Olivier F. Colins

Psychopathic-Like Traits Among Detained Female Adolescents: Reliability and Validity of the Antisocial Process Screening Device and the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory

This study examined the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Antisocial Process Screening Device–Self-Report (APSD-SR), the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI), and the YPI–Short Version (YPI-SV) in detained female adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. The proposed three-factor structure of the YPI and YPI-SV was replicated, whereas the proposed three-factor structure of the APSD-SR or alternate models did not yield adequate fit. Overall, reliability indices for the YPI and YPI-SV were higher than those reported for the APSD-SR. APSD-SR and YPI scales were positively related with each other, except the affective dimensions of the instruments. All questionnaires showed good criterion validity but the YPI’s factor structure and reliability was superior to the APSD-SR. This superiority is not because of the larger number of items in the YPI, because we also demonstrated that the factor structure and reliability of the YPI-SV was better than that of the APSD-SR.

Psychiatric Disorders in Property, Violent, and Versatile Offending Detained Male Adolescents

This study examines the past year prevalence rate of psychiatric disorders in detained male adolescents and the relation between psychiatric disorders and type of offending. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV) was administered in a sample (N = 245) of male detained adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Based on lifetime official criminal history, participants were classified into property, violent, and versatile subgroups. High rates of psychiatric disorders were found in all groups. In addition, property offenders reported significantly higher rates of depression, disruptive behavior disorders, substance use disorders and comorbidity than violent and versatile offenders. Overall, versatile offenders did not differ from violent offenders, with the exception of more marijuana use disorder found in violent offenders. This study once more emphasizes that detained boys have substantial mental health needs, a finding that is generalizable across countries. In addition, the current study suggests that classifying detained juveniles by offense subgroups may carry clinical relevance. The long-term impact of these differences, and the possible effects of intervention, should be subject of further research.

Psychiatric Disorder in Detained Male Adolescents as Risk Factor for Serious Recidivism

Objective: A growing body of research consistently shows that detained minors bear substantial mental health needs. However, the relation between mental disorder and criminal recidivism has largely remained unexplored. Our study examines whether psychiatric disorders increase the likelihood of recidivism after controlling for time at risk, criminal history, and the presence of other disorders. Method: Participants (n = 232) were detained male adolescents from all 3 youth detention centres in Flanders, Belgium, who were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Version IV. Two to 4 years later, information on serious recidivism was retrieved from the official judicial registration system. Serious recidivism was defined as having at least one arrest charge for violent, severe property crime, or substance-related offences. Results: Serious recidivism was high, with 81% (n = 191) of the participants being rearrested. Psychiatric disorders predicted neither serious recidivism in general nor violent and severe property recidivism. However, other drug use disorder (OR 2.41; 95% CI 1.22 to 4.75) and general comorbidity (OR 2.64; 95% CI 1.40 to 4.99) were significantly predictive of substance-related recidivism. Conclusion: Common psychiatric disorders in detained male adolescents do not significantly increase the likelihood of subsequent arrests, with the exception that substance use disorders appear to increase the risk of later substance-related recidivism. Effective treatment of these disorders may prevent detained juveniles to experience the detrimental outcomes associated with substance-related crimes as adults (for example, mental illness).

Parent-reported attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and subtypes of conduct disorder as risk factor of recidivism in detained male adolescents

OBJECTIVE Parents are considered to be crucial informants in child psychiatry, particularly for disorders in which age of onset is included in the diagnostic criteria. In detained adolescents, however, parents all too often are difficult to reach or reluctant to cooperate. The clinical relevance of gathering parental information in this context should therefore be demonstrated. This study examines if parent reports of attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and age of onset subtypes of conduct disorder (CD) predict official criminal recidivism. METHOD Participants were 110 detained male adolescents from all three Youth Detention Centers in Flanders. Between January 2005 and February 2007, both youth and a parent were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV. Two to 4 years later, information on criminal recidivism was retrieved. RESULTS Youth self-reported ADHD and CD (subtypes) were not related with recidivism. Parent-reported ADHD, CD and childhood-onset CD predicted serious property recidivism, while parent-reported adolescent-onset CD predicted future violent arrests. In reverse, childhood-onset CD as reported by parents was negatively associated with violent recidivism. CONCLUSION Obtaining parental diagnostic information in delinquent adolescents is crucial for predicting recidivism. This finding emphasizes the need of including parents when studying mental disorder in detained adolescents.

PSYCHOPATHIC PERSONALITY IN THE GENERAL POPULATION: DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES ACROSS GENDER

This study aimed to identify distinct subgroups of adults in a general population sample (N = 2,500; 52.6% females) based on their scores on three psychopathy dimensions. Using latent profile analysis, five groups were identified among males and females separately, including a psychopathic personality group. Multivariate analyses of variance showed that this latter group had higher levels of aggression, offending, substance use, attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms, internalizing problems, and maltreatment than most of the other groups. Associated features of males and females with a psychopathic personality were very similar; however, salient gender differences did emerge. Specifically, females with a psychopathic personality were more frequently exposed to sexual abuse, expressed more emotional difficulties, and engaged in higher levels of relational aggression. In conclusion, person-oriented analyses identified adults with a personality that looks like psychopathy, and furthered our understanding of gender similarities and differences in these adults.

Gender differences in psychiatric disorders and clusters of self-esteem among detained adolescents.

