Evaluating Measures of Externalizing Personality Pathology Traits in Black and White American Adolescents in a Program for at-Risk Youths.

Adolescent personality assessment measures can aid in the identification of traits that are associated with various types of maladjustment. Externalizing personality pathology traits (e.g., antisocial, borderline, and narcissistic personality disorder features) are particularly relevant for many problematic outcomes, yet measures that assess these traits have not been validated extensively in diverse samples. The present study aimed to examine the properties of measures of externalizing personality pathology traits in a sample of White (n = 184) and Black (n = 99) adolescents participating in a residential program for at-risk youth. The fit of the proposed structure for these measures was tested in the sample as a whole and in each racial group separately. Associations between these measures and the count of disciplinary infractions received while in the program were also tested. Measures were found to have less than optimal fit in this sample, especially among Black adolescents. Suggestions for future research and clinical use of these measures are discussed.

Understanding At-Risk Youths: Average PAI-A Scores and Their Associations with Impulsivity-Related Constructs.

The purpose of this study was to extend research on the Personality Assessment Inventory-Adolescent (PAI-A; Morey, 2007) to include an examination of mean PAI-A results and associations between the PAI-A and indicators of impulsivity in a large sample of at-risk adolescents (Mage = 16.75; 79% male; 64% Caucasian) in a military-style residential program. Included in this study are archival records for a diverse sample of 497 youths who participated in the program during a 2-year period. Average T scores on PAI-A scales ranged from 44.67 to 65.41. Moderate to large positive associations (rs = .30-.65) were found between relevant PAI-A scales and both UPPS-P scales and self-reported substance use. There were smaller effects (r = .17) for associations between the PAI-A and program disciplinary infractions. Small to large group differences (ds = .19-.93) on PAI-A scales differentiated youths who had experience with arrests or NSSI from those who did not. This study provides information about the under-studied but vulnerable youths occupying the space between the normative population and youths with identified clinical or legal problems. It also clarifies how impulsivity and impulsivity-related behaviors may be represented on the PAI-A.

The Validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory-Adolescent in Assessing Callous-Unemotional Traits in At-Risk Adolescents.

This study examines the validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory-Adolescent (PAI-A; Morey) in assessing callous-unemotional (CU) traits within two independent samples of at-risk adolescents from a residential intervention program. The study tests the extent to which CU traits are represented within PAI-A scales with respect to empirically- or theoretically-related indicators, such as antisociality, aggression, low warmth, low social connectedness, and subdued internalizing psychopathology. The PAI-A substantive scales statistically accounted for an average of 55.0% of the variance in total scores on the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU; Frick) across samples. Broadly, PAI-A substantive scales evinced theoretically-consistent relations with CU traits. Consistent with expectations, CU traits were broadly related to PAI-A-assessed constructs of antisocial features, aggression, low warmth and social disconnection, but not to subdued internalizing symptoms. Moreover, some of the PAI-A clinical, treatment consideration, and interpersonal scales or subscales demonstrated differential relations across the traits. Implications for assessment of CU traits using the PAI framework are discussed. Overall, this research adds to the literature on CU traits in broadband personality assessment and provides a foundation for future research on CU traits using the PAI-A.

Longitudinal associations of callous-unemotional and oppositional defiant behaviors over a three-year interval for Spanish children.

The objective was to determine the longitudinal associations between callous-unemotional (CU) and oppositional defiant (OD) behaviors from the first to fourth grades for Spanish children. Four possible outcomes were evaluated: (a) CU behaviors in the first grade predict increases in OD behaviors in the fourth grade, controlling for OD behaviors in the first grade; (b) OD behaviors in the first grade predict increases in CU behaviors in the fourth grade, controlling for CU behaviors in the first grade; (c) both unique effects are significant; and (d) neither unique effect is significant. A longitudinal panel model with two latent variables (CU and OD behaviors), three sources (mothers, fathers, teachers), and two occasions (spring of the first and fourth grades) was used to evaluate the four possibilities among 758 (54% boys) first grade and 469 (53% boys) fourth grade Spanish children. For mother-, father-, and teacher-reports, OD behaviors in the first grade predicted increases in CU behaviors in the fourth grade, after controlling for CU behaviors in the first grade, whereas CU behaviors in the first grade did not predict increases in OD behaviors in the fourth grade, after controlling for OD behaviors in the first grade. OD behaviors thus conferred independent vulnerability to increases in CU behaviors 3 years later among young children.

Internalizing problems and their impact on the relation between callous-unemotional traits, narcissism, and aggression.

