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Dvoskin et al. (2022) offered a cautionary comment on an article published in the Journal of Personality Disorders (López-Romero et al., 2021). This comment was focused on the scientific and policy grounds of our study, and cautioned against the use of the “putative psychopathic personality” label for applied purposes. While we agree with most of their concerns and cautions, we aim to provide additional clarification on the raised concerns, noting that the purpose of our study is purely exploratory, and that its findings are not intended for applied purposes. We do expect that our study and this commentary will further clarify the importance of examining psychopathic personality from a developmental perspective, opening new ways of discussion regarding how to best conceptualize and study a construct that, while waiting for additional longitudinal research, has been shown as relevant in identifying a group of children and adolescents at increased risk for maladjustment.

Feeling safe is important for quality of life in advanced age. The current study aimed to investigate whether different perceived reasons for unsafety uniquely contribute to the feelings of unsafet...

Few studies have scrutinized the prospective relation between psychopathy and criminality in detained girls. Consequently, it is not well known if the psychopathy construct adds to the prediction of recidivism over other risk factors, such as conduct disorder and past criminality. To address this research gap, the current study examined data from 302 detained girls (M age = 16.2). Psychopathy total and component (i.e., narcissism, callous-unemotional, and impulsivity) scores were derived from the self-report version of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Latent profile analysis was used to identify girls with high scores on the three components (tentatively labeled ‘putative psychopathic personality’). Five youth recidivism outcomes were measured (i.e., violent, serious non-violent, drug, total, and versatile), based on arrest charges that occurred before girls were 18 years of age. With a few exceptions, neither the ASPD total nor the APSD component scores contributed to the prediction of the recidivism outcomes. Girls with a putative psychopathic personality also were not at increased risk for recidivism. Findings overall suggest that the psychopathy construct should not be used for risk assessment purposes among detained girls, at least not when assessed via the self-report version of the APSD.

Studies on the psychopathy construct are mostly limited to Western cultures, and there is a lack of research in this area in non-Western countries, specifically in Iran. The present study aimed to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity of the Persian version of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S) with a sample of 668 school-attending adolescents in Iran (46% girls; Mage = 16.35). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed three-factor model. While the internal consistency of some YPI-S scores was unsatisfactory, the YPI-S scores showed the expected relations with external correlates (e.g., aggression, hyperactivity), supporting the validity of YPI-S scores. The authors’ results supported the YPI-S for assessing psychopathic traits in Iranian adolescents. The modification of the YPI-S factor structure, the low factor loadings of some YPI-S items, and the inadequate internal consistency of some YPI-S dimensions indicate cultural influences on the assessment of cross-cultural traits.

