The measurement of criminal dangerousness as a personality construct: further validation of a research index

Predicting aggression in children with ADHD

OBJECTIVE

The present study uses structural equation modeling of latent traits to examine the extent to which family factors, cognitive factors and perceptions of rejection in mother-child relations differentially correlate with aggression at home and at school.

METHODS

Data were collected from 476 school-age (7-15 years old) children with a diagnosis of ADHD who had previously shown different types of aggressive behavior, as well as from their parents and teachers. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the differential relationships between maternal rejection, family, cognitive factors and aggression in home and school settings.

RESULTS

Family factors influenced aggression reported at home (.68) and at school (.44); maternal rejection seems to be related to aggression at home (.21). Cognitive factors influenced aggression reported at school (.-05) and at home (-.12).

CONCLUSIONS

Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of aggressive behavior in ADHD. Identifying key risk factors will advance the development of appropriate clinical interventions and prevention strategies and will provide information to guide the targeting of resources to those children at highest risk.

Psychopathy and violence: increasing specificity

A large body of literature has established that the construct of psychopathy is broadly related to violence, and the clinical application of the psychopathy construct as a predictor of violence appears to be increasing. This increased application warrants further specification of this relationship. That is, it may be important to identify factors that moderate relationships between psychopathy and violence, and to determine the extent to which subcomponents of the syndrome account for the relationships between psychopathy and specific types of violence. The present review summarises initial attempts to address these goals. We begin by summarising recent trends in the forensic application of the psychopathy construct. We then examine evidence bearing on the extent to which the predictive power of psychopathy for violence is moderated by other factors. Finally, we examine relationships between subcomponents of the psychopathy construct and specific types of violent and aggressive behaviour to examine whether relationships between psychopathy and violence are accounted for by specific components of psychopathy.