Antisocial process screening device: validation on a Russian sample of juvenile delinquents with the emphasis on the role of personality and parental rearing

The objectives of the present study were 1) to validate the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) in a sample of Russian juvenile delinquents; 2) to examine subgroups of delinquents with higher versus lower levels of childhood problem behaviors with respect to the APSD subscales, personality traits, and parental rearing; and 3) to attempt to replicate the previous finding that the APSD subscale measuring callous/unemotional traits can differentiate subgroups of delinquents with different precursors for problem behaviors (predominantly biological versus predominantly social). A group of 250 Russian juvenile inmates (mean age=16.4) was examined by means of the APSD completed by the staff at the correctional institution. The inmates completed several self-reports assessing their current and childhood behavior problems, personality traits and experienced parental rearing practices. A factor structure of the APSD was obtained that is similar, albeit not identical, to that from the original studies by Frick and colleagues [Frick, P.J., O'Brien, B.S., Wootton, J.M., McBurnett, K., (1994). Psychopathy and conduct problems in children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 700-707]; [Frick, P.J., Barry, C.T., Bodin, S.D., (1999). Applying the concept of psychopathy to children: Implications for the Assessment of antisocial youth. In Gacono, C.B. (Ed), The clinical and forensic assessment of psychopathy: A practitioners guide. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum]; [Frick, P.J., Lilienfeld, S.O., Ellis, M., Loney, B., Silverthorn, P., (1999). The association between anxiety and psychopathy dimensions in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27, 383-392]; callous unemotional traits in the present sample were expressed in manipulative behavior. Results further disclosed higher levels of antisocial and aggressive activities, higher levels of personality attributes such as narcissism and novelty seeking, as well as lower cooperativeness, and negatively perceived parental rearing in a subgroup with higher (versus lower) number of childhood symptoms of conduct disorder and oppositional disorder. The juvenile delinquents with higher levels as compared to lower levels of callous unemotional traits also perceived their parents as using more negative rearing strategies. The findings are discussed in terms of interactional processes between personality of the juvenile delinquents and parental rearing in the development of antisocial behavior.     

Associations among cruelty to animals, family conflict, and psychopathic traits in childhood

Previous research has produced mixed findings on the role of child and family factors in the genesis of childhood cruelty. The authors examined the relationships of cruelty to animals to a range of child and family factors. First, the authors test the idea that cruelty is a callous aggression that will be more strongly associated with psychopathic (callous or unemotional, CU) traits than general externalizing problems. Second, the authors operationalize family problems as open conflict rather than parenting problems as used earlier. Results indicated that for both genders, CU traits were associated strongly with cruelty. For boys, externalizing problems also added prediction in regression analyses. Family conflict was not associated with cruelty for either. These results suggest that cruelty to animals may be an early manifestation of the subgroup of children developing conduct problems associated with traits of low empathy and callous disregard rather than the more common pathway of externalizing problems and parenting problems.     

Adaptation of the Basic Empathy Scale among a Portuguese sample of incarcerated juvenile offenders

The main aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) and of its adapted short version among a forensic sample of incarcerated male juvenile offenders (N = 221). The Portuguese validations of the BES and its adapted short version demonstrated good psychometric properties, namely in terms of the two-factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity that generally justifies its use among this population. Statistically significant associations were found with callous–unemotional traits and social anxiety. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of the BES and its adapted short version with juvenile offenders.     

Correlates of adolescent fire setting: examining the role of fire interest,fire-related attentional bias,impulsivity, empathy and callous–unemotional traits

Little is known about potential correlates of problematic fire setting that could guide risk assessments and intervention. The current study measured aspects of fire-setting behaviour, fire interest, attentional bias towards fire-related words on a modified Stroop task, impulsivity, cognitive and affective empathy and callous–unemotional traits among adolescent fire setters, non-fire-setting antisocial adolescents and age-matched school controls. Results showed that current fire setting was associated with earlier onset of lighter/match play and unsanctioned fire setting. Fire-setting adolescents were also characterised by high impulsivity, callousness, uncaring traits and low cognitive empathy. Fire-setting frequency was best predicted by high impulsivity. Fire interest correlated negatively with accuracy on fire-related words on the fire Stroop task. These findings suggest that impulsivity may be important in the assessment and treatment of problematic fire setting, and encourage further research on modified Stroop tasks as a novel means to assess fire interest.     