Narcissism and callous-unemotional (CU) traits have demonstrated relations with youth aggression across studies. However, different forms of narcissism and internalizing problems may exacerbate the relation between CU traits and aggression. To that end, the current study examined the degree to which interactions among internalizing problems, CU traits, and dimensions of narcissism related to aggression in a sample of 219 adolescents (83.1% males), ages 16-19, enrolled in a military-style residential program. Consistent with previous research, psychopathy-linked narcissism significantly moderated the relation between CU traits and aggression. Addtionally, self-reported aggression was highest among adolescents who endorsed high levels of CU traits, psychopathy-linked narcissism, and internalizing problems. The same pattern of results was not evident for other forms of narcissism. These results suggest that internalizing problems further increase the probability of aggression among adolescents with psychopathic tendencies (i.e., CU traits, psychopathy-linked narcissism). Further implications are discussed.

Adolescent Communal Narcissism and Peer Perceptions.

OBJECTIVE: The present study extended recent work on communal narcissism to a sample of at-risk adolescents. Although narcissism is widely considered an agentic personality construct, Gebauer and colleagues (Gebauer, Sedikides, Verplanken, & Maio, 2012) demonstrated the existence and utility of a communal narcissism construct in adults. The extent to which this variant of narcissism applies to adolescents is not yet known. Because communal narcissism (e.g., feeling that one is the most helpful, is a great influence on others, will bring about world peace) may actually be aversive to others, we investigated the associated self- and peer perceptions of adolescent communal narcissism. METHOD: Participants were 136 adolescents (104 males, 32 females; 52.2% White, 42.2% Black, 5.6% Other) aged 16-19, who were attending a 22-week residential program together. Participants completed self-report measures of narcissism and interpersonal behavior, as well as a peer nomination procedure. RESULTS: Self-reported communal narcissism was significantly related to self-reported pro-social behavior but was associated with peer-reported aggression, similar to the findings for nonpathological narcissism, which is considered agentic. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent communal narcissism appears to be tied to negative peer perceptions. The implications for understanding the interpersonal consequences of adolescent grandiosity in communal domains are discussed.

How do different dimensions of adolescent narcissism impact the relation between callous-unemotional traits and self-reported aggression?

The current study examined the moderating influence that different aspects of narcissism have on the relation between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and aggression in a sample of 720 adolescents (500 males), ages 16-19 enrolled in a 22-week residential program. Findings from the two studies revealed that psychopathy-linked narcissism as assessed by the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD; Frick & Hare, 2001; Antisocial process screening device. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.) and vulnerable narcissism as assessed using the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI; Pincus et al., 2009; Initial construction and validation of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 21, 365-379) significantly moderated the relation between CU traits and aggression in adolescents. Conversely, non-pathological narcissism assessed by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory for Children (NPIC; Barry, Frick, & Killian, 2003; The relation of narcissism and self-esteem to conduct problems in children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 139-152) and PNI grandiose narcissism did not significantly impact this relation. These results suggest that forms of narcissism most closely connected to internalizing problems combined with CU traits are associated with relatively heightened aggression in youth. The implications of these findings are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 43:14-25, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Adolescent social media use and mental health from adolescent and parent perspectives.

This study investigated adolescent and parent reports of adolescent social media use and its relation to adolescent psychosocial adjustment. The sample consisted of 226 participants (113 parent-adolescent dyads) from throughout the United States, with adolescents (55 males, 51 females, 7 unreported) ranging from ages 14 to 17. Parent and adolescent reports of the number of adolescents' social media accounts were moderately correlated with parent-reported DSM-5 symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, ODD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as adolescent-reported fear of missing out (FoMO) and loneliness. Lastly, anxiety and depressive symptoms were highest among adolescents with a relatively high number of parent-reported social media accounts and relatively high FoMO. The implications of these findings and need for related longitudinal studies are discussed.

Adolescent Narcissism, Aggression, and Prosocial Behavior: The Relevance of Socially Desirable Responding.

An important threat to validity in personality research pertains to an individual's motivation to respond in a socially desirable manner on self-report inventories. This issue was examined in this study in the context of narcissism, aggression, and prosocial behavior in a sample of at-risk adolescents. Participants were 161 adolescents (128 males, 29 females, 4 not reported) ranging in age from 16 to 19 years who were attending a residential program for youth who have dropped out of school. Overall, socially desirable response tendencies were negatively correlated with vulnerable narcissism and self-reported aggression. Moreover, low socially desirable responses strengthened the relation between narcissism and self-reported aggression. Socially desirable responding was not associated with self- or peer-reported prosocial behavior and did not moderate the relation between narcissism and prosocial behavior. These findings indicate that the relation between narcissism and aggression is attenuated by concerns with social desirability. However, further work is needed in broader samples of adolescents to more closely examine whether social desirability concerns actually mitigate aggression among some youth or signify underreporting of one's problem behaviors.