BackgroundPrevious research has indicated that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with an increased risk for dementia, but studies are scarce and inconclusive. We aimed to investigate the association between ADHD, and dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Additionally, we aimed to investigate the impact of comorbid conditions, educational attainment, head injuries, other developmental disorders, and sex on the association.MethodsThe study population consisted of 3,591,689 individuals born between 1932 and 1963, identified from Swedish population-based registers. Cases of ADHD, dementia and MCI were defined according to ICD diagnostic codes and ATC codes for medication prescriptions. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to test the associations between ADHD, and dementia and MCI.ResultsIndividuals with ADHD had an increased risk for dementia and MCI. After adjusting for sex and birth year, a hazard ratio (HR) was 2.92 (95% confidence interval 2.40–3.57) for dementia, and 6.21 (5.25–7.35) for MCI. Additional adjustment for psychiatric disorders (depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, and bipolar disorder) substantially attenuated the associations, HR = 1.62 (1.32–1.98) for dementia, and 2.54 (2.14–3.01) for MCI. Common metabolic disorders (hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and obesity), sleep disorders, head injuries, educational attainment, and other developmental disorders, had a limited impact on the association. The association between ADHD and dementia was stronger in men.ConclusionsADHD is a potential risk factor for dementia and MCI, although the risk significantly attenuates after controlling for psychiatric disorders. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to explore underlying mechanisms of the associations.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) scale (Salekin & Hare, 2016) was developed as a measure of the broader construct of psychopathy in childhood and adolescence. In addition to conduct disorder (CD) symptoms, the PSCD addresses the interpersonal (grandiose-manipulative), affective (callous-unemotional), and lifestyle (daring-impulsive) traits of psychopathic personality. The PSCD can be scored by parents and teachers. The present study is a preliminary test of the psychometric properties of the PSCD-Parent Version in a sample of 2,229 children aged 3 to 6 years. Confirmatory factor analyses supported both a 3- and 4-factor structure being invariant across gender groups. The validity of the PSCD was also supported by convergent-divergent associations with an alternative measure of psychopathic traits as well as by the expected relations with fearlessness, conduct problems, reactive and proactive aggression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms, and social competence skills. Overall, the PSCD is a promising alternative measure for assessing early manifestation of the broader construct of psychopathy in children. Its use should facilitate discussion of the conceptualization, assessment, predictive value, and clinical usefulness of the psychopathic construct as it relates to CD at early developmental stages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Abstract. The aim of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Spanish teacher-rated Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI) in two community samples of 3- to 12-year-old children. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) supported the three-factor structure of the CPTI (Grandiose-Deceitful: GD; Callous-Unemotional: CU; Impulsive-Need for Stimulation: INS), being invariant across gender and age groups. The CPTI total and factor scores showed excellent internal consistencies (> .90) in the total group, and across gender and age groups. In support of their criterion validity, the CPTI scores were positively related to psychopathy scores as measured by an alternative teacher-rated measure. In support of their convergent validity, the CPTI scores showed the expected relations to variables that have been linked to psychopathic personality, including fearlessness, conduct problems, aggression, and low prosocial behavior. Overall, these findings suggest that the Spanish teacher-rated version of the CPTI has good psychometric properties and seems to be a promising tool for studying psychopathic traits in children.

The present study aimed to further test the teacher- and parent-versions of the Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI) in Spain, with a special focus on gender differences. Data were collected in a sample of 2467 preschool children (48.1% girls) aged three to six (mean age = 4.25; SD = 0.91). Results supported the proposed three-factor structure of the CPTI (Grandiose-deceitful, GD; Callous-unemotional, CU; and Impulsive-need of stimulation, INS), being invariant across gender, and with good-to-excellent internal consistency values. CPTI scores showed the expected associations with fearlessness, conduct problems, reactive and proactive aggression, hyperactivity and prosocial behavior, thereby supporting the external validity of the CPTI scores. This pattern of associations also held when cross-informant correlations were explored, although correlation values were lower in magnitude. Some different patterns of correlations were also found across gender groups. Overall, the CPTI reveals as a promising, psychometrically sound measure for assessing psychopathic traits in very young children using both parents’ and teachers’ reports.

This is the first study that tested the psychometric properties of the Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI) in clinic-referred children (ages 6-13 years). Teachers ( N = 159) and parents ( N = 173) completed the CPTI and various other measures. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the CPTI’s three-factor structure when teachers and parents rated the 28 CPTI items. Teacher- and parent-reported CPTI scores showed the expected relations with external correlates (e.g., conduct problems and proactive aggression). Crucially, the validity of the CPTI scores was also supported across informants (i.e., when linking teacher-reported CPTI scores to parent-reported external correlates, and vice versa) and across methods (i.e., regardless if a questionnaire or a diagnostic interview was used to measure external correlates). We conclude that the CPTI holds promise as a research tool for assessing psychopathic traits in clinic-referred children. Until our findings have been replicated and extended, the CPTI should not be used for clinical decision making.