Impairment in the processing of fear gaze in adolescents with callous–unemotional traits

ABSTRACT

Callous and unemotional traits affect a subgroup of children and adolescents with severe conduct problems, characterized by lack of guilt, remorse, emotionality, and empathy, which trigger a chronic and severe antisocial pathway. One aim of the current study was to investigate if the results found by Dadds and his colleagues (Dadds et al., [2006]. Attention to the eyes and fear-recognition deficits in child psychopathy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 189, 280–281. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.105.018150, [2008]. Reduced eye gaze explains ‘fear blindness’ in childhood psychopathic traits. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(4), 455–463. doi:10.1097/CHI.0b013e31816407f1) in the processing of the eye region of a fearful face in subjects with high levels of callous–unemotional traits could be replicated using event-related potentials (ERPs). From a sample of 48 male adolescent offenders, those who presented high CU (HCU) scores and low CU (LCU) scores were selected. Psychophysiological results show that HCU traits are associated with deficits in processing the eye region of fearful faces. These findings are discussed below.     

Incarcerated youths with high or low callous–unemotional traits: a comparison controlling for age of crime onset

The aim of this study was to analyze the relevance of callous–unemotional (CU) traits in incarcerated juvenile delinquents. A sample of 160 incarcerated male youths was used. Results showed that youths with high CU traits had an earlier age of crime onset and of trouble with the law, and also had higher levels of conduct disorder. When controlling for age of crime onset, youths with high CU traits showed higher levels of general psychopathic traits and of psychopathy taxon membership as well as lower levels of prosocial behavior, but no differences were found for self-reported delinquency, crime seriousness, impulsivity-conduct problems, and general conduct problems. Also, no significant associations of CU traits with self-reported delinquency and crime seriousness were found when controlling for age of crime onset. Future studies of CU traits should take into account the specific importance of age of onset.     

Social and emotional detachment in Dutch children

Characteristics associated with psychopathy were, along with the symptoms of aggressive and antisocial behaviour, rated by parents in a community sample of 2535 four-to-eighteen-year-old Dutch children in 2003. An analysis of principal components suggested two dimensions of psychopathic characteristics. The first dimension comprised egocentric characteristics and the second unemotional characteristics. Regression analyses further showed that antisocial behaviour could be predicted by egocentric characteristics, while aggressive behaviour could be predicted by the interaction of egocentric and unemotional characteristics. To avoid unnecessary stigmatisation of youngsters, it is proposed to label the egocentric dimension as the 'social detachment' factor and the unemotional dimension as the 'emotional detachment' factor.     

Animal cruelty and firesetting as behavioral markers of fearlessness and disinhibition: putting two-thirds of Macdonald’s triad to work

The purpose of this study was to determine whether animal cruelty and firesetting can serve as markers of fearlessness and disinhibition, respectively. File data gathered on 496 male sex offenders were analyzed in an effort to test two hypotheses, a countervailing hypothesis and a narrowness hypothesis. Results pertaining to the countervailing hypothesis revealed that animal cruelty correlated significantly better with fearlessness than with disinhibition and firesetting correlated significantly better with disinhibition than with fearlessness. A multiple regression analysis controlling for age at time of discharge, participant race, and offender category (pure rapist and pure child molester) also confirmed this hypothesis. Corroborating the narrowness hypothesis, animal cruelty and firesetting failed to predict violent offending after controlling for fearlessness and disinhibition, respectively. These results suggest that animal cruelty may serve as a marker for fearlessness and callous–unemotional traits, whereas firesetting may serve as a marker for disinhibition and low self-control.     

Among a German Sample of Forensic Patients,Previous Animal Abuse Mediates Between Psychopathy and Sadistic Actions

In an attempt to explain the relationship between psychopathy and severe violent behavior, this study associates previous animal abuse, psychopathy, and sadistic acting in forensic patients. Two topics are addressed: (i) whether previous animal abuse can be identified by a patient's Psychopathy Checklist profile and (ii) whether animal abuse statistically mediates between psychopathy and sadistic acting. In a German forensic hospital, 60 patients were investigated. Animal abuse was assessed using face‐to‐face interviews and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV), and sadistic acting was identified by file records.Discriminant analysis separated previous animal abuse (10/60) by high adolescent antisocial behavior, superficiality, lack of remorse, lack of empathy, and grandiosity. The mediation from psychopathy to sadistic acting (6/60) through animal abuse was found to be complete.The results, although sample size is limited and base rate of animal abuse and sadistic acting are low, fit with a model suggestive of animal abuse as a causal step toward sadistic crimes. Animal abuse correlates with callous, unemotional traits, and a development of sadistic crimes.     

