The relative validity of psychopathy versus risk/needs‐based assessments in the prediction of adolescent offending behaviour

Abstract

Purpose. The predictive validity of the psychopathy checklist‐youth version (PCL:YV) and Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) for juvenile offenders were compared to examine whether a broad needs–risk tool predicted violence better than a focused individual assessment of psychopathy. Methods. 94 adolescents from residential and secure units were interviewed and assessed using the PCL:YV and YLS/CMI. Total scores were retrospectively applied to staff‐recorded incidents of violence, total number of charges and convictions and formally recorded assaults. The predictive accuracy of each tool was assessed using correlational and receiver operator characteristic analyses. Results. The PCL:YV was a better predictor of staff‐recorded violence than the YLS/CMI; both instruments were similar in their ability to predict total number of charges and convictions and assaults. When subdivided by gender, the correlations for predicting staff recorded violence in male participants were significantly higher than for female participants for both test instruments. Both instruments were broadly equivalent in their association with assaults and charges and convictions by gender. Conclusion. The PCL:YV is a better predictor of recorded violence than the YLS/CMI, but for charges and convictions and assaults, the YLS/CMI and PCL:YV were comparable for UK adolescent offenders. When recalculated to exclude the likelihood of predictor–criterion overlap, the results were the same. These findings are discussed in relation to the value of using risk–needs assessment instruments as compared with scales with a more psychopathological and personality focus.

Gender and Risk Assessment in Juvenile Offenders: A Meta-Analysis

“…Studies included different recidivism outcomes such as general recidivism, violent recidivism, and non-violent recidivism, among others. There was one study (Marshall, Egan, English, & Jones, 2006) that used the YLS/CMI to predict the risk for offending against staff while incarcerating. Since the dependent variable was offending while incarcerated rather than recidivism once released, this study was not included.…”

“…While Olver, Stockdale and Wong (2012) found that the instrument worked equally well on some outcomes, they found that it predicted male recidivism better for others. While the study completed by Marshall, Egan, English, and Jones (2006) looked at violent offending against correctional staff rather than recidivism, it revealed that the YLS/CMI was better at predicting male violence than female violence.…”

In the eye of the beholder? An examination of the inter-rater reliability of the LSI-R and YLS/CMI in a correctional agency

“…We included incarcerated subjects because we had difficulty recruiting the desired number of probationers. In addition, the YLS/ CMI is used in other jurisdictions in facilities (see, for example, Marshall et al, 2006), thus the tool can apply to these youth. Staff at the facility and community supervising the youth were informed of the subject's names and asked to obtain informed consent from guardians and then gauge the youth's interest in taking part in the study.…”

Structural Validity of the MACI Psychopathy and Narcissism Scales: Evidence of Multidimensionality and Implications for Use in Research and Screening

“…An important question is whether the construct of psychopathy is associated with similar outcomes in youth as has been found in samples of incarcerated adults (e.g., persistent and chronic violent offending; Harris, Rice, & Cormier, 1991;Salekin, Rogers, & Sewell, 1996). To date, the literature linking psychopathic features to concurrent and future violence among male juveniles has been largely consistent with the adult offender literature (Corrado, Vincent, Hart, & Cohen, 2004;Kosson et al, 2002;Marshall, Egan, English, & Jones, 2006). As interest in youth psychopathy has grown, researchers have begun to construct various self-report measures that represent key features of psychopathy as exemplified in the Psychopathy Checklist, Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth et al, 2003).…”