The incremental usefulness of teacher-rated psychopathic traits in 5- to 7-year olds in predicting teacher-, parent-, and child self-reported antisocial behavior at a six-year follow-up

Abstract

The incremental usefulness of the multidimensional psychopathy construct in predicting future antisocial behavior has rarely been tested in general population samples of children. To fill this significant knowledge gap, data were used from 1729 5- to 7-year old Swedish children who enrolled in a large Swedish prospective longitudinal study. Psychopathic traits and other risk factors at age 5–7 were assessed through teacher-, and parent-reports. Six years later, multiple informants (teacher, parents, and children) completed measures of antisocial behavior, including symptoms of conduct disorder, aggression, and bullying. Results show that the teacher-rated psychopathy total score (i.e., the composite of interpersonal, callous-unemotional, and behavioral-lifestyle traits) was predictive of severe and stable antisocial behavior, above and beyond levels of other risk factors, including conduct problems. Interaction effects suggested that the psychopathy total score at age 5–7 was predictive of future stable conduct disorder symptoms 6 years later, even in the absence of conduct problems at age 5–7. In conclusion, current findings indicate that the multidimensional child psychopathy construct identifies 5–7-year olds at risk for negative maladjustment in adolescence. Results support existing attempts of the developmental extension of psychopathy to young children.