(PDF) Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version: A

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Predicative properties: Please see articles on teenage brain development and criminal behaviour ( Crime traveller January 2022). The impulsivity likely to be demonstrated is in contradiction to predictable behaviour. And then there may be likely correlation between having been victimized and becoming a victimizer ...

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The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory: Measurement Invariance and Psychometric Properties among Portuguese Youths 1by📷Pedro Pechorro1,*,📷Diana Ribeiro da Silva2,📷Henrik Andershed3,📷Daniel Rijo2📷 and📷Rui Abrunhosa Gonçalves1School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga 4710-057, Portugal2Research Unit of the Cognitive-Behavioral Research and Intervention Center, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo, Coimbra 3001-802, Portugal3School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro 70182, Sweden*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.Academic Editor: Matt DeLisiInt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(9), 852; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13090852Received: 27 May 2016 / Revised: 5 August 2016 / Accepted: 22 August 2016 / Published: 26 August 2016(This article belongs to the Special Issue Youth Psychology and Crime)Download PDF Citation ExportAbstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) among a mixed-gender sample of 782 Portuguese youth (M = 15.87 years; SD = 1.72), in a school context. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the expected three-factor first-order structure. Cross-gender measurement invariance and cross-sample measurement invariance using a forensic sample of institutionalized males were also confirmed. The Portuguese version of the YPI demonstrated generally adequate psychometric properties of internal consistency, mean inter-item correlation, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity of statistically significant associations with conduct disorder symptoms, alcohol abuse, drug use, and unprotected sex. In terms of known-groups validity, males scored higher than females, and males from the school sample scored lower than institutionalized males. The use of the YPI among the Portuguese male and female youth population is psychometrically justified, and it can be a useful measure to identify adolescents with high levels of psychopathic traits.Keywords: adolescents; assessment; psychopathic traits; validation1. Introduction The construct of psychopathy is characterized by a set of affective, interpersonal, and behavioral deviant features [1,2]. Psychopathy is considered a relevant variable for forensic purposes, because it seems to be associated with the most early, severe, and stable forms of antisocial behavior [3,4,5,6]. Being a high risk condition concerning criminal recidivism, that tends to get worse and become less responsive to treatment with age, several authors argue that it is crucial to invest in early screening and intervention efforts [7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Concordantly, the interest in child/adolescent psychopathy has vastly increased over the past decades [14]. Moreover, despite some criticisms [15,16] the more recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) [17] added the “with limited prosocial emotions” specifier for conduct disorder. This specifier includes features often identified as psychopathic traits, specifically callous-unemotional ones [17].The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) [18] is one of the available self-report screening measures to assess psychopathic traits in youth. The YPI has the advantage of assessing the psychopathic personality constellation cost-effectively using a self-report format while minimizing the possibility of deceitful answers (e.g., social desirability, response distortion) because its items were designed in an indirect and subtle way that would lead people with psychopathic traits to see them as positive or admirable [18]. Another advantage is the intended lack of items that directly tap behavioral problems or criminal conduct, since several authors argue that antisocial behavior is a product and not an inherent trait of psychopathy [1,19].The YPI [18] was designed taking into account historical conceptualizations of psychopathy [2,20], assessing 10 core personality traits associated with the construct (grandiosity, lying, manipulation, callousness, unemotionality, impulsivity, irresponsibility, dishonest charm, remorselessness, and thrill seeking). These 10 subscales (with 5 items each) were grouped into three high-order factors, similar to the proposal of Cooke and Michie [1]: Callous-Unemotional (affective dimension: callousness, unemotionality, and remorselessness), Grandiose-Manipulative (interpersonal dimension: dishonest charm, grandiosity, lying, and manipulation), and Impulsive-Irresponsible (behavioral dimension: impulsivity, thrill-seeking, and irresponsibility) [18].Though designed to assess psychopathic traits in youth community samples, the YPI has proven to be a good measure when it is used in forensic settings as well, maintaining its psychometric properties [21]. In the original study, Andershed and colleagues [18] used a large sample of Swedish community adolescents to assess the psychometric proprieties of the YPI. