THE STABILITY OF PSYCHOPATHIC TRAITS IN ADOLESCENT OFFENDERS

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by a constellation of interpersonal, affective, and behavioural traits. The growing literature on adolescent psychopathic traits suggests psychopathic traits can be assessed reliably and the traits demonstrate construct validity. Psychopathic traits in adolescents are associated with a variety of negative outcomes, including violence and criminality. However, there is considerable debate about the assessment of psychopathic traits in adolescents due to ethical and developmental concerns. Most importantly, questions remain regarding the stability of psychopathic traits in adolescents, a critical issue that has important implications for understanding the etiology and developmental course of the disorder and informing intervention strategies. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to investigate the sixmonth stability of the interpersonal, affective, behavioural, and antisocial traits of psychopathy in a sample of 112 male adolescent offenders. Adolescents were assessed with a modified protocol for the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) and the self-report Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Analyses conducted with generalizability theory suggested moderate stability of psychopathic traits. The interpersonal and behavioural traits evidenced the greatest stability, followed by the antisocial and affective traits. However, it is unclear whether these findings are a fimction of inappropriate developmental indicators of affective deficits or whether affective deficits are normative in adolescents. The current findings have important implications for understanding the developmental manifestation of "adolescent psychopathyyy and the development of appropriate intervention strategies. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge my supervisor, Steve Hart, for his support, encouragement, and feedback. Your guidance throughout my graduate career was integral in developing my sense of independence. I would also like to thank Marlene Moretti for her invaluable support and mentorship, and to Kevin Douglas for his attention to detail and knowledge base. To Marsha Schroeder and Brian O'Connor, thank you for your statistical consultation and advice. Second, I would like to acknowledge the following funding sources: A Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Emerging Team Grant awarded to Marlene Moretti (Grant #54020), an AP-LSIDivision 41 Grants-in-Aid, and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship. I am very grateful to Stephanie Penney, Cathy Wilson, and Caroline Greaves for their assistance with data collection and coding. Many thanks to Kim McKinney, Hamish Cummings, Marty Mueller, Karin Hartner, and the staff at the Burnaby Youth Custody Centres for their support of the project. Words cannot express how grateful I am to Jessie Klaver for being my confidante, support system, and most importantly, a true fiend, graduate school would not have been the same without you. To all my friends in the Mental Health, Law and Policy Institute, thank you for being there during the ups and downs, I will cherish all the wonderful memories. Finally, and most importantly, my deepest gratitude to Dan, my family, and my fiends for their unconditional love and support, and for keeping me grounded. TABLE OF CONTENTS . Approval -11 . Abstract 111 Acknowledgments iv Table of