Clarifying the characteristics of youth who have engaged in appetitive violence

Appetitive violence is a form of proactive violence; its purpose is to generate or maintain a positive emotional state and, possibly, to strengthen social bonds. Portrayals of an increasing frequency of youth acts of appetitive violence have contributed to a perception that aggressive delinquents are callous and predatory. However, the characteristics of these youth and the nature of their violent behaviour have not been elucidated. This study compared demographic and psychological characteristics of 143 young violent offenders according to whether or not they had a history of appetitive violence. It was hypothesised that youth with a history of appetitive violence would score higher on a measure of psychopathy and that their violence would be perpetrated within the context of a group assault. Results revealed that acts of appetitive violence were perpetrated exclusively by males and were more likely to occur when co-offenders were present. Psychopathy did not differentiate the youth. These results suggest that appetitive violence perpetrated by young offenders is the product of social factors rather than individual psychopathology.     

Callous-Unemotional Traits and Social Information Processing: Multiple Risk-Factor Models for Understanding Aggressive Behavior in Antisocial Youth

This study examined multiple risk factor models of links among callous-unemotional traits, aggression beliefs, social information processing, impulsivity, and aggressive behavior in a sample of 150 antisocial adolescents. Consistent with past research, results indicated that beliefs legitimizing aggression predicted social information processing biases and that social information processing biases mediated the effect of beliefs on aggressive behavior. Callous-unemotional traits accounted for unique variance in aggression above and beyond effects of more established risk factors of early onset of antisocial behavior, social information processing, and impulsivity. These findings add to recent research showing that callous-unemotional traits are a unique risk factor associated with aggression and criminal offending and suggest that targeting both affective and cognitive vulnerabilities may enhance clinical intervention with antisocial youth.     

Assessing callous–unemotional traits in adolescent offenders: Validation of the Inventory of Callous–Unemotional Traits

The presence of callous–unemotional (CU) traits designates an important subgroup of antisocial youth. To improve upon existing measures, the Inventory of Callous–Unemotional Traits (ICU) was developed to provide an efficient, reliable, and valid assessment of CU traits in samples of youth. The current study tests the factor structure and correlates of the ICU scale in a sample (n = 248) of juvenile offenders (188 boys, 60 girls) between the ages of 12 and 20 (M = 15.47, SD = 1.37). Confirmatory factor analyses are consistent with the presence of three independent factors (i.e., Uncaring, Callousness, and Unemotional) that relate to a higher-order callous–unemotional dimension. Also, CU traits overall showed associations with aggression, delinquency, and both psychophysiological and self-report indices of emotional reactivity. There were some important differences across the three facets of the ICU in their associations with these key external criteria.     

Examining Callous‐unemotional Traits and Anxiety in a Sample of Incarcerated Adolescent Females

Callous‐unemotional (CU) traits (e.g., lack of guilt and empathy) are a risk factor associated with antisocial behavior. Youth with CU traits can be differentiated by varying levels of co‐occurring anxiety. In this study, we examined CU variants in incarcerated adolescent females (n = 109) and their associations with emotional and behavioral problems and history of maltreatment. Semi‐structured interviews were also conducted with a subsample of the participants (n = 13). Participants with CU traits and anxiety had similar levels of conduct problems compared to individuals with high CU traits without anxiety, but they reported more childhood maltreatment (especially sexual abuse).     

Perceptions of police-juvenile contact predicts self-reported offending in adolescent males

ABSTRACT

Evidence suggests that positive experiences with the police can foster attitudes of respect towards the justice system that can reduce an adolescents’ propensity to commit later illegal behaviors. To advance prior work, we tested whether this association might be stronger for those adolescents who associate with deviant peers. Additionally, we tested whether the link between attitudes towards police and the justice system, and the influence of peer delinquency, would be weaker for those with elevated callous–unemotional (CU) traits. These predictions were examined in a prospective study using a sample (N?=?1,216) of adolescent males who were followed prospectively for 2 years following their first official contact with the juvenile justice system. Positive experiences with the police following the youth’s first arrest were associated with less self-reported delinquency 2 years later, which was partially mediated by reductions in adolescents’ cynicism about the legal system. However, this link was only significant for youth with low levels of peer delinquency. Although CU traits were related to less positive perceptions of experiences with the police and greater cynicism about the justice system, CU traits did not moderate the associations among experiences, attitudes, and later illegal behavior nor did they moderate the influence of peer delinquency.     