The importance of Vesicular Glutamate Transporter 2 (VGLUT2)-mediated neurotransmission has been highlighted in studies on addiction-related phenotypes. The single nucleotide polymorphism rs2290045 in VGLUT2 has been associated with alcohol dependence, but it is unknown whether or how this association is affected by environmental factors. The present study determined whether the association of alcohol-related problems with the rs2290045 in the VGLUT2 gene was modified by negative and positive environmental factors. Three samples were included: a clinical sample of 131 adolescents followed from age 17 to 22; a general population sample of 1794 young adults; and a general population sample of 1687 adolescents followed from age 14 to 17. DNA was extracted from saliva and the rs2290045 (T/C) was genotyped. Alcohol-related problems were assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Stressful life events (SLE) and parenting were assessed by questionnaires. Gene-environment interactions were investigated using a dual statistical approach. In all samples (effect sizes 0.6–6.2%), and consistent with the differential susceptibility framework, T carriers exposed to SLE reported more alcohol-related problems if they had experienced poor parenting, and lower alcohol-related problems if they had received supportive parenting. T carriers not exposed to SLE reported higher alcohol-related problems if they had received supportive parenting and lower alcohol-related problems if they had received poor parenting. Among CC carriers, alcohol-related problems did not vary as a function of negative and positive environmental factors. In conclusion, in three samples of youths, alcohol-related problems were associated with an interaction of VGLUT2 rs2290045, SLE, and parenting. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00787-019-01293-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Purpose We investigated whether childhood psychopathic personality traits predicted subsequent self-reported and register-based criminality and psychiatric outcomes when childhood behavioral problems (conduct disorder [CD] and ADHD symptoms) were accounted for. Methods In the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden, parents rated their children's (n = 12,394) psychopathic personality traits, CD, and ADHD symptoms at age 9/12. We studied the risk for self-reported delinquency, problematic substance use, and anxiety/depression at age 18. The sample was also linked to nationwide registers where we studied suspicion of crimes, and diagnoses of substance use disorders and anxiety/depression up to age 21. Results Childhood psychopathic personality traits were associated with self-reported delinquency (β = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.41–0.90) and suspicions of violent (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.33, [1.23–1.45]) and non-violent (HR = 1.28, [1.22–1.36]) crimes. The estimates were attenuated, but remained elevated for delinquency and violent crimes after accounting for childhood behavioral problems. Psychopathic personality traits were associated with substance use problems and anxiety/depression, but these associations were mainly explained by childhood behavioral problems. Conclusions Psychopathic personality traits were a risk marker for criminality and psychiatric outcomes, particularly in children with co-occurring behavioral problems. However, the independent contribution of psychopathic personality traits was modest at best, when behavioral problems were accounted for.

This study aimed to test the predictive and incremental value of psychopathic trait dimensions in early childhood. To this end, a callous-unemotional (CU)-based approach was compared to the multidimensional psychopathic personality approach in predicting future and stable conduct problems (CP) and aggression, whilst controlling for well-established risk factors for child CP. Prospective longitudinal data were collected from a community sample of 2247 children (48.6% girls) aged three to six (Mage = 4.25; SD = 0.91) at the initial assessment. Participants were followed annually for two years, with information provided by parents. Children were assigned to six mutually exclusive groups based on their baseline levels of psychopathic traits and conduct problems. Results showed that, after accounting for sociodemographic variables, temperamental features (e.g., fearlessness), and ADHD symptoms, children scoring high in all psychopathic traits and high in CP were at increased risk to display future and stable CP, reactive and proactive aggression, followed by the group of children high in CU traits and CP. Future research on child psychopathy may benefit from considering the constellation of co-occurring interpersonal, affective and behavioral psychopathic traits, and could inform developmental models aiming to explain heterogeneity in child CP.

The incremental usefulness of the multidimensional psychopathy construct in predicting future antisocial behavior has rarely been tested in general population samples of children. To fill this significant knowledge gap, data were used from 1729 5- to 7-year old Swedish children who enrolled in a large Swedish prospective longitudinal study. Psychopathic traits and other risk factors at age 5–7 were assessed through teacher-, and parent-reports. Six years later, multiple informants (teacher, parents, and children) completed measures of antisocial behavior, including symptoms of conduct disorder, aggression, and bullying. Results show that the teacher-rated psychopathy total score (i.e., the composite of interpersonal, callous-unemotional, and behavioral-lifestyle traits) was predictive of severe and stable antisocial behavior, above and beyond levels of other risk factors, including conduct problems. Interaction effects suggested that the psychopathy total score at age 5–7 was predictive of future stable conduct disorder symptoms 6 years later, even in the absence of conduct problems at age 5–7. In conclusion, current findings indicate that the multidimensional child psychopathy construct identifies 5–7-year olds at risk for negative maladjustment in adolescence. Results support existing attempts of the developmental extension of psychopathy to young children.

