Abstract
Abstract This study assessed the applicability of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version in a sample of teenagers confined in socio-educational institutions. Using an Item Response Theory approach, item properties of this instrument were reviewed using the generalized partial credit model. Eight of the original twenty items of the original instrument were discarded due to low discrimination parameters. As expected, the most discriminating items in the assessment of psychiatric traits were those which affective characteristics are more typical in the description of psychopathic traits, and their larger variability among juveniles is reflected in the checklist’s answers. Item anchoring, in turn, determined five anchor levels. Conclusions based on the results are twofold: (a) a shorter version of this measure can offer the same level of information obtained from the full instrument and (b) the measure provides more information on average latent trait levels and is inadequate for clinical use.
Highlights
One of the tools developed for the diagnosis of psychopathy is the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), developed by Robert Hare and considered the “gold standard” in the evaluation of psychopathy (Vitacco, Neumann, & Jackson, 2005)
The categories δ of the items, reviewed by the generalized partial credit model, referred to a three-point Likert Scale, covering the scores “0”, “1” and “2” equivalent to “The item does not apply to the individual”, “The item applies to some degree, but not to the point of representing a score 2, or “there are many conflicting exceptions or information” and “The item reasonably applies to the individual in the most essential aspects”, respectively
Two items that exhibited this functioning includes “Parasitic Lifestyle” and “Promiscuous Sexual Behavior,” which is consistent with the manual information and Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL): YV training
Summary
One of the tools developed for the diagnosis of psychopathy is the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), developed by Robert Hare and considered the “gold standard” in the evaluation of psychopathy (Vitacco, Neumann, & Jackson, 2005) This instrument aims to comprehensively evaluate the different symptoms that characterize psychopathy, measuring affective, interpersonal and behavioral characteristics. In general terms, this checklist brings together twenty separate items, scored by means of a three-point ordinal scale considering, to this end, the degree to which the subjects’ behavior and personality match the description presented in the manual (Hare, 2003). In Brazil, the PCL-R was adapted from Morana’s study (2004)
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