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1 – 10 of 19Holly Ellingwood, Karla Emeno, Craig Bennell, Adelle Forth, David Kosson and Robert D. Hare
The purpose of this paper is to examine the structure of juvenile psychopathy, as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the structure of juvenile psychopathy, as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV).
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 2,042 male youths from the USA, Canada, and the UK, the study was a conceptual replication of Bishopp and Hare’s (2008) multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis of adult male offenders assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised.
Findings
The scaling analyses generally replicated those obtained by Bishopp and Hare, providing support for a multidimensional, four-factor model of juvenile psychopathy similar to that obtained with adults. However, a small number of items fell outside their predicted regions. Slight differences in the structure of juvenile psychopathy were found for incarcerated and supervised samples of youth, with the four-factor model breaking down slightly for the supervised sample. Item misplacements may indicate that certain items on the PCL: YV are being misinterpreted, reflect different dimensions for different samples, or cannot be reliably measured. Future research should examine these possibilities, with special attention being paid to supervised samples.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first known attempts to use MDS analysis to examine the psychopathy structures that emerge for male juvenile offenders. The greater nuances afforded by using MDS offer a more comprehensive understanding of psychopathy between incarcerated and supervised youth using the PCL: YV.
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Susanne Strand, Stefan Luebbers and Stephane M. Shepherd
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between psychopathic features as measured with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) and behavioural and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between psychopathic features as measured with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) and behavioural and emotional functioning in young female offenders in custody.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a quantitative interview study investigating the relationship with psychopathic traits, measured with the PCL:YV (Forth et al., 2003), and different psychological characteristics as well as AD/HD, self-harm, and childhood trauma in adolescent offenders across genders. Data were collected from a sample of 40 female and 40 male adolescents who were incarcerated in Victoria, Australia.
Findings
Results indicated that the behavioural subscales of the PCL:YV were associated with externalising behaviours possibly underpinned by histories of abuse and substantiated child protection incidences. The presence of AD/HD was strongly associated with affective deficits suggesting that the PCL:YV may be identifying young females with AD/HD rather than core psychopathic traits. Findings also indicate that female-specific manifestations of manipulation are likely being misidentified as behavioural phenomena precluding clinical recognition as a core interpersonal trait. Significant dissimilarities with a young male comparison group were identified and are discussed within.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size is very small and the results should be seen as an indication rather than generalising.
Originality/value
Studies on female juvenile offenders is rare and this study adds to the literature on the construct of psychopathy and its relationship to psychosocial factors as well as associations with AD/HD, self-harm, and childhood trauma, among incarcerated adolescents.
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Katie Dhingra and Daniel Boduszek
This paper aims to provide a critical review of the psychopathy literature, with a particular focus on recent research examining the relationship between psychopathy and various…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a critical review of the psychopathy literature, with a particular focus on recent research examining the relationship between psychopathy and various forms of criminal behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide an overview of the studies conducted to date. To identify relevant published studies for this review, literature searches were completed using Web of Science, Scopus, PsychINFO, and PubMed.
Findings
Substantial empirical research exists to suggest that psychopathy is a robust predictor of criminal behaviour and recidivism. Furthermore, considerable support for the assertion that the violence perpetrated by psychopathic offenders is more instrumental than the violence committed by other offenders was found. In addition, some research suggests that the greater use of instrumental violence among psychopathic offenders may be due to the interpersonal/affective traits of psychopathy, and not the impulsive/antisocial traits.
Originality/value
The current paper is the first to provide an in‐depth review of the literature examining the association between psychopathy and criminal offending with a particular focus on violent and homicidal behaviour.
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Stephane M. Shepherd and Susanne Strand
The psychopathy checklist: youth version (PCL: YV) checklist is an assessment of youth psychopathic traits and is regularly validated by way of its associations with re-offending…
Abstract
Purpose
The psychopathy checklist: youth version (PCL: YV) checklist is an assessment of youth psychopathic traits and is regularly validated by way of its associations with re-offending and violence. Yet existing research has been conducted with predominantly white Caucasian cohorts and extant evidence suggests that associations with recidivism are stronger in samples with greater proportions of white offenders. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study investigated the cross-cultural validity of the PCL: YV for an ethnically diverse Australian sample of 175 young male offenders in custody. Participants were assessed in custody with the PCL: YV and offending data were collected post-release for up to 18 months.
Findings
PCL: YV total and domain scores were comparable across ethnicity; however the instrument demonstrated stronger relationships with recidivism for Australian participants with an English speaking background compared to Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse participants.
Practical implications
The authors advocate the cautionary employment of the PCL: YV as a violence risk prediction instrument with minority young offenders regionally, pending further evidence.
