6533b860fe1ef96bd12c3117
RESEARCH PRODUCT
The Use of a Screening Device to Assess Psychopathy in Young Offenders
Teresa Madeira Da SilvaVicente Javier Garrido GenovésM. José López Latorresubject
MaleLinguistics and Languagemedicine.medical_specialtyAdolescentPsychometricsCross-sectional studyPsychopathyPopulationPoison controlLanguage and LinguisticsYoung AdultInjury preventionmedicineHumansMass ScreeningPsychiatryeducationGeneral PsychologyMass screeningPsychopathy Checklisteducation.field_of_studyReproducibility of ResultsHuman factors and ergonomicsAntisocial Personality DisorderCriminalsmedicine.diseaseCross-Sectional StudiesJuvenile DelinquencyFemalePsychologydescription
The aim of this research was to determine to what extent a psychopath screening device (the APSD) is useful in forensic assessments to predict general and violent offending. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study was done and 238 young people serving a sentence were assessed. The gold standard instrument used to measure psychopathy was the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth, Kosson & Hare, 2003). The results indicate that the association found between the screening device scores and several indicators of risk is low if compared with those obtained with the PCL:YV, suggesting that it is less useful as a tool in order to predict offending or violent offences. However, an Area Under the Curve of .784 and a validity index of 62.5 support its use as a screening device or as a preliminary approach to assess psychopathy in this population. The usefulness of this instrument to make assessments with young people in the forensic setting is discussed.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-07-11 | The Spanish journal of psychology |