Revised by Shannon and Taffy and the North American Research Group.
While there are tools that are used to identify psychopathic traits in youth, individual children and adolescents are not labelled as psychopathic. The Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL-YV) and the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) are two reliable, valid tools that are used to identify children and adolescents with psychopathic traits. One of the reasons we do not label children and adolescents as psychopathic is to avoid the potential negative consequences of the “psychopath” label. The term has many negative connotations (including pessimism about the possibility of change), and there is evidence that labels like “psychopath” or “mentally ill” can hurt the way that adolescents are treated by parents, teachers, and peers. The stigma associated with this label is particularly problematic during childhood and adolescence as many youth with psychopathic traits may be capable of significant change from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, particularly with intensive intervention. Research studies that report poor outcomes for many youth who exhibit psychopathic traits and conduct problems may suggest a poor prognosis (on average) but do not guarantee poor outcomes in adulthood for youth with psychopathic traits. The important thing to remember is that we simply cannot predict what the outcome will be for any individual child or adolescent. If a child or adolescent is displaying psychopathic traits, it is advisable to make intensive treatment available to them and their families.