Purpose To examine prognostic and incremental values of grandiose-deceitful interpersonal style, callous-unemotional traits and impulsivity-need for stimulation, and their ability to predict conduct problems and different types of aggressive behavior above and beyond well-established risk factors, including early childhood hyperactivity, aggression, and parenting styles in a community sample of very young children. Methods Using data from the ECLAT study, a 5-year prospective/longitudinal study of 175 elementary school children in Croatia (80 boys/95 girls; MFirst_assessment = 5.28 years and MLast_assessment = 10.33 years), hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the utility of children's psychopathy features. Results Analyses revealed that, after controlling for individual and parenting risk factors at age 5, only impulsivity-need for stimulation was an independent, albeit weak, predictor of conduct problems at age 10, but not aggression. In addition, the multidimensional child psychopathy construct (i.e., high levels on all three psychopathic traits) at age 5 in combination with concurrent conduct problems was the strongest predictor of future negative outcomes above and beyond other risk factors, but only of conduct problems. Conclusions After both individual and parenting factors are taken into account, psychopathic traits individually have limited usefulness when predicting future antisocial behavior but may be important in prediction when all three psychopathic traits are elevated and co-occur with conduct problems in a community sample of young children.

Perceived unsafety, fear of crime, and avoidance were studied in relation to different types of crime, crime in different time perspectives, concentrated disadvantage, collective efficacy, urbanity, age structure, and neighborhood disorder. Four data sources were used on a large Swedish city; a community survey from 2012 and 2015 among residents, census data on socio-demographics, police data on reported violent (assault and robbery in the public environment), and property crimes (arson, property damage, theft, vehicle theft, and residential burglary) and geographical information on local bus stops and annual passengers visiting these bus stops. Collective efficacy primarily, but also concentrated disadvantage, was strongly related to perceived unsafety, across 102 neighborhoods. Collective efficacy was strongly related to fear of crime. It was not viable to relate the neighborhood variables with avoidance, however. Fear of specific violent crimes was different from fear of specific property crimes and should for future reference be examined separately. Crime, visible disorder, urbanity, and age structure do not seem as important.

There are multiple geographical crime prediction techniques to use and comparing different prediction techniques therefore becomes important. In the current study we compared the accuracy (Predictive Accuracy Index) and precision (Recapture Rate Index) of simply counting crimes: Simple Count with Kernel Density Estimation in the prediction of where people are reported to commit violent crimes (assault and robbery) and property crimes (residential burglary, property damage, theft, vehicle theft and arson), geographically. These predictions were done using a different number of years into the future and based on a different number of years combined to do the crime prediction, in a large Swedish municipality. The Simple Count technique performed quite well in comparison to simple Kernel Density Estimation no matter what crime was being predicted, making us conclude that it may not be necessary to use the more complex method of Kernel Density Estimation to predict where people are reported to commit crime geographically

A limited prosocial emotions (LPE) subtype of conduct disorder (CD) has been added to the DSM-5. Empirical studies on this categorically defined subtype are scarce, and existing work is predominantly cross-sectional. Hypotheses surrounding the LPE subtype that relate to comorbidity, prognosis, and developmental antecedents, and overlap with psychopathic personality, have received no or little scrutiny.These knowledge gaps were addressed in a community sample of 1,839 children 8 to 10 years of age who were enrolled in the study in early childhood (age 3-5 years) and were followed up in early adolescence (age 11-13 years). Parents and teachers completed questionnaires that tap theoretically and clinically relevant features.Children with the LPE subtype exhibited more CD symptoms and comorbid problems, including fearlessness, and symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. These children were also at higher risk for future CD symptoms at the 3-year follow-up. Additionally, fearlessness, callous-unemotional traits, interpersonal traits, and harsh parenting assessed in early childhood were identified as developmental antecedents of the LPE subtype. Findings tentatively suggest that the LPE subtype is a heterogeneous group differentiated on other psychopathic personality traits.The LPE subtype appears to identify a troubled, etiologically distinct group of children with conduct problems who are at heightened risk for future maladjustment. Findings can inform the underlying mechanisms related to the LPE subtype, and can lead to the development and improvement of prevention and intervention programs for children with conduct problems.

