Miller, Cameron (2017) Investigating the Normative Development of Antisocial Behaviours and Attitudes in Adolescence. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The relative success of psychopathy diagnoses as a predictor of chronic and dangerous offending in adults has resulted in a focus on early identification of psychopathy in children and adolescence as a possible means of preventing antisocial behaviour (ASB) and reducing criminal recidivism. However, the identified and normative increase in adolescent risk-taking behaviour associated with psychopathy has not previously been considered when measuring ASB participation in youths. Additionally, the development of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD), for use in adolescent populations, includes the same issues concerning criterion contamination as has been found in similar measures used with adults. Specifically, these measures include criminal-behaviour participation items as potential identifiers of the psychopathic personality. The self-report Adolescent Antisocial Attitudes Scale (AASAS) addresses this issue of criterion contamination by excluding items related to antisocial and criminal behavioural participation. This paper seeks to identify whether a range of normative ASB participation is seen within adolescence and tests whether the AASAS concurrently predicts scores on the Adolescent Antisocial Behaviour Scale (AASBS) at least as well as the current gold standard (APSD) within a sample of 191 participants aged 15-25 years. Findings indicate that the AASAS performed as well as the APSD in predicting concurrent scores on the AASBS. Further analysis identified that participants within the adolescent group (ages15-20 years) participated more recently in ASB than did participants in the young adult group (ages 21-25 years), identifying a peak in ASB during adolescence.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Suzanne Czech |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Aug 2025 00:44 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Aug 2025 00:44 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | adolescent, psychopathy, criterion validity, concurrent validity antisocial, behaviour, attitudes |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52581 |
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