Possible Interventions for Preventing the Development of Psychopathic Traits among Children and Adolescents?

Individuals with the combination of psychopathy and severe conduct disorder often get in a lot of trouble from their early childhood, and can cause great suffering and problems for other people and their immediate environment. Their antisocial behaviour has a tendency to develop into a chronic pattern early in life, and the treatment prognosis in adulthood is poor. A large proportion of serious violent crimes in society can be attributed to this group of perpetrators. Until recently, it has been unclear whether traits of this type can be prevented or changed, so that these individuals and their surroundings can benefit from targeted treatments at an early stage. To reduce serious crime in a society, it is very important to develop effective measures for this particular group. A lack of empathy, indifference to others, and a lack of concern about their own performance appear to be key early signs in children and adolescents with persistent behavioural problems and more serious norm violations who continue into a criminal career upon reaching adulthood. These characteristics have been termed callous−unemotional (CU) traits, and they are considered to be a precursor to psychopathic traits in adulthood. In recent years, several studies have evaluated the degree to which treatments that have been proved effective for children and adolescents with severe behavioural problems also show effectiveness for children and adolescents with CU traits. Interventions specifically tailored to children with CU traits have also been developed with the aim of directly changing the ongoing development of this precursor to psychopathy. In this paper, we will address the extent to which current evidence-based treatment methods developed for children and adolescents with behavioural difficulties are equally effective when a child has CU traits. We will also take a closer look at the effects of interventions designed to change this trait. There will be a discussion regarding what seems relevant for a change in the trait itself, as well as a change in their antisocial behaviour.

An Investigation of Behavioural and Self-Reported Cognitive Empathy Deficits in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Adolescents With Behavioural Difficulties

Deficits in empathy have been considered hallmarks in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) but are also considered to underlie antisocial behaviour associated with individuals with callous unemotional traits (CU). Research has suggested that individuals with autism spectrum disorders show more difficulties with cognitive empathy, and that individuals diagnosed with behaviours difficulties, characterised by CU traits and antisocial behaviour, demonstrate low affective empathy. In the current manuscript we present findings of two studies. The first study describes the validation of a new stimulus set developed for the empathic accuracy task, focused on its cognitive component. The second study compares the performance of 27 adolescents with ASD, 27 age matched typically developing adolescents and 17 adolescents with behavioural difficulties on the empathic accuracy task and a self-report measure of empathy. While, no differences were observed between the three groups across the empathy accuracy task, the adolescents with ASD and CD showed deficits in their cognitive empathy across the self-report measure. Adolescents with ASD showed lower scores in particularly their perspective taking abilities, whereas the adolescences with behavioural difficulties showed more difficulties with their online simulation. No differences in self-reported affective empathy across the three groups were observed. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Dark Triad traits as predictors of adherence to traditional masculine norms in men

The present study examined whether Dark Triad traits explain variance in men’s adherence to traditional masculine norms (Playboy, Self-Reliance, Emotional Control, Winning, Violence, Heterosexual Self-Presentation, Risk-Taking, and Power over Women). Two-hundred and thirty-seven English speaking men (aged 18 to 62 years) completed online versions of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-III, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, the Mach-IV, and the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory-29. Results from regression analyses showed that the psychopathic trait Callous Affect positively predicted men’s Need to Win, Emotional Control, Violence, and Power Over Women; Erratic Lifestyle was a positive predictor of Risk-Taking; and Antisocial Behaviour was a positive predictor of Playboy. Machiavellianism predicted only Violence. The Narcissistic sub-trait Leadership positively predicted Risk-Taking; Manipulativeness predicted Risk-Taking and Violence; Superiority predicted Risk-Taking and Power over Women; Vanity predicted Self-Reliance; and Exhibitionism predicted Emotional Control. We conclude that whilst Callous Affect appears to hold the highest predictive validity, the Dark Triad traits differentially predict adherence to specific masculine norms.

Antisocial and criminal behaviour, school violence, and dating violence in adolescence

This article is aimed at analyzing three forms of violent behaviour, in addition to what it is that triggers what is known as “interactions among violent behaviours”; that is, what feeds back into violent behaviours, whether it is the victim and/or the aggressor simultaneously. The study sample consisted of 433 adolescents aged 12–19 years from four educational centers: two from ESO and two from FPB from a municipality of Greater Bilbao. The results show differences based on gender, showing a greater involvement among boys, as well as differences according to the educational pathway, with a higher prevalence of FPB students conducting antisocial behaviour than ESO students in school violence forms of behaviour and with no significant differences observed regarding dating violence. Finally, there was evidence to suggest the existence of interactions among violent behaviours.

