We have assessed psychopathy in male juvenile delinquents, and examined the relationships between patterns of psychopathy-related personality traits and psychopathy (PCL-R). Our results are complemented by data regarding previous treatment occasions and reoffending, with the aim of discussing treatment strategies.

We studied 56 male juvenile delinquents whose ages ranged from 14 to 20 years, with a mean of 17 years (SD = 1.2) from four youth correctional institutions in Sweden. All of the young people had shown early onset of conduct disorder. The modified version of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R), designed to be used with young people (Forth, Hart, & Hare, 1990), was used to assess psychopathy. Personality traits were measured along five dimensions: impulsiveness, monotony avoidance, socialization, verbal aggression, and somatic anxiety; scales were taken from the Karolinska Scales of Personality.

The mean PCL-R score was 29.3 in this sample (SD = 7.8), and 73% had scores between 27 and 40, indicating high degree of psychopathy; 59% of the participants had scores above 30, and, according to the manual, were classified as psychopaths. No significant correlations were found between the personality scale scores and the PCL-R scores. We discovered seven clusters; three of these were multi-psychopathological clusters (the members of these clusters had all traits deviant from what is normal), three of these consisted of participants for who the majority of traits were deviant (only one or two traits were within the normal range), and one of these consisted of participants for who all traits were within the normal range. We suggest that the classification will be helpful in managing therapeutic efforts.

The results indicate that psychopathy is common in male juvenile delinquents, and that personality profile may have implications for early intervention strategies in male adolescents with conduct disorder.