Age of onset of psychopathic traits in adolescent offenders

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by a constellation of maladaptive interpersonal, affective, and behavioral traits. Psychopathic traits have strong associations with several negative outcomes in youth, including violence and criminality. However, there are numerous developmental and ethical concerns regarding the direct extension of the adult psychopathy construct to youth. Further, little is known about the etiology and early course of psychopathy. The goal of this study was to investigate the onset of the interpersonal, affective, and behavioral traits of psychopathy in a sample of 115 male young offenders. Youth were assessed to determine the presence, severity, and age of onset of psychopathic traits. Results indicated that age of onset ratings were made reliably for most traits. Survival analysis was employed to compute median ages of onset for all psychopathic traits, which ranged from age 8 to 14. Traits reflecting deficient affective experience, such as lacking remorse and empathy, had earlier ages of onset than did other symptoms. The interpersonal and behavioral traits of impression management and lacking goals had the latest ages of onset. However, it is unclear whether these traits did not crystallize until later ages or whether their earlier manifestations are unable to be detected due to a developmentally uninformed measurement instrument. High risk developmental periods for the onset of psychopathic traits were also identified.