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a model with three factors: Callous-Unemotional, Grandiose-Manipulative, and Impulsive-Irresponsible [18]. Several studies reported the same three-factor structure for the YPI, either in community [22,23,24,25,26] and/or in institutionalized/forensic samples of youth [25,27,28,29,30,31]. This three-factor model has also proved to perform similarly well for boys and girls [18,22,23,25,32]. Alternatively, Pihet, Suter, Meylan, and Schmid [33] recently decided to test different models and proposed a bifactor model for the YPI, i.e., a model that simultaneously includes the total score and the three-factor scale scores.Measurement invariance is an essential prerequisite for trustful comparisons and valid interpretations across groups, avoiding inference problems or biased/invalid conclusions [34,35]. In other words, when comparing different groups (based on age, gender, cultural background, community/clinical/forensic, etc.), it is crucial that researchers can assure that the measure assesses the same psychological construct in all groups [34,35]. Until now, only one study tested and confirmed measurement invariance of a bifactor model of the YPI (composed of the three factors’ scores and of the total score, i.e., a fourth, general factor, on which all observed variables load) across age, gender, and community vs. institutionalized samples [33]. Additionally, measurement invariance of the three-factor structure of the YPI across different ethnic groups (Dutch vs. Moroccan background) of detained male adolescents [31] was also confirmed.The internal consistency of the YPI has been a controversial issue either with community, clinical, or forensic samples. Most studies reported a good to excellent reliability for the total score and for the Grandiose-Manipulative and Impulsive-Irresponsible factors [18,25,27,28,30,31,32,33,36]. However, there are some divergences regarding the Callous-Unemotional factor. Namely, for this factor, some authors found a poor reliability [33,36] while others found an acceptable to good reliability [23,25,26,27,31,33,37]. Reliability concerns are mainly related to Callousness, Unemotionality, Remorselessness, Thrill Seeking, Impulsiveness, and Irresponsibility subscales [30,32,33]. Particularly, Cronbach alphas have been found to be quite consistently low for the Callousness subscale across several studies [18,22,25,30,32,36].The YPI has proven to be positively related to other measures assessing psychopathic traits, namely the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD-SR) [26,28,30,32,38,39], the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) [40,41,42], and even the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) [27,37,43,44]. Moreover, the YPI has proven to be positively linked to aggression [25,31] and, specifically, to proactive (but not reactive) aggression [26]. Externalizing psychopathology, conduct problems, risky behaviors, delinquency, criminal behavior [18,22,24,29,30,31,32], alcohol/drug abuse [23,30], and unprotected sex [30] were also positively associated with the YPI. Though the YPI has not been studied in relation to empathy measures, some studies have reported negative associations between psychopathic traits, especially callous-unemotional traits, (assessed through other measures, such as the APSD) and affective empathy [45]. Besides, the callous/lack of empathy is one of the diagnostic criteria for the “with limited prosocial emotions” specifier for conduct disorder in the DSM-5 [17]. Discriminant validity of the YPI with social anxiety has also shown mostly nonsignificant correlations [30].Regarding gender differences, some studies reported that, generally, boys scored significantly higher than girls in all three factors of the YPI [18,22]. Moreover, comparing a male community sample of youth with a forensic sample of male young offenders, the forensic sample scored higher in the YPI and its factors [25]. However, we must state that only Pihet and colleagues’ [33] study previously tested measurement invariance of the YPI. In this study, the authors [33] found significantly higher scores in boys than in girls, as well as in institutionalized adolescents in comparison to community ones.The YPI has been translated and psychometrically validated among an array of youth samples from different cultures and languages [18,23,30,31,36,37]. Despite this fact, the psychometric properties of the YPI have not been assessed in large, geographically diverse samples of male and female Portuguese youth while simultaneously testing for measurement invariance across gender (male vs. female) and sample type (forensic male vs. school male sample). Thus, the main goal of the present study was to validate a Portuguese version of the YPI, exploring the multidimensional structure of the psychopathy construct among male and female youth. It was predicted that: (1) the three-factor structure of the YPI would be replicated and would demonstrate measurement invariance across gender and sample type; (2) the YPI would show, in general, acceptable to good internal consistency values, as measured by the alpha and omega coefficients; (3) the YPI would show convergent validity with existing measures of psychopathic traits and aggression, and discriminant validity with measures of social anxiety and empathy; (4) the YPI scores would be positively associated with criterion-related variables such as conduct disorder symptoms, alcohol abuse, drug use, and unprotected sex; and (5) males would report more psychopathic traits than females, and males from the school sample would report fewer psychopathic traits than male young offenders. