an examination of the factor structure of the psychopathy checklist

expected to be financially supported by their families. This item was changed to
“parasitic orientation” which considers excessive or atypical exploitation of others by the
youth. Also, item 17 on the PCL – R, “many short-term marital relationships”, which
assesses the number of marriages/common law relationships an individual has had,
was changed on the PCL-YV to “unstable interpersonal relationships”, which assesses
the stability of friendships and intimate relationships. Further, instructions were modified
to emphasize the nature of normal adolescent behaviour and its variability over time,
and to ensure that raters evaluate the individual’s behaviour in the context of normative
behaviour of same-age peers. Finally, the scoring system was developed to reflect the
greater involvement of peers, family, and school in the lives of adolescents.
Researchers have made ongoing efforts to determine the most appropriate factor
structure of the PCL – R and its youth derivative, the PCL:YV (e.g., Cooke & Michie,
2001; Forth et al., 2003; Hare, 2003; Hill, Neumann, & Rogers, 2004; Jones,
Cauffmann, Miller, & Mulvey, 2006; Sevecke, Pukrop, Kosson, & Krischer, 2009). Three
main latent variable models have been proposed for representing the factor structure
underlying the PCL – R in adults and all three models are potentially applicable to
PCL:YV ratings in determining whether psychopathy in youth is structurally similar to
that in adults (see Appendix B).
The original two-factor PCL – R model was reported by Harpur, Hakstian, and
Hare (1988; Hare et al., 1990; Hare, 1991; Harpur, Hare, & Hakstian, 1989). In this
model, 17 of the 20 PCL – R items load on two correlated dimensions. The first,
commonly referred to as Factor 1, represents interpersonal and affective features of
psychopathy. The second, commonly referred to as Factor 2, reflects chronic impulsive,
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