Psychopathic Traits, Treatment Engagement, and Their Interrelation in Criminal Justice-Involved Boys: A Cross-Sectional Network Analysis.

To maximize the benefits of prevention and treatment efforts the psychopathy construct has been extended downward in age. Despite advances in the study of psychopathy in adolescence it remains unknown if adolescents with psychopathic traits engage in treatment. To fill this knowledge gap, the relationship between psychopathy and treatment engagement was scrutinized in 261 criminal justice-involved male adolescents (ages 16-17 years). Psychopathic traits were measured by means of a well-established self-report questionnaire (Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory; YPI), whereas treatment engagement was measured using a self-report questionnaire consisting of readiness to change, bond with staff, collaboration on goals/tasks, and therapeutic engagement dimensions. Network analysis was used to detect the most robust relations between ten YPI subscales or the three YPI components and the four treatment engagement dimensions. Findings indicated that the YPI subscales (e.g., remorselessness) rather than the YPI components (e.g., callous-unemotional) might help to understand the complex relationship between psychopathic traits and treatment engagement. Disaggregating all the dimensions across its subscales can help us to identify which specific feature of psychopathy is related to treatment engagement and should be the first focus of intervention.