Violaine C. Veen

Ethnic differences in mental health among incarcerated youths: do Moroccan immigrant boys show less psychopathology than native Dutch boys?

Psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent among incarcerated youth. However, whereas ethnic minority youths are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system, limited research is available on their mental health. In this study, differences in mental health problems between incarcerated adolescents of native Dutch and Moroccan origin, were examined. Child Behavior Checklist and Youth Self-Report scores were compared between incarcerated adolescents of native Dutch and Moroccan origin. Their scores were also compared to those of native Dutch and Moroccan immigrant youths in the general, non-incarcerated population. Native Dutch incarcerated adolescents showed higher levels of various mental health problems than incarcerated adolescents with a Moroccan background. Compared to the general population, incarcerated youths showed higher levels of mental health problems, but this deviation was much larger for native Dutch than for Moroccan immigrant youths. These ethnic differences in mental health problems could not be explained by ethnic differences in socio-economic background and social desirable answering tendencies. Incarcerated youths of Moroccan origin show less psychopathology than incarcerated native Dutch youths, which might be explained by disparities in sentencing procedures.

Cross-ethnic generalizability of the three-factor model of psychopathy: the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory in an incarcerated sample of native Dutch and Moroccan immigrant boys

BACKGROUND Previous research provides support for the existence of the psychopathy construct in youths. However, studies regarding the psychometric properties of psychopathy measures with ethnic minority youths are lacking. METHODS In the present study, the three-factor structure of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) was examined for both native Dutch youth (N=158) and an ethnic minority group, Moroccans (N=141), in an incarcerated adolescent population in the Netherlands. RESULTS Our results showed that the three-factor structure of the YPI is comparable across an ethnic majority and an ethnic minority group in an incarcerated sample in the Netherlands. Moreover, associations between psychopathic traits and mental health problems were similar for both ethnic groups. CONCLUSION The results support the cross-ethnic generalizability of the three-factor model of psychopathy as measured through the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory.

Moroccan adolescent suspect offenders in the Netherlands: ethnic differences in offender profiles

Ethnic minority youths are over-represented in the juvenile justice system in Western societies. However, research on the nature of crime committed by these youths is lacking. In the present study, offending patterns of incarcerated native Dutch adolescents and adolescents of Moroccan origin were compared. Criminal record data were used to examine the offence history of 291 incarcerated adolescents. Offender types were determined through latent class analysis. Adolescents of Moroccan origin were incarcerated more often, for more offences and at a younger age than native Dutch adolescents. A four-class model of offender types was found: property offenders, violent offenders, sexual offenders and arsonists. Property offenders were mainly Moroccan adolescents, the other offender types consisted predominantly of native Dutch adolescents. Moroccan adolescents in pre-trial arrest in the Netherlands can be characterized as early starting offenders who persist in being incarcerated for property-based crime.

The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory: A Bifactor Model, Dimensionality, and Measurement Invariance

The current study examines a bifactor model for the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) in a Dutch community sample of adolescents (N = 2,874). The primary goal was to examine the latent structure of the YPI with a bifactor modeling approach. Furthermore, the study examines the dimensionality and measurement invariance of the YPI. Results show that a bifactor model at subscale level fits the YPI best. The general psychopathy factor influences the 10 subscales of the YPI strongly, indicating that the YPI seems to be rather unidimensional than multidimensional. Nevertheless, the dimensions still explain nearly one third of the variance found. Findings imply that the bifactor model of the YPI should be used when examining relations with outcome variables, with a focus on the total score of the YPI, while factor scores should be reported with caution. Furthermore, the bifactor model appears invariant for gender, age, and ethnic background.

The Child Problematic Traits Inventory in a Dutch General Population Sample of 3- to 7-Year-Old Children

The Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI) is a new teacher rated instrument to assess psychopathic personality traits in children. This is the first study to test the psychometric properties of the Dutch CPTI. Teachers completed the CPTI for 287 3- to 7-year old-children. Results from confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed 3-factor structure of the CPTI. The CPTI total score and three factor scores were internally consistent and showed the expected correlations with external criterion measures that have been linked to psychopathic personality, including conduct problems, proactive and reactive aggression, and temperament. This study also provides novel evidence that CPTI factor scores were positively related to an alternative measure of callous-unemotional traits, thereby supporting the criterion validity of the CPTI scores. In conclusion, this study replicates and extends prior tests of the CPTI in Sweden and suggests that the Dutch version of the CPTI holds promise as a teacher rated tool for assessing psychopathic traits in childhood.

Psychopathic Subtypes and Associations with Mental Health Problems in an Incarcerated Sample of Adolescent Boys

Research suggests a distinction between high and low anxious psychopathic individuals. However, research on psychopathic subtypes in youth offender populations is largely lacking. Therefore, this study examined psychopathic subtypes in a sample of incarcerated adolescents, and explored the relationship of these subtypes with various (mental health) problems. The Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory was used to measure psychopathic traits in a sample of 299 incarcerated adolescent boys. Related (mental health) problems were measured with, among others, the Youth Self-report. Within a high psychopathic subsample of incarcerated boys, two psychopathic subtypes were identified using Latent Class Analyses: a low anxious-depressed and a high anxious-depressed psychopathic type. Both subtypes showed high scores on psychopathic traits, although high anxious-depressed psychopathic boys scored lower on the affective traits of psychopathy than low anxious-depressed psychopathic boys. High anxious-depressed psychopathic boys reported more mental health problems than non-psychopathic and low anxious-depressed psychopathic boys. This study provided support for the presence of psychopathic subtypes in a sample of incarcerated boys. The characteristics of these two subtypes are generally in line with former descriptions of low anxious and high anxious psychopathic variants.

The Relation Between the Bifactor Model of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory and Conduct Problems in Adolescence: Variations Across Gender, Ethnic Background, and Age.

The current study examines how the bifactor model of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) is related to conduct problems in a sample of Dutch adolescents (N = 2,874; 43% female). It addresses to what extent the YPI dimensions explain variance over and above a General Psychopathy factor (i.e., one factor related to all items) and how the general factor and dimensional factors are related to conduct problems. Group differences in these relations for gender, ethnic background, and age were examined. Results showed that the general factor is most important, but dimensions explain variance over and above the general factor. The general factor, and Affective and Lifestyle dimensions, of the YPI were positively related to conduct problems, whereas the Interpersonal dimension was not, after taking the general factor into account. However, across gender, ethnic background, and age, different dimensions were related to conduct problems over and above the general factor. This suggests that all 3 dimensions should be assessed when examining the psychopathy construct.