NCJ Number
169877
Journal
Journal of Abnormal Psychology Volume: 106 Issue: 3 Dated: (1997) Pages: 1-13
Date Published
1997
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article reports on a study designed to determine whether the concept of psychopathy is applicable in the psychiatric evaluation of juveniles.
Abstract
Childhood psychopathy was assessed in 430 boys ages 12 and 13 years old by using caretaker reports on a translation of an adult psychopathy assessment instrument. A systematic construct validation approach showed that childhood psychopathy fits into the nomological network surrounding adult psychopathy. Children with psychopathic personalities, like their adult counterparts, were serious and stable offenders, impulsive, and more prone to externalizing than internalizing disorders. Childhood psychopathy also provided incremental validity in predicting serious stable antisocial behavior in adolescence over and above other known predictors and one other classification approach. These results suggest that psychopathy has a childhood manifestation that can be measured reliably. The concept of childhood psychopathy and its current operationalization may provide a way of reducing the heterogeneity present in childhood conduct problems. Further, the construct of childhood psychopathy may provide the best hope for the prevention of adult psychopathy. If psychopathic children can be identified, schools are excellent places in which to study noninstitutionalized psychopathic people. Suggestions for future research are offered. 5 tables and 102 references