Critical Issues in the Assessment of Adolescent Psychopathy: An Illustration Using Two Case Studies

Abstract

To explore critical issues in the conceptualization and assessment of adolescent psychopathy, we report on the use of the Youth Version of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL:YV; Forth, Kosson, & Hare, 2003) and the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality-Institutional Rating Scale (CAPP-IRS; Cooke, Hart, Logan, & Michie, 2004)—both derived from procedures for assessing psychopathy in adulthood—to assess two incarcerated youth identified by clinical staff as demonstrating features of adolescent psychopathy. Consistent with the views of clinical staff, the PCL:YV and CAPP-IRS ratings indicated the presence of serious psychopathy-related personality disturbance in both cases. The PCL:YV and CAPP-IRS also revealed between-case differences in the specific nature or features of personality disturbance present, despite similarities in the overall level or severity of personality disturbance. Raters found it was relatively easy to administer the PCL:YV and the CAPP-IRS, although they identified some challenges, particularly with respect to the assessment of disturbance of self functions. Relative to the PCL:YV, which may be considered the gold standard for assessing the PCL:YV, the CAPP-IRS had some strengths and limitations. We discuss these findings in light of the literature on assessment of adolescent psychopathy and consider their implications for future research.

Keywords:

• Psychopathy
• adolescent psychopathy
• PCL:YV
• CAPP

Acknowledgments

The cases described in this article are based on research conducted as part of the continuing Project on Incarcerated Serious and Violent Young Offenders, initiated in 1998 under the direction of Raymond R. Corrado. The Project has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada. In addition, the authors gratefully acknowledge support from the British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Development. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the agencies that funded or supported the research.