psychopathic traits and behaviors in adolescents. It was
adapted from the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised,
developed by Robert Hare, which is widely used in
research, clinical, and forensic settings for the assess-
ment of psychopathy in adults. The PCL:YV was pub-
lished in 2003 to provide researchers and clinical users
with a common metric to assess psychopathic traits in
adolescents and to encourage systematic research.
Future research and input from practitioners will play
an integral role in clarifying and refining the construct,
identifying the causal mechanisms, delineating the psy-
chobiological correlates, and designing effective inter-
vention programs.
The PCL:YV consists of 20 items that measure the
interpersonal, affective, and behavioral dimensions con-
sidered to be fundamental to the construct of psychopa-
thy. The PCL:YV manual provides a detailed item
description and examples of sources of information to
use when rating the item. Each item is scored on a
3-point scale: A rating of 2 indicates that the item defi-
nitely applies, 1 indicates that it applies to some extent,
and 0 indicates that the symptom definitely does not
applyto the individual. Several sources of information
are needed to score the PCL:YV—namely, a semistruc-
tured interview with the youth and a review of available
file and collateral information associated with the youth.
Because of the increasing importance of the
PCL:YV in the juvenile justice systems, the manual
recommends that it should be used and interpreted in
combination with information from a number of sources
and should never be the sole criterion for decision mak-
ing about treatment and/or adjudication. In addition,
because the consequences of misuse are especially seri-
ous, Forth and colleagues state that it is inappropriate to
label a youth as a psychopath and that it is unethical to
use scores for exclusion from available treatment pro-
grams. Finally, it is not appropriate to rely on PCL:YV
scores alone to impose harsher sentences or to use the
scores in determining whether a young offender should
be tried as an adult.Psychometric Properties
PPCCLL::YYVV:: FFaaccttoorr SSttrruuccttuurree,, RReelliiaabbiilliittyy,,
aanndd GGeenneerraalliizzaabbiilliittyy
Confirmatory factor analyses suggest that a model
with four correlated factors provided a very good expla-
nation for the pattern of covariation among PCL:YV
item scores. Four items loaded on an Interpersonaldimension (e.g., impression management, pathological
lying) and 4 items on an Affective dimension (e.g., lack
of remorse, callous/lack of empathy). Five items loaded
on a Behavioral dimension (e.g., impulsivity, lack of
goals) and 5 items on an Antisocial dimension (e.g.,
poor anger control, serious criminal behavior).
However, a model with only three correlated factors
also provided reasonable fit. The interrater reliability of
PCL:YV total scores is high (single-rater ICC of .90 to
.96). The internal consistency of PCL:YV total scores
is high, with alpha coefficients ranging from .85 to .94.
Research has been conducted with institutionalized
young offenders, young offenders on probation, psychi-
atric inpatient youths, and youths in the community.
PCL:YV total scores do not appear to be unduly influ-
enced by youths’ age, gender, or ethnicity.PPCCLL::YYVV VVaalliiddiittyy
High scores on the PCL:YV are associated with
substance use, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant
disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
in adolescents.
The PCL:YV has been related to a range of relevant
correlates and outcome measures. High PCL:YV scores
are associated with academic problems, early onset of
antisocial problems, instrumental motives for violence,
increased frequency and versatility of nonviolent and
violent offenses, and increased institutional nonviolent
and violent infractions. In addition, PCL:YV scores are
correlated with measures of cognitive, emotional, and
social cognitive anomalies largely similar to those iden-
tified with adult psychopathic offenders.
Several studies have been conducted to examine the
predictive validity of the PCL:YV. PCL:YV scores
were predictive of nonviolent and violent/sexual recidi-
vism in juvenile sex offenders and nonviolent and vio-
lent recidivism in adjudicated male youths. Recent
research has not found the PCL:YV to predict general
or violent recidivism in adjudicated female youths.
No controlled evaluations of intervention programs
for youths scoring high on the PCL:YV have been com-
pleted to date. Research with offenders referred to a sub-
stance abuse program found that PCL:YV scores
correlated negatively with days in the program, quality
of participation, number of consecutive clean urine
screens, and researchers’ ratings (from discharge sum-
maries) of clinical improvement. There is some encour-
aging evidence that adolescent offenders with high
PCL:YV scores who complete a treatment program352 ———Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV)H-Cutler (Encyc)-45463.qxd 11/18/2007 12:43 PM Page 352