A systematic review with meta-analysis was performed to: 1) estimate the prevalence of both mental and physical health problems in older offenders; 2) calculate relative risks for the health conditions in relation to non-offender older adults and; 3) explore the potential confounding role of several variables. We searched five databases up to August 2019. Studies involving offenders older than 50 years old were included. Fifty-five publications met criteria. The pooled prevalence for 18 mental and 28 physical health problems was calculated. In comparison with non-offender older adults, older offenders showed significantly higher risk for Hypertension (RR = 1.16, CI = 1.1, 1.2), Cardiovascular Diseases (RR = 1.24, CI = 1.09, 1.41), Respiratory diseases (RR = 1.75, CI = 1.29, 2.35), and Arthritis (RR = 1.19, CI = 1.12, 1.25). Heterogeneity was significant for all meta-analyses and partially explained by the confounding effect of country, the diagnosis assessment method, and the sample characteristics. Future research should include comparison groups of non-offender older adults and use longitudinal study designs to identify risk factors that can be targeted in preventive programmes.

Abstract. The Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI) is a new teacher rated instrument to assess psychopathic personality traits in children. This is the first study to test the psychometric properties of the Dutch CPTI. Teachers completed the CPTI for 287 3- to 7-year old-children. Results from confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed 3-factor structure of the CPTI. The CPTI total score and three factor scores were internally consistent and showed the expected correlations with external criterion measures that have been linked to psychopathic personality, including conduct problems, proactive and reactive aggression, and temperament. This study also provides novel evidence that CPTI factor scores were positively related to an alternative measure of callous-unemotional traits, thereby supporting the criterion validity of the CPTI scores. In conclusion, this study replicates and extends prior tests of the CPTI in Sweden and suggests that the Dutch version of the CPTI holds promise as a teacher rated tool for assessing psychopathic traits in childhood.

In the current study, we tested the relations between cyberbullying roles and several psychological well-being outcomes, as well as the potential mediation effect of perceived social support from family, friends, and teachers in school. This was investigated in a cross-sectional sample of 1707 young adolescents (47.5% girls, aged 10–13 years, self-reporting via a web questionnaire) attending community and private schools in a mid-sized municipality in Sweden. We concluded from our results that the Cyberbully-victim group has the highest levels of depressive symptoms, and the lowest of subjective well-being and family support. We also observed higher levels of anxiety symptoms in both the Cyber-victims and the Cyberbully-victims. Moreover, we conclude that some types of social support seem protective in the way that it mediates the relationship between cyberbullying and psychological well-being. More specifically, perceived social support from family and from teachers reduce the probability of depressive and anxiety symptoms, and higher levels of social support from the family increase the probability of higher levels of subjective well-being among youths being a victim of cyberbullying (i.e., cyber-victim) and being both a perpetrator and a victim of cyber bullying (i.e., cyberbully-victim). Potential implications for prevention strategies are discussed.

The aim of this study was to further test the reliability and validity of a newly developed instrument designed to assess psychopathic traits in children, the Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI). Teachers and mothers of 686 approximately 6- to 12-year-old children (48.1% girls) completed the CPTI. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the proposed 3-factor structure of the CPTI teacher and parent versions and good to excellent internal consistency of the teacher- and mother-based CPTI scores were found. The validity of the teacher- and mother-based CPTI scores was supported by revealing the expected relations with conduct problems, hyperactivity, and various dimensions of temperament. In conclusion, the results suggest that the CPTI holds promise as a teacher- and parent-rated tool for assessing psychopathic traits in Chinese children, although more research is needed to see if these findings can be generalized to other Chinese samples and settings. (PsycINFO Database Record

A guiding question for this special section, sparked by the increasing number of studies on callous –unemotional traits (CU traits) and the DSM-5 Limited Prosocial Emotion (LPE) specifier, is whether CU traits are enough to identify a clinically meaningful subgroup of youth with conduct problems or whether other psychopathic traits contribute. Seven empirical papers and two commentary papers address this question to varying degrees and in different ways with some papers “competing” various models against one another along with other papers investigating distinct correlates of the psychopathy factors. Findings across the papers suggest that there could be benefits to examining the broader construct of psychopathy in addition to examining its underpinning dimensions rather than CU traits alone. Two commentary papers also shed light on the importance of psychopathic traits in children with Conduct Disorder (CD) and provide insights for future work on this topic. It is hoped that the articles and commentary will generate new ideas for research and practice that could have implications for the treatment of those individuals with CD and psychopathic traits.

