Does Psychopathy Appear Fully Only in Adulthood?

This chapter examines psychopathy as a key correlate of serious delinquency and violence. It summarizes the considerable and varied debate on how to best measure psychopathy and compares different measurements of the construct, and which aspects of psychopathy have the best predictive utility. It considers the evidence on whether problems in anxiety and disinhibition are central to psychopathy, and the degree to which psychopathy can be related to the Five Factor Model of Personality. The chapter considers whether the features of psychopathy developed in adults can be applied to younger people, and which developmental model of psychopathy is best for adolescents. It also explores whether development of brain anatomy and chemistry can explain the etiology of psychopathy. It concludes with recommendations on improvements in the measurement of psychopathy.