Title

Adolescent development and the measurement of juvenile psychopathy

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry

Publication Date

2002-05-03

Document Type

Article

Subjects

Adolescent; Adult; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Child; Female; Forensic Psychiatry; Humans; Juvenile Delinquency; Male; Psychological Tests; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; United States

Disciplines

Psychiatry

Abstract

Researchers are currently seeking antecedents of psychopathy among children and adolescents. Instruments developed for this purpose are likely to be used in the future in ways that may have serious implications for youths in delinquency and criminal cases. In this regard, and because the concept and measurement of psychopathy have been developed in reference to adults, there is reason to be concerned about potential developmental sources of false positives when measuring psychopathic traits in juvenile offenders. We provide the basis for our concern, as well as standards regarding the types of research evidence that should be provided before psychopathy measures are accepted for use in juvenile forensic assessments.

Source

Law Hum Behav. 2002 Apr;26(2):219-39.

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Law and human behavior

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

PubMed ID

11985299

Link to Full Text

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