Children with early-onset conduct problems (CP) are at great risk for future behavior problems, and this risk seems to increase when CP co-occur with psychopathic traits. Even though studies are indicating that the entire psychopathic personality construct may be more useful in designating a meaningful subgroup of children with CP, research on psychopathic traits and CP in childhood have mainly focused on the role of callous unemotional (CU) traits. Prospective longitudinal data of 1867 3- to 5-year-olds (47% girls) followed annually for two years was used to compare groups of children with different combinations of CP and psychopathic traits on fearlessness and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Children with CP and psychopathic personality had higher baseline and stable levels of ADHD symptoms than children with CP only or children with CP and concurrent CU traits, while baseline levels of fearlessness did not differ. They were also more likely to display stable levels of the risky combination of CP and ADHD symptoms. Results were similar for boys and girls. Findings indicate that there are reasons to consider other traits and behaviors as specifiers for subgroups of children with CP over and above CU traits, in order to optimize both diagnostic practice and treatment outcomes.

This study analyzed data from a prospective longitudinal study of Swedish preschoolers to examine whether psychopathic traits and concurrent conduct problems predict future conduct problems (CP) across 1- and 2-year follow-ups into early childhood. We tested the predictive ability of psychopathic traits while controlling for concurrent CP, and also by combining psychopathic traits with concurrent CP. A community sample of 1,867 preschoolers (47% girls) ages 3 to 5 years at baseline was recruited from a Swedish medium-sized municipality. Results from multivariate regression analyses showed that psychopathic traits alone (without co-occurring CP) did not consistently predict continuing childhood CP, but did so, among both boys and girls, in combination with concurrent conduct problems. It is important to note that, the combination of concurrent CP and the entire psychopathic personality, that is, a 3-dimensional psychopathic construct, was a stronger predictor of continuing childhood CP than the combination of concurrent CP and Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits among boys but not among girls. (PsycINFO Database Record

The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) and its short version (YPI-S) in a sample of 2081 Chinese 11- to 19-year-old school-a ...

The association between psychopathic traits and antisociality among females is an important and understudied area of research. Drawing on 377 female adolescents (103 se- lected from forensic settings and 274 selected from school set- tings) from Portugal, the current study examined the psychomet- ric properties of the Antisocial Process Screening Device Self- Report (APSD-SR) and Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory - Short version (YPI-S) in female youth populations. When com- paring these two measures the YPI-S revealed clearer results in terms of its three-factor structure and internal consistency, and stronger convergent validity coefficients. The APSD-SR re- vealed problems in terms of its factor structure and internal consistency of its Callous-Unemotional (CU) and Impulsivity dimensions. Convergent validity was demonstrated among these measures and with measures of other facets of the psychopathy construct (CU traits, narcissism) and related constructs (reactive and proactive aggression), and discriminant validity was found with a measure of basic empathy. Expected significant associa- tions were found in terms of criterion-related validity with sev- eral indicators of delinquent careers including age of criminal onset, Conduct Disorder (CD), crime seriousness, violent crimes, alcohol use, and drug use., This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; Grant SFRH/BPD/86666/2012) with co-financing of the European Social Fund (POPH/FSE), the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science, and by FEDER (PT2020 Partnership Agreement; UID/PSI/01662/2013).

The present study aimed to examine whether callous-unemotional, grandiose-manipulative, and impulsive-irresponsible dimensions of psychopathy are differentially related to various affective and phy ...

The current study examines variants of psychopathy in a community sample of Dutch adolescents (N = 2,855, 57% male) using three dimensions of psychopathy and trait anxiety. Five subgroups were identified, two with high levels of psychopathic traits. The first seemed consistent with primary psychopathy, high on all dimensions, with additional low levels of anxiety, whereas the second showed elevated levels of anxiety, consistent with secondary psychopathy. Two variants low on psychopathic traits were identified: a low-risk variant and an anxious variant. Further, a moderate-risk group was found, with slightly above average psychopathy traits and average levels of mental health problems. The secondary psychopathy and the anxious variant reported the most problem behaviors. Boys, younger adolescents, and non-Western immigrant youth were overrepresented in the secondary group. These findings show that in a community sample psychopathy is a heterogeneous phenomenon.

