Premium
Psychopathic features in a juvenile diversion population: reliability and predictive validity of two self‐report measures
Author(s) -
Falkenbach Diana M.,
Poythress Norman G.,
Heide Kathleen M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.562
Subject(s) - reliability (semiconductor) , psychopathy , psychology , predictive validity , clinical psychology , population , rating scale , recidivism , internal consistency , juvenile delinquency , scale (ratio) , poison control , psychometrics , psychiatry , medicine , developmental psychology , social psychology , medical emergency , personality , environmental health , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics
The reliability and predictive validity of two experimental self‐report versions of two measures of psychopathic features in youth, the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD: Frick & Hare, 2001) and a modified version of the Child Psychopathy Scale (CPS: Lynam, 1997) were examined in a sample of 69 arrested youth ( M age = 14.4 years) referred to a juvenile diversion program. Parents or legal guardians completed parent‐rating versions of the same measures. Reliability indicators for the APSD total measure were satisfactory although internal consistency indices (coefficient alpha) for the Callous/Unemotional and Impulsive/Conduct Problems scales were slightly lower than desirable. Reliability indicators for the CPS were excellent after deleting items that had poor corrected item‐to‐CPS total score correlations. Positive and statistically significant correlations for all measures were obtained with prospective measures of program failure (range 0.22–0.36) and rearrest at 1 year follow‐up (range 0.33–0.56). Although further research is needed prior to the clinical use of these measures, these results signal the potential of such measures to inform clinical judgments regarding treatment compliance and risk with justice‐involved youth. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.