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Personality Disorders

Factors Contributing to the Stability of Justice-Involved Youth Psychopathic Subtypes

(PS8-C74) Factors Contributing to the Stability of Justice-involved Youth Psychopathic Subtypes

Saturday, November 18, 2023
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST
Location: Regency Ballroom, Level 7
Psychopathy as it pertains to adolescences has been a long-debated topic, with research generally supporting the predictive validity of psychopathic features with violence and delinquent behavior. However, limited research exists regarding the stability of psychopathic traits during adolescence. To address the paucity of research, a study was conducted analyzing the stability of adolescent psychopathic traits over a one-year time period. Using a person-centered analytic approach to form adolescents psychopathic subtypes, four distinct classes were identified characterized by varying levels of anxiety and psychopathic traits. Results indicated instability of the primary adolescent subtype. However, it is unclear as to what factors may have been contributing to the instability of this subtype. Based on literature assessing factors contributing to the stability of psychopathic traits, the current study aimed at examining family and externalizing variables (e.g., moral thinking, parental warmth and hostility, and substance abuse) and their relation to adolescent psychopathic subtype stability over a one-year period. Data from this study comes from the Pathways to Desistance Study, a multi-site, longitudinal study of serious adolescent offenders as they transition from adolescence into early adulthood (n=1354). The sample consisted of predominantly male (86%) and ethnically diverse (44% Black, 29% Latino, 25% White, and 2% Other) adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 at baseline. For the current study, we used data from 6- and 18-month follow-ups, with responses on the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) and the anxiety scale of the Brief Symptom Index (BSI) being used to form subtypes. Latent Profile Analyses (LPA) were used to determine psychopathic subtypes and Latent Transition Analyses (LTA) were used to examine patterns of longitudinal change in class membership. Logistic regression was then used to examine factors contributing to the instability of the primary psychopathic subtype across a one-year period. Results from the logistic regression will be completed by the time of the conference. Results from the study will be helpful to inform treatment by identifying risk and protective factors relevant to the stability of adolescent primary psychopathic subtypes.