Psychometric Properties of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version Among Portuguese Juvenile Delinquents

The association between callous-unemotional traits and substance use in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are characterized by a lack of guilt and empathy, restricted affect, and low concern about performance, and are increasingly recognized as co-occurring with substance use in youth. However, there is mixed evidence concerning whether they make a unique contribution to substance use. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to quantify the association between CU traits and substance use in childhood, accounting for potential moderators including sample characteristics (age, gender, community versus clinical/forensic samples), CU traits measure and informant, and study design (cross-sectional or longitudinal). Separate meta-analyses were conducted for alcohol, cannabis, and a substance use composite. Small, significant associations were found between CU traits and alcohol (θ = 0.17), cannabis (θ = 0.17) and the substance use composite (θ = 0.15), which were present in both community and clinical/forensic samples. Findings suggest that CU traits co-occur with a range of substance use problems, and that CU traits should be considered in assessments of youth presenting with substance use problems regardless of the nature of the setting.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version

The current study examined the psychometric properties (factor structure, reliability and validity) of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth et al., 2003) in Spanish samples of male justice-involved youths between 15 and 22-years old. The PCL:YV was administered to two groups of youths who were incarcerated (n = 62; n = 95) and a sample of youth on probation (n = 122). Confirmatory factor analyses showed acceptable-to-good fit for three- and four-factor models. The four-factor hierarchical model with a second-order higher factor representing the whole psychopathy construct was considered for further analyses. PCL:YV scores showed high internal consistency and inter-rater reliability. Low-to-moderate convergence with other measures of psychopathic traits evinced an adequate convergent validity. Convergent and discriminant validity of the PCL:YV total scores were also confirmed considering several measures of psychopathology and personality traits. Importantly, the differential external correlates of the PCL:YV factors provide support for a multidimensional conceptualization of the psychopathy construct. Altogether, these results reveal adequate psychometric properties of the PCL:YV in Spanish population of justice-involved youths and justifies its use to assess psychopathic traits in this kind of populations.

Are Juveniles Who Have Committed Sexual Offenses the Same Everywhere? Psychometric Properties of the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II in a Portuguese Youth Sample

Over the last decade, we have witnessed consistent advances in risk assessment procedures, namely the validation of those used with juveniles who have committed sexual offenses. The adaptation of these instruments into other languages requires research examining the conceptual and metric equivalence of the instruments, not just translation equivalence. Informed by data from 141 boys, aged 13 to 18, the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II), regarding reliability and construct validation, are presented and discussed. Factor structure, internal consistency, and interrater reliability were examined, and a reliable factorial structure that was consistent with the original validation of the J-SOAP was found. Scales 2 and 3 had good internal consistency, and Scale 1 had acceptable internal consistency. Results regarding concurrent validity revealed mostly statistically significant correlations. The implications of this research for juvenile sex offender risk assessments are discussed.

Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version psychometric properties in an Item Response Theory polytomous model

Abstract This study assessed the applicability of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version in a sample of teenagers confined in socio-educational institutions. Using an Item Response Theory approach, item properties of this instrument were reviewed using the generalized partial credit model. Eight of the original twenty items of the original instrument were discarded due to low discrimination parameters. As expected, the most discriminating items in the assessment of psychiatric traits were those which affective characteristics are more typical in the description of psychopathic traits, and their larger variability among juveniles is reflected in the checklist’s answers. Item anchoring, in turn, determined five anchor levels. Conclusions based on the results are twofold: (a) a shorter version of this measure can offer the same level of information obtained from the full instrument and (b) the measure provides more information on average latent trait levels and is inadequate for clinical use.

The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits: Psychometric properties among referred and non-referred Portuguese female juveniles

The presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits delineates a subgroup of male youth with severe conduct disorder and antisocial behavior, but little research has been done among female youth. Drawing on 377 female adolescents (103 selected from forensic settings and 274 selected from school settings) from Portugal, the current study is the first to simultaneously examine the psychometric properties of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) in incarcerated female youth and community youth. The results support the use of the ICU in terms of its factor structure, and internal consistency despite the fact an item had to be removed from the Callousness dimension. Statistically significant positive associations were found with measures of psychopathic traits and aggression, as well as non-significant associations with empathy and social anxiety. Significant associations were also found with several indicators of delinquent careers including age of criminal onset, age of first contact with the law, Conduct Disorder symptoms and diagnosis, crime seriousness, previous violent offending, number of criminal charges, alcohol use, and drug use. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of the ICU among female juvenile offenders and community youths.