Triarchic Psychopathy Traits as Predictors of Antisocial Behavior, Socioemotional Functioning, and Academic Performance in Adolescence

OBJECTIVE: Research has often overlooked the distinct contributions of psychopathy core traits in adolescence. This longitudinal study examined how meanness, disinhibition, and boldness predict several outcomes over three waves in a diverse sample of adolescents. METHOD: = 16.5 years, SD = 1.1), evenly divided by gender, who completed self-report measures of psychopathy, antisocial behavior, conduct problems, peer difficulties, pathological narcissism, and school performance across three time points (4.5 months apart). RESULTS: Meanness predicted antisocial behavior (βs = .07-.29), conduct problems (β = .27), and reduced prosociality (β = -.43), and Disinhibition was strongly linked to all externalizing symptoms and behaviors, emotional symptoms (β = .14), and lower school performance (β = -.18). Boldness was associated modestly with aggression (β = .04) and grandiose narcissism (β = .04), and moderately with lower internalizing problems (β = -.37). These predictive patterns were largely consistent across males and females, with the few differences consistent with research linking gender-role socialization and biological factors to sex-specific phenotypic expressions of psychopathic traits. Interactions between psychopathy dimensions suggested that boldness functioned as a modest protective factor, but only when disaffiliative or dysregulated tendencies were low. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the longitudinal validity of the triarchic model of psychopathy in adolescence, showing distinct predictive patterns for meanness, disinhibition, and boldness. These findings suggest tailored interventions: emotion-focused strategies for meanness, self-regulation training for disinhibition, and interpersonal modulation for maladaptive expressions of boldness.