Psychometric properties and factor structure of triarchic psychopathy measure (TriPM) in portuguese adolescents

Psychopathy is a personality structure characterized by a set of dysfunctional traits, impulsive and irresponsible behavior, a poor and arrogant personal style in social interactions, and a lack of prosocial emotions. Although it cannot be diagnosed in adolescents, there have been references to its presence in its population. There is substantial evidence indicating a correlation between psychopathy and antisocial and criminal behavior in young people. It is therefore important that psychopathic traits be identified as early as possible to predict and control future criminal behavior. However, the specific evaluation instruments for this population are scarce. The aim of the present study is to validate an instrument for the evaluation of psychopathy, the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), for use with this population. The questionnaires were applied a validation sample of 793 young or Portuguese adolescents. A confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) was performed, and the results found were considered satisfactory, χ2(1350) = 5980.77, p < .001, RMSEA = .067 (95% CI = [.064 - .068]), CFI = .915, TLI = .910, and SRMR = .080.