an examination of the factor structure of the psychopathy checklist

higher than White youth’s scores on the PCL:YV. Given this discrepancy in scores, the
measurement of psychopathic traits using the PCL:YV among Aboriginal youth is
uncertain. As such, future research should examine if the PCL:YV as a measure of
assessing psychopathic traits is invariant across Aboriginal versus Non-aboriginal
youth and, additionally, if the three-factor model is the best model for use with female
youth offenders who have committed more serious violent offences such as homicide.
Given that nearly two-thirds of violent offences committed were primarily reactive
in nature, and that four-fifths contained at least some reactive qualities, emotional
regulation services such as anger management should be used as they would likely be
of the greatest benefit in preventing these youth from violently recidivating. In contrast,
interventions aimed at reducing impulsive behaviours may be less effective among the
smaller proportion of offenders in the current sample who are engaging in violence that
is primarily premeditated, unemotional, and goal-driven. In such cases, a focus on
alternative ways to achieve their goals and resolve conflict may be most effective. As
such, an initial assessment to determine the motivation for the offenders’ violent
offences may prove useful in selecting the most appropriate course or method of
intervention.
This research has provided us with a greater understanding of not only the
prominent personality features among female youth with psychopathic traits but also the
dynamics and motivations of female youth violence. Considering the enormous costs
that psychopaths create in terms of the crimes they perpetrate and their immediate and
residual effects on victims and members of society as a whole, the current study’s
examination of severe personality characteristics and violence within an arguably still
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