Originality/value
This study addresses the capacity of the PCL: YV to predict violence across different ethnic groups. Cross-cultural youth psychopathy research is currently inadequate and existing studies suggest that the PCL: YV is a weaker predictor of violence in culturally diverse samples. This investigation provides much needed information on the capacity of the PCL: YV to extend to different ethnic groups who are represented Australia’s youth prison population. This is the first study of its kind regionally, and more importantly is the first PCL: YV study with an Indigenous Australian comparison group. This is particularly important given that Indigenous Australians are heavily overrepresented in Australia’s criminal justice system and require appropriate risk assessment measures to ensure they are not misclassified. Research such as this is now of particular interest given the recent judicial decision made in Ewert vs Canada.
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Mark Olver and Keira Stockdale
Empirical research concerning the reliability and predictive validity of the juvenile psychopathy construct, as assessed by the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV;…
Abstract
Empirical research concerning the reliability and predictive validity of the juvenile psychopathy construct, as assessed by the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV; Forth et al, 2003) is reviewed. The results of an updated meta‐analysis (k = 38) investigating the interrater reliability of the PCL: YV are presented, along with an examination of meta‐analytic findings on the predictive accuracy of the tool. Considerations with respect to gender, ethnicity and development are explored. Some discussion points are offered regarding potential clinical applications of the construct of juvenile psychopathy and the PCL: YV with violent and other criminally adjudicated youths.
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Personality assessments are a clinically useful tool for offenders from the general population, and assessments of personality disorder can be used to predict future risk, as well…
Abstract
Personality assessments are a clinically useful tool for offenders from the general population, and assessments of personality disorder can be used to predict future risk, as well as the likely trajectory and outcome of psychological interventions. There has been very little research examining the clinical utility of personality assessment in offenders with intellectual disabilities, both from the perspective of normal personality and from the perspective of personality disorder. After discussing the small amount of relevant research available, this article uses a clinical case example to demonstrate how a clinician might go about assessing different personality characteristics in offenders with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities, and interpreting the results. A model is presented to guide the clinician through the process of test selection, and details of the main tests under consideration are summarised in an appendix, including some of their strengths and weaknesses.
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Rasmus Rosenberg Larsen, Jessica Burns, Reba Khoshabe, Nicole Raposo, Danielle Sng, Jarkko Jalava and Stephanie Griffiths
The purpose of this study was to survey practitioners’ use and perceptions of psychopathy assessments in Canadian forensic psychiatric settings. Psychopathy assessments are widely…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to survey practitioners’ use and perceptions of psychopathy assessments in Canadian forensic psychiatric settings. Psychopathy assessments are widely used in forensic settings to inform decisions about sentencing, placement, rehabilitation and parole. Recent empirical evidence suggests that the utility of psychopathy assessments might be overestimated, leading to a debate about their legal and ethical justification. However, one shortcoming of these discussions is that they rely heavily on anecdotal evidence about how exactly psychopathy assessments influence forensic decisions, due to a general lack of survey data on field uses. Some data are available in European and American contexts, but little is known about Canadian clinical practice.
Design/methodology/approach
To address this shortcoming in the literature, the authors conducted a pilot study of practitioners in forensic psychiatric units in Ontario (N = 18), evaluating their use of psychopathy assessments, reporting habits and their perceptions of psychopathic offenders.
Findings
Practitioners reported that they primarily used the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) as a risk assessment tool, often in combination with other tools. Most clinicians reported using psychopathy assessments infrequently, that there was a low base rate of psychopathic offenders and their attitudes and beliefs about psychopathy were generally consistent with the empirical literature.
Originality/value
This pilot study provides novel insights into the use of psychopathy assessments in Canadian forensic psychiatry with the potential to inform current debates.
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Katie Dhingra, Agata Debowska, Kathryn Sharratt, Philip Hyland and Susanna Kola-Palmer
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of psychopathy factors and gang membership on moral disengagement while controlling for age, ethnicity, having run away from…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of psychopathy factors and gang membership on moral disengagement while controlling for age, ethnicity, having run away from home, family member and/or friend arrests, substance misuse, parental physical fights, violence exposure (victimization and witnessing), and maternal warmth and hostility.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on data collected from serious juvenile offenders (n=769) as part of the Pathways to Desistance Study.
Findings
Six independent variables made a unique statistically significant contribution to the model: gang membership, age, gender, violence exposure, and psychopathy Factors 1 and 2. Psychopathy Factor 1 was the strongest predictor of moral disengagement.
Originality/value
Results indicate that youth with heightened psychopathic traits make greater use of strategies to rationalize and justify their harmful behaviour against others. Implications in relation to theory and previous studies are discussed.
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