The prediction of adolescents' antisocial behavior was central to this investigation. Specifically, use of the Psychopathy Checklist, Revised (PCL) as a predictor of the treatment outcome of a residential unit for juvenile delinquents was evaluated. Toward this goal, three foci guided hypothesis generation and testing. Multiple hypotheses were tested to consider (a) the predictive validity of the PCL, (b) the match between the PCL and Moffitt's (1993b) taxonomy of antisocial behavior and (c) the utility of the PCL as a selection instrument for assignment of juvenile delinquents to behavioral residential unit treatment. Subjects consisted of 80 adolescent, racially-mixed males (28 unit residents, 52 high school students).Predictive validity was evidenced for criteria consisting of future incarceration and future violent and nonviolent criminal offenses committed over the year following PCL administration. Prediction of future incarceration produced results similar to those found with adult prisoners (80% of psychopaths and 21% of nonpsychopaths were incarcerated). Moreover, PCL scores accounted for 26% of the variability in violent offenses and 40% of the variability of nonviolent offenses committed by subjects during the follow-up year.The match between Moffitt's taxonomy of antisocial behavior and the PCL was evidenced by data gathered on those subjects who were known to have engaged in antisocial behavior (N=71). The constructs that Moffitt (1993b) argued would mediate antisocial behavior and are measured with PCL items (such as neuropsychological executive functioning) significantly improved the prediction of future antisocial behavior over that accounted for by Moffitt's taxonomy. In fact, PCL items accounted for more unique variability in future offenses committed than did Moffitt's taxonomy.Utility analyses indicated that the PCL could be used to improve the prevention of success-improbable delinquents from being assigned residential treatment. Dollar value utility analysis indicated that over $5800 per resident could be reallocated to other interventions by assigning success-improbable delinquents to other treatments. Doing so was projected to result in over $175,000 less to be spent on treating unsuccessful residents. It was also argued that utility analysis figures could be to argue for development of alternative programs for delinquents who would probably be unsuccessful in the residential unit program. Residents who presented with internalized psychiatric disorders were not identified using the proposed cutoff score. Therefore, it was recommended that a second test be used to detect delinquents in need of in-patient psychiatric care. / Department of Educational Psychology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/180065 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Ridenour, Ty Andrew |
| Contributors | Dean, Raymond S. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vii, 113 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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