The stability of psychopathic traits in adolescent offenders

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by a constellation of interpersonal, affective, and behavioural traits. The growing literature on adolescent psychopathic traits suggests psychopathic traits can be assessed reliably and the traits demonstrate construct validity. Psychopathic traits in adolescents are associated with a variety of negative outcomes, including violence and criminality. However, there is considerable debate about the assessment of psychopathic traits in adolescents due to ethical and developmental concerns. Most importantly, questions remain regarding the stability of psychopathic traits in adolescents, a critical issue that has important implications for understanding the etiology and developmental course of the disorder and informing intervention strategies. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to investigate the six-month stability of the interpersonal, affective, behavioural, and antisocial traits of psychopathy in a sample of 112 male adolescent offenders. Adolescents were assessed with a modified protocol for the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) and the self-report Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Analyses conducted with generalizability theory suggested moderate stability of psychopathic traits. The interpersonal and behavioural traits evidenced the greatest stability, followed by the antisocial and affective traits. However, it is unclear whether these findings are a function of inappropriate developmental indicators of affective deficits or whether affective deficits are normative in adolescents. The current findings have important implications for understanding the developmental manifestation of "adolescent psychopathy" and the development of appropriate intervention strategies.