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Juvenile Psychopathic Personality Traits are Associated with Poor Reading Achievement

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Abstract

The current study sought to further the understanding of the linkage between maladaptive behavior and cognitive problems by examining the relations between psychopathic personality traits and reading comprehension performance. Data were derived from a study of 432 predominately African-American and Hispanic middle-school students. Dependent variables consisted of three measures of reading comprehension. Psychopathy measures included the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional traits (ICU—teacher rated) and the self-reported Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory (YPI). Findings from regression models indicated that self-report and teacher ratings of psychopathy were statistically significant inverse predictors of reading performance. Specifically, affective facets of psychopathy were potent predictors of reading comprehension over and above ADHD, IQ, and an impulsivity component of psychopathy. Study results extend the utility of psychopathy construct generally and affective traits specifically to reading achievement, which has broad implications. Findings are discussed with respect to future research and prevention.

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Abbreviations

YPI:

Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory

ICU:

Inventory of Callous Unemotional traits

TAKS:

Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

GRADE:

Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation

WJ:

Woodcock-Johnson III Reading Comprehension

K-BIT2:

Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-2

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grant P50 HD052117 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health. The authors are grateful for support from the Greater Texas Foundation and the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. The contents of the article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work and Department of Community Health, Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Saint Louis University, Tegeler Hall, 3550 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63103, USA

    Michael G. Vaughn

  2. Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies, Department of Sociology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Matt DeLisi

  3. College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Kevin M. Beaver

  4. Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA

    Jade Wexler

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Amy Barth & Jack Fletcher

Authors
  1. Michael G. Vaughn
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  2. Matt DeLisi
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  3. Kevin M. Beaver
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  4. Jade Wexler
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  5. Amy Barth
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  6. Jack Fletcher
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Correspondence to Michael G. Vaughn.

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Vaughn, M.G., DeLisi, M., Beaver, K.M. et al. Juvenile Psychopathic Personality Traits are Associated with Poor Reading Achievement. Psychiatr Q 82, 177–190 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-010-9162-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-010-9162-y

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