title: Youth with psychopathy features are not a discrete class: a taxometric analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recently, researchers have sought to measure psychopathy-like features among youth in hopes of identifying children who may be progressing toward a particularly destructive form of adult pathology. However, it remains unclear whether psychopathy-like personality features among youth are best conceptualized as dimensional (distributed along a continuum) or taxonic (such that youth with psychopathic personality characteristics are qualitatively distinct from non-psychopathic youth).
  
  
  METHODS
  This study applied taxometric analyses (MAMBAC, MAXEIG, and L-Mode) to scores from two primary measures of youth psychopathy features: the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (N = 757) and the self-report Antisocial Process Screening Device (N = 489) among delinquent boys.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All analyses supported a dimensional structure, indicating that psychopathy features among youth are best understood as existing along a continuum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although youth clearly vary in the degree to which they manifest psychopathy-like personality traits, there is no natural, discrete class of young 'psychopaths.' This finding has implications for developmental theory, treatment, assessment strategies, research, and clinical/forensic practice.
authors.affiliation: Sam Houston State University, USA. Murrie@shsu.edu
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Murrie
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.forename: Kevin S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: Zina
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Randall T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Salekin
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vincent
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*