Psychometric properties of the German version of the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory – short version

Background The aim of the current study is to examine the psychometric properties of the German Version of the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory-Short Version (YPI-S). Methods A sample of 856 adolescents (age: 15–19) from the German-speaking part of Switzerland was included. All participants completed the 50-item YPI, of which we derived the 18 items of the YPI-S. Furthermore, participants completed the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version-2 (MAYSI-2), as well a self-report delinquency questionnaire. Results We were able to replicate a three-factor structure and found moderate to good internal consistency for the total score as well as for the three dimensions of the YPI-S. Measurement invariance across gender was established. Furthermore, we found positive small to medium correlations with both internalizing and externalizing mental health problems, substance abuse problems, and offending behavior. Conclusions Our results suggest that the German version of the YPI-S is a reliable and valid screening instrument for psychopathic traits in both boys and girls from the general population in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.

A Comparison of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI)-Triarchic Scales and the YPI in a Sample of Justice-Involved Youth

The Triarchic model (Patrick, Fowles, & Krueger, 2009) posits that psychopathy consists of three elements: Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition. Drislane et al. (2015) recently derived scales from the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI; Andershed, Kerr, Stattin, & Levander, 2002) to assess these traits. The initial validation efforts appeared promising, but researchers have yet to evaluate these scales among justice-involved youth. The current study examines the validity of the YPI-Triarchic scales in an archival sample of 928 male adolescent offenders and tests whether the new scales provide information incremental to the original YPI. The YPI-Triarchic scales were strongly correlated with original YPI scales (rs = .56–.96), and some associations were contrary to predictions and previous findings about the Triarchic model (e.g., YPI-Boldness was not inversely related to symptomatology). Thus, caution is warranted when attempting to study the Triarchic model with the YPI-Triarchic scales.

Development and Initial Validation of an Inconsistent Responding Scale for the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory

The Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) is widely used in research, but there currently exist no means to identify potentially invalid protocols resulting from careless or random responding. We describe the development of an inconsistent responding scale for the YPI using three archival samples of youths, including two from the United States (juvenile justice and middle school) and one from Germany (vocational training school). We first identified pairs of correlated YPI items and then created a total score based on the sum of the absolute value of the differences for each item pair. The resulting scale strongly differentiated between genuine protocols and randomly generated YPI data (n = 1,000) across samples (AUC values = .88−.92). It also differentiated between genuine protocols and those same protocols after 50% of the original YPI items were replaced with random data (AUCs = .77−.84). Scores on this scale also demonstrated fairly consistent patterns of association with theoretically relevant correlates.