Degree of psychopathy--implications for treatment in male juvenile delinquents.

Psychopathy (Hare, 1980) refers to personality traits that are established early in life. The psychopathy concept described by Cleckley (1976) involves interpersonal, affective, and behavioral aspects. Psychopaths show superficial interpersonal charm. They try to control and manipulate others, and are grandiose, arrogant, and callous. Psychopaths are more concerned with the effects of their actions on themselves than on others (their victims or society). They do not experience a normal depth of emotion (‘‘shallow affect’’), and are lacking in guilt and anxiety. Behaviorally, they are impulsive, short-tempered, have a tendency to respond to frustration, failure, and criticism with violent actions and verbal aggression (threats), and are prone to delinquency and criminality. Cleckley’s concept of psychopathy is reflected in a 20item symptom-construct rating scale, the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL-R) (for the manual, see Hare, 1991).