Can Symptoms of Psychopathy Fluctuate in the Transition from Adolescence to Young Adulthood within the Environments of Different Institutions?

• In Event: Environmental, Psychosocial and Neural Factors of Antisocial, Violent and Psychopathic Behaviors

Abstract

Previous studies on the possible stability of psychopathy in youth have been inconsistent at best and contradictory at worst. Due to the heterogenous nature of psychopathy, an externalizing disorder with many traits at extreme ends of their respective spectra, the nature of the condition and its plasticity is more complex than previously thought. With many deleterious outcomes for other types of mental health conditions related to institutionalization, it is critical to examine whether detention centers may be doing more harm than good. Utilizing the Pathways to Desistance dataset of juveniles who have committed felonies between the ages of 14 and 18 who were followed for seven years, along with the Youth Psychopathy Inventory (YPI) with total scores and composite subscales, will be used in conjunction give a complex and nuanced picture. Examining results of a fixed-effect model and growth mixture model will be used to analyze change between scores for psychopathy over time in different types of facilities: detention centers for juveniles, corrections centers for adults, residential treatment centers, and time not detained. This study constitutions a developmental perspective for an unprecedented length of longitude from mid-adolescence to early adulthood for psychopathic traits directly compared to time in specific institutions.

Authors

• Amanda L. Sutton, Georgia State University

• Frances Chen, Georgia State University