The stop and think group: Changing sexually aggressive behaviour in young children

Abstract

Until recently, relatively little attention has been paid to young children who are sexually aggressive to other children. In this paper, cognitive-behavioural group techniques which have been used in the treatment of aggressive, impulsive behaviour in young children were applied in a small group setting to the sexually aggressive behaviour of pre-pubescent boys. The boys initially learned a ‘Stop and Think” model for general interpersonal problem-solving, which was then used to work on their difficulties with verbal and physical sexual aggression. Observation of the children's behaviour, reports from carers, school staff and social workers indicated that the group programme increased the children's ability to inhibit impulsive, aggressive behaviour. In the nine months after the group finished there were no known incidents of sexual aggression. In the context of certain limitations discussed in the paper, this positive outcome suggests that these methods have potential for reducing the likelihood of sexually aggressive behaviour becoming habitual.     

R&D subsidy games: a cost sharing approach vs. reward for performance

This paper investigates government subsidy games for private sector research and development (R&D) in a two-country two-firm intra-industry trade model. Two funding structures are compared: ??cost sharing?? vs. ??reward for performance.?? Both the theoretical evidence and the results of a Monte Carlo simulation suggest that cost sharing is associated with higher social surplus and quality improvement because it prompts the firm to do more R&D. In a cost sharing program government and firm R&D are always complements. In the reward for performance program government and firm R&D may be complements, but are usually substitutes. In the Monte Carlo results the average firm contribution to R&D expenditure is actually negative with a reward for performance funding structure??raising the question of whether it might be construed as corporate welfare. Finally, the paper characterizes funding priorities for both structures in the case when subsidy dollars are scarce and when they are not.     

The testosterone–cortisol ratio: A hormonal marker for proneness to social aggression

Social aggression is an escalating hazard for individuals and society. It is most frequently observed as impulsive–reactive aggression in antisocial personality disorder (APD), but in psychopathic aggressive personalities instrumental social aggression is more prominent. However, the psychobiological mechanisms underlying human social aggression are still poorly understood. Here we propose a psychobiological mechanism that may explain human social aggression wherein the steroid hormones cortisol and testosterone play a critical role. High levels of testosterone and low levels of cortisol have been associated with social aggression in several species but it seems that in those individuals wherein these hormonal markers combine social aggression is most violent. In this review we discuss fundamental and clinical research which underscores the potential of the testosterone–cortisol ratio as a possible marker for criminal aggressive tendencies.     

Capital punishment in Poland: The debate continues

Throughout its modern history, Poland has not escaped controversies surrounding the use of the death penalty. Tracing the historical development of laws dealing with the issue demonstrates an evolution influenced by various legal, political, social, philosophical, and international factors, leading up to the current absence of the penalty from the Polish legal system. The debate in society revolves around some stereotypical views held by different social groups. One of the biggest challenges is how to reconcile those views with empirical evidence, especially on issues like the deterrent effect of capital punishment. The authors describe the death penalty debate in Poland from these perspectives and take a retentionist position with regard to some selected crimes. As long as there are individuals willing to take other people's lives in a premeditated and deliberate manner demonstrating callous contempt for another person's existence, death remains the only punishment satisfying a sense of social justice and upholding the value of human life.     

Criminality and moral dysfunctions: neurological,biochemical, and genetic dimensions

In this article, the author attempts to demonstrate a relationship between neurobiological dysfunctions and/or genetically determined deviant behavior and personality traits as well as moral abnormalities. Data from neuroscience show that a number of neurological dysfunctions are linked to cognitive and emotional disturbances. Cognitive and emotional abnormalities, in turn, are frequently related to moral dysfunctions. Moreover, neurological disorders can produce dramatic psychological and social problems, personality changes, and behavioral problems in patients. Those mental, emotional, and psychosocial problems and related moral dysfunctions are frequently linked to violence and/or criminal behavior. Genetic research found evidence of inheritability of antisocial traits, which interfere with moral development and activities. This information has consequences for any assessment and disposition within the legal system. More research on the interrelationship between neuro(bio)logical, genetic, emotional, and mental aspects of moral dysfunctions is needed for the development of adequate treatment, prevention, and intervention programs.     

Child and adolescent psychopathy: A state-of-the-art reflection on the construct and etiological theories

Purpose

There is a growing interest in the identification of psychopathic traits in infancy and adolescence. This effort will enable the development of predictive models of aggressive and violent behavior, in order to intervene effectively both in preventive and therapeutic levels. Several authors have suggested that the presence or absence of psychopathic traits, together with the factors that sustain, maximize or minimize them, can help in the identification of the etiology and developmental trajectories of anti-social individuals.

Materials and Methods

Meta-narrative review of the child and adolescent psychopathy construct.

Results

This state-of-the-art review discusses the concept of child and adolescent psychopathy, taking into account historical and conceptual issues.

Conclusion

Evolutionary Theories can add a major contribution to the understanding of the origins of psychopathic traits.