The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version in Spanish Adolescents—Factor Structure, Reliability, and Relation with Aggression, Bullying, and Cyber Bullying

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish adaptation of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S) which assesses the interpersonal, affective and behavioral dimensions of psychopathy. The factor structure, reliability of the scale and subscales and their relationships with proactive and reactive aggression, bullying and cyberbullying were evaluated. A total of 993 adolescents (58.9 % girls) between the ages of 14 and 18 completed the YPI-S along with the aggression measures. The internal consistency of the total and the three subscales was good. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three factor structure which was invariant for boys and girls. At a correlational level the three factors were related to all aggressive measures, however different patterns emerged in regression analyses. Finally, a triple interaction between the three factors was the best predictor of proactive aggression. In conclusion, the results of this study show that the Spanish YPI-S is a reliable, valid, and time effective instrument to assess psychopathic traits.