Revising the Language of the New Zealand Youth Rights Caution to Support Understanding Among Young People

<p>Many young people in New Zealand will engage in antisocial behaviour during their teenage years. Consequently, many young people will interact with the police. When young people speak to police, they are read the Child/Young Persons Rights Caution (the Youth Caution) which informs them of the rights they are entitled to (legal rights), such as choosing to stay silent and speaking with a lawyer. However, many young people have an incomplete understanding of their rights as the Youth Caution does not support complete understanding. An explanation for this incomplete understanding is the language within the Youth Caution is too complex for young people. The current study sought to address this issue by creating and piloting a revised youth caution which aimed to be simpler and easier for young people to understand. Three research questions were addressed in this study: 1) What was young people’s level of understanding of their legal rights? 2) Would the revised youth caution improve the level of legal rights understanding? 3) Would understanding of legal rights increase with age? To answer these questions, young people (aged 10-18 years) were recruited from schools and the community (n = 101). Their legal rights understanding levels were then assessed, based on hearing either the standard or the revised youth caution. The results in relation to the research questions showed participants’ legal rights understanding was incomplete, the revised youth caution did not improve understanding across any aspects of legal rights understanding and understanding increased with age. These results suggest simplifying the language within the Youth Caution is not sufficient to support young people’s understanding, and legislation could offer further support, such as requiring a lawyer to be present as the default option when young people are speaking to the police.</p>

Young People’s Knowledge and Understanding of the Youth Justice System in New Zealand: A Community Sample

<p>New Zealand (NZ) has a separate youth justice system that is designed to be responsive towards the developmental needs of young people that have engaged in antisocial behaviour. It is therefore essential that young people are ‘Fit to Stand Trial’ when legal proceedings are brought against them. A young person can be found legally unfit on the basis of ‘mental impairment’, and whilst this is undefined it largely overlooks the impact a young person's developmental level may have on their engagement with court processes. No research has examined young people’s understanding of the justice system in NZ. However, international research has demonstrated that those 13 years and younger are almost exclusively found unfit to stand trial due to their developmental level, whereas those 16 years and older tend to be found fit to stand trial. The legal capabilities of those aged 14 to 15 years are difficult to predict given the extensive developmental changes occurring around that age. The current research aimed to address three research questions: 1) is there a relationship between age and fitness to stand trial, 2) is there a relationship between IQ and fitness to stand trial, and 3) how does NZ research compare to international literature. Participants aged 13 to 18 were recruited from six schools around NZ (n = 89). They were interviewed using a semi-structured interview tool that was designed for this study to assess young people’s understanding of the justice process and fitness-related abilities. A brief measure of participant IQ was also taken. It was found that fitness-related abilities, such as knowledge and understanding, were positively associated with age and IQ, such that older participants and those with higher IQ scores performed better on this semi-structured interview. Attending a high decile school, and being female was also predictive of better performance. These findings indicate that developmental level—as indicated by age and IQ—impacts young people’s understanding and participation in the justice system. Therefore, the current legislative response to young people who offend does not sufficiently recognise the impact of a young person’s developmental capabilities.</p>

Young People’s Knowledge and Understanding of the Youth Justice System in New Zealand: A Community Sample

<p>New Zealand (NZ) has a separate youth justice system that is designed to be responsive towards the developmental needs of young people that have engaged in antisocial behaviour. It is therefore essential that young people are ‘Fit to Stand Trial’ when legal proceedings are brought against them. A young person can be found legally unfit on the basis of ‘mental impairment’, and whilst this is undefined it largely overlooks the impact a young person's developmental level may have on their engagement with court processes. No research has examined young people’s understanding of the justice system in NZ. However, international research has demonstrated that those 13 years and younger are almost exclusively found unfit to stand trial due to their developmental level, whereas those 16 years and older tend to be found fit to stand trial. The legal capabilities of those aged 14 to 15 years are difficult to predict given the extensive developmental changes occurring around that age. The current research aimed to address three research questions: 1) is there a relationship between age and fitness to stand trial, 2) is there a relationship between IQ and fitness to stand trial, and 3) how does NZ research compare to international literature. Participants aged 13 to 18 were recruited from six schools around NZ (n = 89). They were interviewed using a semi-structured interview tool that was designed for this study to assess young people’s understanding of the justice process and fitness-related abilities. A brief measure of participant IQ was also taken. It was found that fitness-related abilities, such as knowledge and understanding, were positively associated with age and IQ, such that older participants and those with higher IQ scores performed better on this semi-structured interview. Attending a high decile school, and being female was also predictive of better performance. These findings indicate that developmental level—as indicated by age and IQ—impacts young people’s understanding and participation in the justice system. Therefore, the current legislative response to young people who offend does not sufficiently recognise the impact of a young person’s developmental capabilities.</p>