In this article, we give a presentation of the longitudinal research program Individual Development and Adaptation (IDA) that can be helpful as a template for researchers considering to launch their own longitudinal studies, and that opens the door to IDA for researchers looking for suitable data to be analyzed within their own project or in collab-oration with IDA. We also introduce the holistic-interactionistic theoretical framework of IDA and the associated person-oriented approach – an approach that is especially suited for analyzing the rich IDA data set with its broad coverage of different areas of adjustment and related factors. The paper provides an overview of the essential features of the IDA database, as well as of ongoing and planned IDA research. Keywords: IDA, longitudinal, prospective, person-oriented, development, adaptation

Background: Reflecting evidence on Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits (e.g., lack of empathy and guilt, shallow affect), the DSM-5 added a categorical CU-based specifier for Conduct Disorder (CD), labeled 'with Limited Prosocial Emotions' (LPE). Theory and prior work suggest that CD youths with and without LPE will likely differ in neural processing of negative socioemotional content. This proposition, however, is mainly derived from studies employing related, yet distinct, operationalizations of CU traits (e.g., dimensional measure/median split/top quartile), thus precluding direct examination of LPE-specific neurocognitive deficits.Methods: Employing a DSM-5 informed LPE proxy, neural processing of recognizing and resonating negative socioemotional content (angry and fearful faces) was therefore examined here among CD offenders with LPE (CD/LPE+; N = 19), relative to CD offenders without LPE (CD/LPE-; N = 31) and healthy controls (HC; N = 31).Results: Relative to HC and CD/LPEyouths and according to a linearly increasing trend (CD/LPE- < HC < CD/LPE+), CD/LPE+ youths exhibited hyperactivity within dorsolateral, dorsomedial, and ventromedial prefrontal regions during both emotion recognition and resonance. During emotion resonance, CD/LPE+ youths additionally showed increased activity within the posterior cingulate and precuneal cortices in comparison to HC and CD/LPE- youths, which again followed a linearly increasing trend (CD/LPE- < HC < CD/LPE+). These effects moreover seemed specific to the LPE specifier, when compared to a commonly employed method for CU-based grouping in CD (i.e., median split on CU scores).Conclusions: These data cautiously suggest that CD/LPE+ youths may exhibit an over-reliance on cortical neurocognitive systems when explicitly processing negative socioemotional information, which could have adverse downstream effects on relevant socioemotional functions. The findings thus seem to provide novel, yet preliminary, clues on the neurocognitive profile of CD/LPE+, and additionally highlight the potential scientific utility of the LPE specifier.

Purpose Risk and protective factors for antisocial behavior have been shown to act in a cumulative manner. The purpose of this article is to examine the predictive power of risk factors and protective indices predicting violent offending. Methods We used longitudinal data across 25 years to predict violent offenses for 475 males. Cumulative childhood risk factors (age 10), and cumulative individual, family, peer and school protective factors (ages 13, 15) were analyzed. Results The likelihood for a conviction for violent offenses showed a fivefold increase with an increase in risk factors from 0 to 3. This increase was markedly reduced when controlling for protective factors. Similarly, controlling for risk factors, the likelihood for a conviction was almost ameliorated, showing a tenfold decrease, with an increase in protective factors from 0 to 10. Interactions between cumulative risk and protective factors were also found. Total number of protective factors significantly decreased the likelihood of violent offenses for those with and without childhood behavioral risk factors, however the decrease was significantly greater for those with no childhood risk factors. Conclusions Analyses of antisocial behavior should not be restricted to risk factors, but include protective factors, if the purpose is to better tailor interventions.