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Participants The current sample was recruited from public schools of the Lisbon, Algarve, and Coimbra regions managed by the Portuguese Ministry of Education. A sample of 782 participants (M = 15.87 years; SD = 1.72 years; range = 12–20 years), subdivided into males (n = 371; M = 15.97 years; SD = 1.70 years; range = 12–20 years) and females (n = 411; M = 15.77 years; SD = 1.73 years; range = 12–20 years), agreed to voluntarily participate in the study. The participants were mostly white Europeans (89.5%). No differences were found between males and females from the school sample regarding age (F = 2.64 (1, 780); p = 0.105; ηp2 = 0.003) nor years of education (F = 1.70 (1, 765); p = 0.193; ηp2 = 0.193). Significant difference was found between the males from the school sample and the males from the forensic sample regarding age (F = 31.92 (1, 590); p ≤ 0.001; ηp2 = 0.051) and years of education (F = 448.95 (1, 578); p ≤ 0.001; ηp2 = 0.437), with the males from the forensic sample being older and having fewer years of education.Sample type measurement invariance was examined using a previously collected forensic sample of male youth from the Portuguese juvenile detention centers managed by the Portuguese Ministry of Justice [30]. Participants in this sample included 221 male youth (M = 16.75 years; SD = 1.41 years; age range = 13–20 years). Most of them were white Europeans (54.3%), but the sample also included black Africans (20.5%), mixed race South-Americans (18.6%), and other ethnic minorities (6.8%). Most of them (87.6%) were convicted of having committed serious and/or violent crimes (e.g., robbery, assault, rape). 2.2. Measures The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) [18] is a 50-item self-report measure designed to assess the core personality traits of the psychopathic personality constellation in youth aged 12 years old and up. Each item is scored on an ordinal 4-point Likert scale (1 = Does not apply at all, to 4 = Applies very well). The YPI was designed in line with Cooke and Michie’s [1] three-dimensional conceptualization of the psychopathy construct, namely the Grandiose-Manipulative, Callous-Unemotional, and Impulsive-Irresponsible dimensions. Higher scores reflect an increased presence of psychopathic traits. Internal consistency based on Cronbach’s alpha has previously been reported as 0.84 for Grandiose-Manipulative, 0.74 for Callous-Unemotional, 0.78 for Impulsive-Irresponsible, and 0.88 for the YPI total [18]. The official Portuguese version of the YPI [30] was used.The Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) [38] Self-Report version (APSD-SR) [46] is a multidimensional 20-item measure designed to assess psychopathic traits in adolescents modeled after the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised [2]. Each item is anchored on a 3-point ordinal scale (0 = Never, 1 = Sometimes, 2 = Often). The APSD-SR has been used with preadolescents and adolescents aged 11–18 years old. Scores are calculated by reverse-scoring the appropriate reversed items and then summing the items to obtain the total score and the factors scores. This scale has three main factors: Callous-Unemotional, Narcissism, and Impulsivity. Higher scores are indicative of an increased presence of psychopathic traits. Internal consistency has previously been reported as 0.50–0.61 for Callous-Unemotional, 0.56–0.63 for Narcissism, 0.64–0.68 for Impulsivity, and 0.78–0.81 for the total APSD-SR [47]. The Portuguese version of the APSD-SR [48] was used to analyze the convergent validity with the YPI because it is presently the most used self-report measure of psychopathic traits among youths [39,48]. The internal consistencies in the current study, estimated by Cronbach’s alphas, were: APSD-SR Total = 0.77; Callous-Unemotional dimension = 0.56; Impulsivity = 0.55; and Narcissism = 0.70.The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) [40,41] is a 24-item self-report scale designed to assess Callous-Unemotional traits in youth derived from the Callous-Unemotional (CU) subscale of the Antisocial Process Screening Device [38]. Each item is scored on a 4-point scale (ranging from 0 = Not at all true, to 3 = Definitely true). Scores are calculated by reverse-scoring the appropriate items and then summing the items to obtain the total score and the factors scores. Using confirmatory factor analysis, it was possible to identify three independent factors, namely: Callousness, Unemotional, and Uncaring, with all items also loading onto a general Callous-Unemotional factor (bifactor model). Higher scores indicate an increased presence of CU traits. Internal consistency based on Cronbach’s alpha has previously been reported as 0.70 for Callousness, 0.64 for Unemotional, 0.73 for Uncaring, and 0.77 for the ICU total [40]. The Portuguese version of the ICU [42] was used to analyze the convergent validity with the YPI because several researchers have highlighted the importance of the core affective components of psychopathy referred to as CU traits among youths [40,41]. The internal consistencies in the current study estimated by Cronbach’s alphas were: ICU total = 0.88; Callousness dimension = 0.79; Uncaring dimension = 0.84; and Unemotional dimension = 0.87.The Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) [49] is a 23-item self-report measure that distinguishes between reactive and proactive aggression and is appropriate for use with youth and young adults. Each item is rated on a 3-point ordinal scale (0 = Never, 1 = Sometimes, and 2 = Often). Summed scores provide a measure of reactive or proactive aggression as well as total aggression. Confirmatory factor analysis identified two factors: Reactive Aggression and Proactive Aggression. Higher scores indicate higher levels of aggression. Internal consistency for adolescents has previously been reported as 0.86 for Proactive Aggression, 0.84 for Reactive Aggression, and 0.90 for Total Aggression [49]. The Portuguese version of the RPQ [50] was used to analyze the convergent validity with the YPI because the psychopathy construct identifies particularly aggressive and violent individuals [49,50]. Internal consistencies in the present study, estimated by Cronbach’s alphas, were: RPQ total = 0.85; Reactive dimension = 0.78; and Proactive dimension = 0.82.The Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) [51] is a 22-item self-report scale designed to assess subjective experience of social anxiety in adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 