an examination of the factor structure of the psychopathy checklist

4 Discussion
Few studies have investigated female psychopathy in general, with an even more
noticeable lack of research specifically examining female youth psychopathy. Females
represent a smaller proportion of an already small psychopathy base rate, however, this
should not preclude examination of this population since violent crimes committed by
female youth are increasing in both number and severity (Cauffmann et al., 2007;
Puzzanchera et al., 2003; Savoie, 2000; Thomas, 2005). Further, research among male
youth samples has shown that psychopaths’ crimes are more violent (e.g., Frick et al.,
2003) and their victims sustain greater injury (e.g., Vitacco et al., 2007). Despite
controversy over the assessment of psychopathic traits in youth, it has been proposed
that research in this area may provide valuable information for early intervention and
public safety (Frick, 2002; Vincent & Hart, 2002). Indeed, intervention and treatment
efforts might yield more success if implemented at an early age when youth are
arguably more malleable. While this promising realization has made the study of
psychopathy at the youth level flourish (Cook et al., 2010; Frick, 2004; Frick et al., 2003;
Kerig & Stellwagen, 2010; Marshall, Egan, English, & Jones, 2006; Salekin, Debus, &
Barker, 2010; Vasey, Kotov, Frick, & Loney, 2005), there remains a relative scarcity of
studies that specifically examine female youth.
The base rate of psychopathy in the current study was consistent with both the
adolescent (e.g., Schrum & Salekin, 2006) and adult (e.g., Jackson et al., 2002; Salekin
et al., 1998; Weizmann-Henelius et al., 2010) female offender literature. For instance,
Schrum and Salekin found that 8.8% of their detained female adolescent sample scored
at or above the cut score of 30, and 16.9% of their sample were classifiable as a
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