Symptoms of Psychopathy and Criminal Trajectories: The Contribution of Different Measurement Tools

• In Event: Using Novel Methods and Measures to Study Offending Types and Trajectories

Abstract

Psychopathic traits have only recently been used to distinguish characteristics of individuals following chronic versus moderate offending trajectories. Therefore, several conceptual challenges remain, including whether the ability to account for variance in offending trajectories differs across measurement tools used to assess symptoms of adolescent psychopathy. A related concern is whether these tools under-rely on affective and interpersonal features of psychopathy in favor of behavioral indicators. The current study measured convictions from age twelve to twenty-eight within a sample of offenders (n = 333) who had been incarcerated in adolescence. Semi-parametric group-based trajectory modeling was conducted for both general offending and violent offending trajectories. A subsample of offenders (n = 100) had been assessed using both the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) and the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Of the four general offending trajectories identified, higher scores on the APSD and PCL:YV were associated with trajectories of offending that persisted from adolescence to adulthood. Similar results were observed for the violent offending trajectories. However, for both assessment tools, behavioral (PCL:YV) and impulsivity (APSD) facets were the strongest factors associated with chronic general and violent offending trajectories. Identifying risk for involvement in chronic offending trajectories and challenges assessing psychopathy are discussed.

Authors

• Raymond R. Corrado, Simon Fraser University

• Evan McCuish, Simon Fraser University

• Zina Lee, University of the Fraser Valley