Psychopathy among incarcerated adolescents: Screening measures and violence prediction

This study of 128 incarcerated adolescent males explored two issues: the relationship between psychopathy traits and violence, and the correspondence among several recently developed psychopathy measures. Among adults, the construct of psychopathy has identified a narrow group of offenders who are prone to violence, particularly instrumental violence, and who tend to persist in criminal offending. Preliminary research suggests that psychopathy traits are present among adolescents as well, but questions remain regarding the degree to which psychopathy traits correspond to violence and the best ways to efficiently assess these psychopathy traits. Participants were 128 volunteer adolescents admitted to a centralized intake facility for the state juvenile correctional center in Richmond, Virginia. The participants ranged in age from 13 to 18, with a mean age of 16 years. Each participant was rated on the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth, Kosson, & Hare, in press) and on the Psychopathy Screening Device (PSD; Frick & Hare, in press) rating scale. They also completed a self-report version of the PSD and the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI), which features a Psychopathy Content Scale. Researchers reviewed records to rate participants on a measure of instrumental versus reactive violence and to compile data regarding previous violent offenses and institutional infractions for violent behavior. Additionally, staff members completed a modified version of the Observed Aggression Scale. Results suggested that psychopathy scores correspond with previous violent offending ( rpb = .21; p < .01), and with three categories of serious assault. High psychopathy youth were significantly more likely to have committed crimes of instrumental violence (effect size = .09), and were more likely to receive a disciplinary infraction for violence during their brief period in the intake facility (effect size = .22). With regard to psychopathy assessment, there were modest correlations (.30 to .49) between total scores for the PCL:YV and the three screening measures, and moderate accuracy (67 to 82%) in discriminating high and low psychopathy youth. However, classification statistics suggest substantial limitations to employing these screening measures for routine clinical use. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of juvenile violence and help identify high-risk youth.