Abstract
The self-report version of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) is a commonly used tool for assessing psychopathic traits in youth. This is the first study designed to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity of the Persian APSD-SR in a sample of 675 school-attending youth in Iran (46% girls; M age = 16.35). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a modified three-factor model, with items loading on narcissism, callous-unemotional, and impulsivity dimensions, which was invariant across gender. Notwithstanding that the internal consistency of some APSD scores was unsatisfactory, the APSD total and dimension scores showed the expected relations with external correlates (e.g., conduct problems, aggression, and low prosocial behavior), supporting the validity of the interpretation of the APSD scores. The findings showed that the APSD is a useful tool for assessing psychopathic traits in Iranian adolescents and may spark research on adolescent psychopathy in mental health and forensic settings.
Highlights
Psychopathic personality is a severe multifaceted personality disorder comprised of a constellation of co-occurring traits that load onto either three [1] or four [2] dimensions, including interpersonal, affective, behavior/lifestyle, and antisocial dimensions
Model fit indices was in the acceptable range for configural (RMSEA = 0.034, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.94, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.93), metric (RMSEA = 0.037; CFI = 0.92; TLI = 0.91) and scalar invariance (RMSEA = 0.040, CFI = 0.90, TLI = 0.91)
This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD)-SR among a sample of Iranian school attending adolescents
Summary
Psychopathic personality is a severe multifaceted personality disorder comprised of a constellation of co-occurring traits that load onto either three [1] or four [2] dimensions, including interpersonal, affective, behavior/lifestyle, and antisocial dimensions. Adults with a psychopathic personality have a disproportionate negative emotional and psychological impact on the lives, health, and careers of many others and incur tremendous costs and burdens to society [3,4,5]. They are reputed for resistance to treatment and confront clinicians with myriad challenges [6]. Early identification of children and adolescents at risk for adult psychopathic personality may help to protect society against future harm Detection of these individuals can expand our understanding of the etiology and the development of psychopathy over time and the identification of protective factors hindering its development [8]. The early detection of individuals with psychopathy may generate knowledge that can be used to increase the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs long before the early psychopathic behaviors become entrenched, chronic, and co-morbid with other problems [9]
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