Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Child Version in Chinese Children.

Fen Ren,Jie Luo,Mingshu Li,Jiaxin Deng,Qing-Peng Zhang,Meng-Cheng Wang,Xintong Zhang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02550

Abstract

The primary goal of the present study was to examine the latent factor structure and measurement invariance (MI) of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Child Version (YPI-CV) in a sample of Chinese children. 299 school children (aged 9–12, 47.3% female) completed the Chinese version of the YPI-CV, and their parents completed a different measure of psychopathic traits, as well as ones for other measures: the Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI), the Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Social Competence – Parent Version (SCPV). Results showed that a bifactor model at item level fit the data best and was invariant across gender. Specifically, the general psychopathy factor influenced the 18 items strongly, suggesting that the YPI-CV is unidimensional rather than multidimensional. Overall, findings suggest that the bifactor structure of the YPI-CV should be used when examining relationships with outcome variables in Chinese children, with a focus on the total score of the YPI-CV, while factor scores should explain with caution.

Highlights

Psychopathic personality refers to a constellation of personality traits, such as callousness, manipulativeness, egocentricity, impulsivity, and seeking stimulation (e.g., Cleckley, 1988; Hare, 2003)
Recent research has extended this concept to adolescents and children as well (e.g., Barry et al, 2000; Forsman et al, 2008; Bijttebier and Decoene, 2009; Salekin and Lynam, 2010; Salekin, 2017), with the important implication that understanding psychopathic traits in youth can help us to gain insight into the different pathways that lead toward severe antisocial behaviors (Frick, 2009)
At item level, the best-fit model was the bifactor model, with each item loaded on their specific factor as well as the General factor (CFI = 0.964, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.953, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.039, confidence interval [0.028, 0.050], weighted root mean square residual (WRMR) = 0.815)

Summary

Introduction

Psychopathic personality refers to a constellation of personality traits, such as callousness, manipulativeness, egocentricity, impulsivity, and seeking stimulation (e.g., Cleckley, 1988; Hare, 2003). Recent models of psychopathy have conceptualized it into three dimensions: affective callous-unemotional (CU) traits, interpersonal-manipulative traits, and impulsive and irresponsible behaviors (Cooke and Michie, 2001). These psychopathic traits have been considered as a significant predictor of violence and criminality among adults (Caputo et al, 1999; Hare, 2003; Douglas et al, 2006). The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI; Andershed et al, 2002; Skeem and Cauffman, 2003; Muñoz et al, 2019), a fourpoint Likert scale of 1 (does not apply at all) to 4 (applies very well) consisting of 50 items subdivided into 10 subscales, has been considered favorable in several studies (e.g., Kotler and McMahon, 2005; Vaughn and Howard, 2005). It has been argued that it is a superior or comparable to other instruments in measuring psychopathic traits, such as the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD; Frick and Hare, 2001; Poythress et al, 2006; Colins et al, 2014b) and the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth et al, 2003; Chauhan et al, 2014)

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Conclusion