Revising the Language of the New Zealand Youth Rights Caution to Support Understanding Among Young People

<p>Many young people in New Zealand will engage in antisocial behaviour during their teenage years. Consequently, many young people will interact with the police. When young people speak to police, they are read the Child/Young Persons Rights Caution (the Youth Caution) which informs them of the rights they are entitled to (legal rights), such as choosing to stay silent and speaking with a lawyer. However, many young people have an incomplete understanding of their rights as the Youth Caution does not support complete understanding. An explanation for this incomplete understanding is the language within the Youth Caution is too complex for young people. The current study sought to address this issue by creating and piloting a revised youth caution which aimed to be simpler and easier for young people to understand. Three research questions were addressed in this study: 1) What was young people’s level of understanding of their legal rights? 2) Would the revised youth caution improve the level of legal rights understanding? 3) Would understanding of legal rights increase with age? To answer these questions, young people (aged 10-18 years) were recruited from schools and the community (n = 101). Their legal rights understanding levels were then assessed, based on hearing either the standard or the revised youth caution. The results in relation to the research questions showed participants’ legal rights understanding was incomplete, the revised youth caution did not improve understanding across any aspects of legal rights understanding and understanding increased with age. These results suggest simplifying the language within the Youth Caution is not sufficient to support young people’s understanding, and legislation could offer further support, such as requiring a lawyer to be present as the default option when young people are speaking to the police.</p>

A framework for young people with neurodisability who engage in antisocial behaviour: Introducing the PAM-NEXT

<p>In recent times there has been greater recognition of the over representation of young people with neurodisability within youth justice systems worldwide. This poses a problem for practitioners and suggests that current treatments based on addressing dynamic risk factors may be inadequate for addressing the needs of this group. This thesis elucidates these challenges and extends the Predictive Agency Model (PAM; Heffernan & Ward, 2017) into the Predictive Agency Model-Neurodisability Extension (PAM-NEXT). This extension considers how neurodisability can contribute to a maladaptive developmental history for young people which, in some cases, can lead to exposure to dynamic risk factors. The PAM-NEXT provides a framework to consider how these factors can be operationalised within the process of antisocial behaviour for young people with neurodisabilities. The PAM-NEXT is then applied to composite cases of young people who have engaged in antisocial behaviour to demonstrate its utility. Lastly the PAM-NEXT is evaluated and future directions discussed. The PAM-NEXT can provide practitioners options to adequately target treatment for young people with neurodisability who engage in antisocial behaviour.</p>

A framework for young people with neurodisability who engage in antisocial behaviour: Introducing the PAM-NEXT

<p>In recent times there has been greater recognition of the over representation of young people with neurodisability within youth justice systems worldwide. This poses a problem for practitioners and suggests that current treatments based on addressing dynamic risk factors may be inadequate for addressing the needs of this group. This thesis elucidates these challenges and extends the Predictive Agency Model (PAM; Heffernan & Ward, 2017) into the Predictive Agency Model-Neurodisability Extension (PAM-NEXT). This extension considers how neurodisability can contribute to a maladaptive developmental history for young people which, in some cases, can lead to exposure to dynamic risk factors. The PAM-NEXT provides a framework to consider how these factors can be operationalised within the process of antisocial behaviour for young people with neurodisabilities. The PAM-NEXT is then applied to composite cases of young people who have engaged in antisocial behaviour to demonstrate its utility. Lastly the PAM-NEXT is evaluated and future directions discussed. The PAM-NEXT can provide practitioners options to adequately target treatment for young people with neurodisability who engage in antisocial behaviour.</p>