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Pursuing the psychopath: capturing the fledgling psychopath in a nomological net
1Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506-0044, USA. drlynal@ukcc.uky.edu
Insights
This study shows that psychopathy can be reliably measured in children. Childhood psychopathy is linked to persistent offending and externalizing disorders in adolescents.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Forensic Psychology
Background:
- Psychopathy is a recognized construct in adult forensic psychology.
- The manifestation of psychopathy in childhood has been less understood.
- Assessing childhood psychopathy is crucial for early intervention and understanding developmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the concept of psychopathy at the childhood level.
- To assess the reliability and validity of a childhood psychopathy measure.
- To examine the relationship between childhood psychopathy and adolescent antisocial behavior.
Main Methods:
- Assessed childhood psychopathy in 430 boys (ages 12-13) using caretaker reports.
- Employed a translated adult psychopathy assessment instrument.
- Utilized a systematic construct validation approach.
Main Results:
- Childhood psychopathy demonstrated a fit within the nomological network of adult psychopathy.
- Children with psychopathic traits were identified as serious, stable offenders, impulsive, and prone to externalizing disorders.
- Childhood psychopathy significantly predicted serious, stable adolescent antisocial behavior, offering incremental validity over other predictors.
Conclusions:
- Psychopathy has a measurable childhood manifestation.
- The findings support the reliable assessment of childhood psychopathy.
- Early identification of childhood psychopathy may aid in predicting and addressing adolescent antisocial behavior.
Abstract:
The present article reports on an attempt to import the concept of psychopathy at the childhood level. Childhood psychopathy was assessed in 430 boys ages 12 and 13 years by using caretaker reports on a translation of an adult psychopathy assessment instrument. A systematic construct validation approach revealed 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. Implications and future directions are outlined.