Detained minors display substantial mental health needs. This study focused on two features (psychopathology and self-esteem) that have received considerable attention in the literature and clinical work, but have rarely been studied simultaneously in detained youths. The aims of this study were to examine gender differences in psychiatric disorders and clusters of self-esteem, and to test the hypothesis that the cluster of adolescents with lower (versus higher) levels of self-esteem have higher rates of psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was assessed in 440 Belgian, detained adolescents using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV. Self-esteem was assessed using the Self-perception Profile for Adolescents. Model-based cluster analyses were performed to identify youths with lower and/or higher levels of self-esteem across several domains. Girls have higher rates for most psychiatric disorders and lower levels of self-esteem than boys. A higher number of clusters was identified in boys (four) than girls (three). Generally, the cluster of adolescents with lower (versus higher) levels of self-esteem had a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders. These results suggest that the detection of low levels of self-esteem in adolescents, especially girls, might help clinicians to identify a subgroup of detained adolescents with the highest prevalence of psychopathology.

The usefulness of DSM-IV and DSM-5 conduct disorder subtyping in detained adolescents.

Abstract The aim of this study was to test whether the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), and DSM-5 conduct disorder (CD) subtyping approaches identify adolescents with concurrent psychiatric morbidity and an increased risk to reoffend. A diagnostic interview was used to assess childhood-onset CD (CoCD), adolescent-onset CD (AoCD), and concurrent psychiatric morbidity in 223 detained male adolescents. The callous-unemotional (CU) specifier was established through a self-report questionnaire. Two to four years later, information on official criminal recidivism was collected. The CoCD and AoCD youths were different in concurrent psychiatric morbidity but not in their risk to reoffend. The youths with CD and CU (CD+CU) and the CD-only youths did not differ with regard to concurrent psychiatric morbidity. In addition, the CD+CU youths were at risk to reoffend but merely when compared with their counterparts without CD/CU. Although CD subtyping approaches may identify youths with concurrent psychiatric morbidity, the usefulness to predict recidivism in already delinquent youths is limited.

Are psychotic experiences among detained juvenile offenders explained by trauma and substance use

OBJECTIVE High rates of psychotic experiences among detained adolescents have been reported. However, the significance of psychotic experiences in detained juveniles is still poorly understood. The current study, therefore, (1) examines whether psychotic experiences could be explained by substance use and/or traumatic experiences, and (2) investigates this objective without taking into account the frequently occurring paranoia-related symptoms that may not be psychosis-related in detained minors. METHOD Data were derived from 231 detained adolescents. By means of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, psychotic experiences, life-threatening events and substance use were assessed while the Child Traumatic Questionnaire was used for a history of abuse and neglect. RESULTS In univariate logistic regression analyses, having psychotic experiences was positively associated with substance-related (e.g. past year intense marihuana use) and trauma-related (e.g. emotional abuse) variables. However, without taken paranoia-related experiences into account, different associations between psychotic experiences and substance-related and/or trauma-related variables were found. After building best fitting models, logistic regression analyses demonstrated a preponderance of trauma-related over substance-related variables in predicting the number of psychotic experiences (i.e. 0, 1-2, >2). CONCLUSION These findings suggest that psychotic experiences in detained adolescents may be explained by trauma and substance use. In addition, paranoia-related experiences seemed to be particularly associated with emotional abuse.

Stability and Change in Callous-Unemotional Traits : Longitudinal Associations With Potential Individual and Contextual Risk and Protective Factors

This longitudinal study examines developmental heterogeneity in callous-unemotional (CU) traits in a large sample of school-age children in Cyprus. Latent Class Growth Analysis revealed 4 trajectory groups of CU traits across 3 time points: stable high, increasing, decreasing, and low. Findings suggested that children in the stable high CU trajectory were more likely to (a) exhibit high and stable levels of conduct problems, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, impulsivity and narcissism, (b) experience low parental involvement and high parental distress, (c) report low peer support and school connectedness, and (d) score lower on academic performance, executive functioning, social competence, and self-regulation compared to children with low, decreasing, and increasing CU traits. These findings were verified by both parent and child reports. Repeated analysis of variance suggested that increases and decreases in CU traits were associated with similar changes in conduct problems, narcissism, impulsivity, and maternal involvement. Further, children in the decreasing trajectory group were not differentiated from children in the low risk group on measures of executive functioning, academic performance, school connectedness, and peer social support at the last wave of measurement. These findings provide evidence for the importance of taking longitudinal change into account for understanding developmental heterogeneity in CU traits and the association of these traits with possible protective (e.g., stable high maternal involvement) and risk (e.g., decreases in maternal involvement and increases in conduct problems, impulsivity and narcissism) variables.

Psychopathic traits as predictors of future criminality, intimate partner aggression, and substance use in young adult men

This study examined the prospective relation between Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) scores and various negative outcomes in a community sample of young men. Official criminal records and self-reported outcomes, including criminality, physical and relational aggression against intimate partners, and excessive substance use, were obtained on average 5.4 years (records) and 3.5 years (self-reports) after the YPI assessment. Results showed that psychopathic traits measured with the YPI (approximately at age 25) did not significantly contribute to the prediction of future official criminal charges and self-reported crime, physical aggression against intimate partners, and excessive alcohol and marijuana use, after controlling for several covariates. However, results also showed that men with higher scores on the YPI were more likely to commit future acts of relational aggression against their partner, even after controlling for prior relational aggression. This novel finding needs replication, though, and-for now-does not jeopardize the overall conclusion that psychopathic traits as measured with the YPI hardly predict over and above prior criminality and aggression. Altogether, the findings of the present study and their consistency with past research suggest that one should rethink the role of psychopathy measures for risk assessment purposes, at least when these measures do not index prior criminality.