years. Four of the items are fillers and therefore are not taken into account in calculating the final score. Each item is rated on a 5-point ordinal scale (ranging from 0 = Not at all to 4 = All the time). Confirmatory factor analysis identified three factors: Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE), Social Avoidance and Distress-New (SAD-New), and Social Avoidance and Distress-General (SAD-General). Higher scores indicate higher levels of social anxiety. Internal consistency based on Cronbach’s alpha has previously been reported as 0.91 for FNE, 0.83 for SAD-New, and 0.76 for SAD-General [51]. The Portuguese version of the SAS-A [52] was used to analyze the discriminant validity with the YPI because of its good psychometric properties and the fact that social anxiety generally does not overlap with the psychopathy construct [51,52]. Internal consistencies in the present study, estimated by Cronbach’s alpha, were: SAS-A Total = 0.92; FNE = 0.92; SAD-New = 0.88; and SAD-General = 0.84.The Basic Empathy Scale (BES) [53] is a 20-item self-report measure designed to assess empathy in youth. The BES was developed as a concise and coherent scale with the aim of measuring two distinct factors: Affective Empathy and Cognitive Empathy. Each item is scored on a 5-point ordinal scale (from 1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly agree). The BES has been used with preadolescents and adolescents aged 9–18 years old. Scores are calculated by reverse-scoring the positively worded items and then summing the items to obtain the total score and the factors scores. Higher scores indicate an increased presence of empathic characteristics. The BES was validated among Portuguese youth samples, both from community [54] and forensic settings [55]. The Portuguese validation of the BES [55] was used to analyze the discriminant validity with the YPI because the extension of psychopathy to youths has highlighted the core affective components of this disorder and, given that low empathy is a core feature of the construct, it would be expected to correlate negatively with empathy [53]. The internal consistencies in the current study, estimated by Cronbach’s alphas, were: BES total = 0.92; Affective dimension = 0.89; and Cognitive dimension = 0.93.A conduct disorder (CD) scale was also created based on the 15 items used to assess CD [56]. The 15 dichotomous items (coded 0 = No; 1 = Yes) were summated to obtain a total continuous score. Thus, higher scores indicate a higher number of positively endorsed indicators of CD. Based on the Kuder–Richardson coefficient (i.e., alpha for dichotomous items) the internal consistency of the CD scale was adequate (0.77).A questionnaire was constructed to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. This questionnaire included variables such as participants’ age, nationality, ethnic group, and highest level of schooling completed. Some questions regarding alcohol abuse, drug use, and unprotected sex (i.e., sex without using condoms) during the last year were also included (coded as 5-point ordinal variables from 0 = Almost never/Never to 4 = Almost always/Always). 2.3. Procedures Authorization to validate the YPI among Portuguese youth was obtained from the first author of the inventory [18]. The original translation of the YPI into the European Portuguese language commonly spoken in Portugal by adolescents and young adults was previously conducted [30]. During the translation and retroversion of the YPI, appropriate procedures (e.g., avoiding item bias or differential item functioning) were followed. The questionnaire was then independently back-translated into English. The original and the back-translated items were compared for nonequivalence of meaning and items were revised when any discrepancies in meaning were detected until no semantic differences were identified between the English version and the Portuguese version.Authorization to assess youth in the school context was obtained from the General Directorate of Education of the Portuguese Ministry of Education (DGE–ME). All subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the DGE-ME (Code: 0338400001). Parental permission was obtained for all underage children and informed consent was obtained from participants who were 18 years of age or older. The participants—students from randomly selected public schools of the Lisbon, Algarve, and Coimbra regions—were informed about the nature of the study and asked to voluntarily participate. Not all young people agreed or were able to participate; reasons for this included refusal to participate, inability to participate due to not understanding the Portuguese language, and self-reported reading difficulties. Participants who were unwilling or unable to collaborate were excluded, so the final number of participants included in the present study was 782, with a participation rate of approximately 87%. The measures were administered in an appropriate classroom group setting using a paper–pencil method for collecting the data. The forensic sample of male youth originated from the Portuguese juvenile detention centers managed by the Portuguese Ministry of Justice, with the measures being administered by means of individual face-to-face interviews in an appropriate setting (for more details see the previous study by Pechorro and colleagues [30]). 2.4. Data Analysis The data were analyzed using SPSS v23 (IBM Corp., New York, NY, USA) [57] and EQS 6.2 (Multivariate Software Inc., Encino, CA, USA). The factor structure was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) performed in EQS 6.2 [58] with the robust estimation methods. Goodness-of-fit indices were calculated including Satorra–Bentler chi-square/degrees of freedom (S-Bχ2(df)), comparative fit index (CFI), incremental fit index (IFI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). A chi-square/degrees of freedom value