Prior studies with children and adolescents have shown that Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S) scores are internally consistent and manifest expected relations with external variables of interest. In the present study, the factor structure and the internal consistency of YPI-S scores, and the convergent validity of the interpretation of YPI-S scores were tested in a sample of 2,500 emerging adults from the general population in Sweden (aged 20-24 years; 52.6% women). Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support a 3-factor structure among both men and women that is similar to prior YPI-S studies conducted with children and adolescents. The YPI-S total score and the 3 factor scores were internally consistent. Correlations with external variables, including aggression and delinquency, support the convergent validity of the interpretation of YPI-S scores. Finally, the strength of these zero-order and partial correlations, overall, was not significantly different across gender. In conclusion, this study provides initial evidence that the YPI-S may hold promise as a brief and time-effective self-report tool for assessing psychopathic traits in emerging adults. The present findings also suggest that the YPI-S performs in a consistent manner across gender. Recommendations for future research with the YPI-S are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Being victimized as a child or youth increases the risk of emotional and behavioural problems, and may call for a report to authorities and professional support. This study investigates how often young adult males and females in a randomly selected general population in Sweden ( n = 2,500) reported different types of victimization as a child or youth and to whom, from whom they received professional support, whether it was more common to receive professional support among those victimized multiple times by different types of crime, and whether there was a connection between report and support. Analyses reveal that the participants more often responded that they had not reported their victimization, than that they had reported it. For those who had, the police was the most common institution to which the victimization was reported. It was significantly more common for victimized females to both report and receive professional support than for males. There was a trend towards a greater likelihood of receiving professional support after higher levels of victimization. In all however, of those whose victimization had been reported to the authorities, only 22.4% had received professional support to deal with their experiences of victimization. We conclude that the relatively low prevalence of reporting victimization and receiving support documented in this study calls for reflection upon how well society meets the needs of victims.

In the present study, teacher’s ratings, mother’s ratings, and father’s ratings on the Child Problematic Trait Inventory (CPTI) were obtained on two independent samples (N = 381 and N = 406, respectively) of Italian school age children (age range: 6–12 years). Cronbach alpha values greater than 0.80 were observed for all CPTI scale scores based on teacher’s ratings, mother’s ratings, and father’s ratings respectively. Although intraclass correlation values suggested poor parent-teacher agreement, robust weighted least square Confirmatory Factor Analyses (WLSMV CFAs) suggested that the three-factor model of the CPTI was consistently replicated as the best fitting model across all informants. Logistic regression analysis conducted in one of the samples showed that teacher’s ratings and mother’s ratings of the CPTI, but not CPTI father’s ratings, significantly predicted child’s problem behavior at school. Multiple regression analyses showed that CPTI scores were significantly predicted by selected temperament dimensions, but with different relationships for different sources of information. Overall, our findings suggest that the CPTI is a reliable and valid measure of problematic traits with a three-factor structure, although this study indicates that multiple sources of information may prove necessary when assessing psychopathy in school-age children with the CPTI.

The aim of the present study was to investigate if interaction effects among Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) Grandiose-Manipulative (GM), Callous-Unemotional (CU), and Impulsive-Irresponsible (II) may add significant information in predicting self-reports of juvenile delinquent behavior among adolescents. A sample of 558 Italian high school students were administered the YPI and the Self-Reports of Delinquency Scale (SRDS) in order to evaluate interaction effects among YPI GM, CU, and II dimensions. Results showed a significant effect for a three-way interaction among the three YPI dimensions in predicting the SRDS total score, β = .19, p

Uniformed presence is commonly thought to create feelings of safety in people. However, do differently uniformed people contribute to an equal amount of safety and are there situation-dependent differences? The present study examined the association between various types of uniformed presence and people’s feelings of safety through a questionnaire among 352 respondents (18–86 years) (49.1 % women). The questionnaire contained pictures of situations perceived as relatively safe and unsafe with or without uniformed presence. The respondents estimated how safe they thought they would feel in these situations with no uniformed presence, two police officers, six police officers, a police vehicle, two security guards, or two police volunteers. Results showed that uniformed presence did not increase feelings of safety in a situation perceived as relatively safe, making patrol unnecessary. In situations perceived as relatively unsafe however, all types of uniformed presence increased feelings of safety. Foot patrolling police contributed to the greatest increase in feelings of safety. Security guards and police volunteers created similar amounts of feelings of safety making police volunteers a cost-effective alternative. All types of foot patrol were better than vehicle patrol, making non-police groups an alternative to vehicle patrol. Some situational, gender, and age differences were found.