a) substantial convergence between psychopathy measures; (b) high convergent validity between psychopathy measures and antisocial personality disorder; and (c) high discriminant validity from other personality disorders. The prevalence of psychopathy within this non-forensic sample is also discussed.     

Psychopathic features in a juvenile diversion population: reliability and predictive validity of two self-report measures

The reliability and predictive validity of two experimental self-report versions of two measures of psychopathic features in youth, the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD: Frick & Hare, 2001) and a modified version of the Child Psychopathy Scale (CPS: Lynam, 1997) were examined in a sample of 69 arrested youth (M age = 14.4 years) referred to a juvenile diversion program. Parents or legal guardians completed parent-rating versions of the same measures. Reliability indicators for the APSD total measure were satisfactory although internal consistency indices (coefficient alpha) for the Callous/Unemotional and Impulsive/Conduct Problems scales were slightly lower than desirable. Reliability indicators for the CPS were excellent after deleting items that had poor corrected item-to-CPS total score correlations. Positive and statistically significant correlations for all measures were obtained with prospective measures of program failure (range 0.22-0.36) and rearrest at 1 year follow-up (range 0.33-0.56). Although further research is needed prior to the clinical use of these measures, these results signal the potential of such measures to inform clinical judgments regarding treatment compliance and risk with justice-involved youth.     

A comparison of MMPI--2 measures of psychopathic deviance in a forensic setting

We examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 (MMPI--2) measures of psychopathy, including the Clinical Scale 4, Restructured Clinical Scale 4 (RC4), Content Scale Antisocial Practices (ASP), and Personality Psychopathology Five Scale Disconstraint (DISC). Comparisons of the empirical correlates of these scales were conducted with 2 samples of participants evaluated at a criminal court clinic. The 2 samples included 59 men and 19 women and 913 men and 327 women, respectively. Two types of criteria (clinician ratings and archival record review) were utilized in the analyses. Relative to Clinical Scale 4, RC4 had significantly greater convergent validity in predicting psychopathy as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist--Screening Version (S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995) and behavioral criteria associated with this construct. RC4 also showed substantially improved discriminant validity when compared with its Clinical Scale counterpart. Among all the MMPI-2 scales studied, RC4 was the best measure of the social deviance traits of psychopathy.     

Reliability and construct validity of the psychopathy checklist - revised for Latino, European American, and African American male inmates

The utility of the psychopathy construct in predicting laboratory deficits, criminal behavior, response to intervention, and recidivism has been well documented in European American populations. However, less is known about the manifestation and correlates of psychopathy in Latino and African American populations. The present study examined the reliability and construct validity of the Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 2003) in 83 Latino inmates compared with matched samples of African Americans and European Americans. Results provide preliminary evidence that the PCL-R provides a reliable and valid measure of psychopathy in Latinos, with generally similar patterns emerging across external correlates; however, some ethnic group differences were noted for relationships between psychopathy indicators and some external correlates.     

Use of the Personality Assessment Inventory to assess psychopathy in offender populations

The authors investigated the validity of the Antisocial Features (ANT) scale of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; L. C. Morey, 1991) with respect to assessments of psychopathy in 2 offender samples. Study 1 included 46 forensic psychiatric inpatients who were administered the Screening Version of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995). In Study 2, 55 sex offenders were administered the Hare Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991). ANT scores correlated highly with the PCL:SV total score (r = .54) and moderately with the PCL-R total score (r = .40). ANT tapped primarily behavioral symptoms of psychopathy rather than interpersonal and affective symptoms. Also, ANT had low to moderate diagnostic efficiency regarding diagnoses of psychopathy, suggesting that it may be better used as a dimensional rather than categorical measure of this construct.     

Assessment of Psychopathic Traits in an Incarcerated Adolescent Sample: A Methodological Comparison

Analyses of convergent validity and group assignment using self-report, caregiver-report and interview-based measures of adolescent psychopathy were conducted in a sample of 160 incarcerated adolescents. Results reveal significant convergent validity between caregiver-report measures of adolescent psychopathy, significant convergent validity between self-report measures of adolescent psychopathy and an interviewer rating scale, but not between the caregiver-report measures and their corresponding self-report measures nor between the caregiver-report measures and the interviewer rating scale. Analyses of group assignment were also poorer than expected among all the measures with none evidencing significant agreement with the expert-rated device (Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version; PCL-YV), the most common forensic instrument used in clinical practice. Part of the poor agreement may be related to the poor psychometric performance of the callous-unemotional subscale of most of these measures and the low response rates from caregivers (N?=?35). These findings suggest that the measures do not provide an interchangeable assessment of callous-unemotional traits and suggest that further refinement of the measurement of callous-unemotional traits in youth may be warranted.     

Validating the factor structure of the Self-Report Psychopathy scale in a community sample

Currently, there is no standard self-report measure of psychopathy in community-dwelling samples that parallels the most commonly used measure of psychopathy in forensic and clinical samples, the Psychopathy Checklist. A promising instrument is the Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP), which was derived from the original version the Psychopathy Checklist. The most recent version of the SRP (SRP-III; D. L. Paulhus, C. S. Neumann, & R. D. Hare, in press) has shown good convergent and discriminate validity and a factor structure similar to the current version of the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991, 2003). The analyses in the current study further investigated the viability of the SRP-III as a PCL-R-analogous measure of psychopathy in nonforensic and nonclinical samples by extending the validation process to a community sample. Using confirmatory factor analyses and logistic regressions, the results revealed that a four-factor oblique model for the SRP-III was most tenable, congruent with the PCL-R factor structure of psychopathy and previous research in which the SRP-III was administered to a student sample.     

Longitudinal evidence that psychopathy scores in early adolescence predict adult psychopathy

This study examined the relation between psychopathy assessed at age 13 by using the mother-reported Childhood Psychopathy Scale (D. R. Lynam, 1997) and psychopathy assessed at age 24 by using the interviewer-rated Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995). Data from over 250 participants of the middle sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study were used to examine this relation; approximately 9% of the sample met criteria for a possible PCL:SV diagnosis. Despite the long time lag, different sources, and different methods, psychopathy from early adolescence into young adulthood was moderately stable (r=.31). The relation was present for the PCL:SV total and facet scores, was not moderated by initial risk status or initial psychopathy level, and held even after controlling for other age 13 variables. Diagnostic stability was somewhat lower. Both specificity and negative predictive power were good, and sensitivity was adequate, but positive predictive power was poor. This constitutes the first demonstration of the relative stability of psychopathy from adolescence into adulthood and provides evidence for the incremental utility of the adolescent psychopathy construct. Implications and future directions are discussed.