NCJ Number
237223
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparartive Criminology Volume: 55 Issue: 8 Dated: December 2011 Pages: 1291-1307
Date Published
December 2011
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined social cognitive processing in a sample of adjudicated youth.
Abstract
Psychopathic traits are associated with violent, aggressive behaviors and recidivism in adulthood. To increase positive treatment outcomes, it is arguably beneficial to identify and treat psychopathy as early as possible. Furthermore, because research shows that the effectiveness of behavior modification is likely to be affected by the social information-processing patterns of aggressive children, it is important to understand the relationship between conduct-disordered traits and social cognitions. The results of this study showed that callous/unemotional traits in a community-based sample of behavior-disordered youth (57 male, 19 female; 10-19 years of age; 63 percent African-American) significantly predicted values in obtaining a tangible reward and getting into trouble or being punished. However, callous/unemotional traits, impulsivity/conduct problems, and narcissism failed to predict positive expectations regarding receiving a tangible reward, reducing aversive treatment, and demonstration of dominance. Implications for these results are presented. (Published Abstract)