an examination of the factor structure of the psychopathy checklist

(Salekin et al., 2006). Indeed, an understanding of the factor structure of the PCL:YV is
necessary for the reliability of the instrument and its ability to allow researchers to
consistently identify which factors mediate negative outcomes, a critical endeavour
given the importance of intervention with at-risk youth (Salekin et al., 2006). Further, it is
necessary to determine the specific constellation of traits that discriminate youth who
are solely conduct-disordered from the small group of youth who display callous and
unemotional traits associated with psychopathy (Frick, 2002; Frick et al., 2000; Salekin,
2006; Salekin & Frick, 2005). In response to these concerns, the primary goal of this
study was to simultaneously examine three PCL:YV factor models to determine the
most appropriate model for adolescent female offenders who have a history of violent
offending. Since adolescent females comprise an increasingly larger portion of juvenile
offenders as a whole (e.g., Puzzanchera et al., 2003; Thomas, 2005), an understanding
of their personality traits is fundamental, considering this type of knowledge would
provide important information regarding the development of targeted preventative
strategies and appropriate treatment programs for this population (Caspi, Lynam,
Moffitt, & Silva, 1993; Cook et al., 2010; Farrington, 2005).
Examination of the three primary factor models revealed that the two-factor model
did not fit our female adolescent data well. The poor results for this model were not
overly surprising; although this model has previously demonstrated success among
adult populations, the present study’s findings are consistent with more recent factor-
analytic findings (Cooke & Michie, 2001; Darke, Kaye, Finlay-Jones, & Hall, 1998;
Jackson et al., 2002; Jones et al., 2006; Kosson et al., 2002; McDermott et al., 2000;
Sevecke et al., 2009; Vitacco et al., 2006; Weizmann-Henelius et al., 2010). Although
59