MicroRNA-494 is a master epigenetic regulator of multiple invasion-suppressor microRNAs by targeting ten eleven translocation 1 in invasive human hepatocellular carcinoma tumors.

UNLABELLED: Vascular invasion provides a direct route for tumor metastasis. The degree to which microRNA (miRNA) expression plays a role in tumor vascular invasion is unclear. Here, we report that miR-494 is up-regulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumors with vascular invasion and can promote HCC cell invasiveness by gene inactivation of multiple invasion-suppressor miRNAs. Our results show that ten eleven translocation (TET) methylcytosine dioxygenase, predominantly TET1 in HCC cells, is a direct target of miR-494. The reduced 5'-hydroxymethylcytosine levels observed in the proximal cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) regions of multiple invasion-suppressor miRNA genes are strongly associated with their transcriptional repression upon miR-494 overexpression, whereas enforced DNA demethylation can abolish the repression. Furthermore, TET1 knockdown shows a similar effect as miR-494 overexpression. Conversely, miR-494 inhibition or enforced TET1 expression is able to restore invasion-suppressor miRNAs and inhibit miR-494-mediated HCC cell invasion. CONCLUSIONS: miR-494 can trigger gene silencing of multiple invasion-suppressor miRNAs by inhibiting genomic DNA demethylation by direct targeting of TET1, thereby leading to tumor vascular invasion.

Callous-unemotional traits and empathy deficits: Mediating effects of affective perspective-taking and facial emotion recognition.

Although empathy deficits are thought to be associated with callous-unemotional (CU) traits, findings remain equivocal and little is known about what specific abilities may underlie these purported deficits. Affective perspective-taking (APT) and facial emotion recognition may be implicated, given their independent associations with both empathy and CU traits. The current study examined how CU traits relate to cognitive and affective empathy and whether APT and facial emotion recognition mediate these relations. Participants were 103 adolescents (70 males) aged 16-18 attending a residential programme. CU traits were negatively associated with cognitive and affective empathy to a similar degree. The association between CU traits and affective empathy was partially mediated by APT. Results suggest that assessing mechanisms that may underlie empathic deficits, such as perspective-taking, may be important for youth with CU traits and may inform targets of intervention.

Anxiety Symptoms and Coping Motives: Examining a Potential Path to Substance Use-Related Problems in Adolescents With Psychopathic Traits.

BACKGROUND: Although the relation between impulsive-irresponsible psychopathic traits and substance use is well-documented, the path to developing substance use problems is less understood in adolescents with these characteristics. OBJECTIVES: To examine the associations between psychopathy, anxiety, and substance use motives and a mechanism by which anxiety and alcohol and marijuana coping motives mediate the relation between psychopathic traits and substance use-related problems. METHODS: A sample of 185 at-risk adolescent males from a residential military-style program reporting past alcohol or marijuana use (M age = 16.74) participated in the study. RESULTS: Impulsive-Irresponsible psychopathic traits were uniquely and incrementally predictive of alcohol and marijuana use-related problems and anxiety. Anxiety and coping motives appeared to partially explain the association between impulsivity-irresponsibility and substance use-related problems. CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE: Findings suggest that youth expressing impulsive-irresponsible psychopathic traits may engage in problematic substance use at least partly as a function of heightened anxiety and a subsequent desire to alleviate distress by using alcohol or marijuana to cope.

Shear wave dispersion in lean versus steatotic rat livers.

OBJECTIVES: The precise measurement of fat accumulation in the liver, or steatosis, is an important clinical goal. Our previous studies in phantoms and mouse livers support the hypothesis that, starting with a normal liver, increasing accumulations of microsteatosis and macrosteatosis will increase the lossy viscoelastic properties of shear waves in a medium. This increase results in an increased dispersion (or slope) of the shear wave speed in the steatotic livers. METHODS: In this study, we moved to a larger animal model, lean versus obese rat livers ex vivo, and a higher-frequency imaging system to estimate the shear wave speed from crawling waves. RESULTS: The results showed elevated dispersion in the obese rats and a separation of the lean versus obese liver parameters in a 2-dimensional parameter space of the dispersion (slope) and shear wave speed at a reference frequency of 150 Hz. CONCLUSIONS: We have confirmed in 3 separate studies the validity of our dispersion hypothesis in animal models.

Profiles of the forms and functions of self-reported aggression in three adolescent samples.

In the current study, we addressed several issues related to the forms (physical and relational) and functions (reactive and proactive) of aggression in community (n = 307), voluntary residential (n = 1,917), and involuntarily detained (n = 659) adolescents (ages 11-19 years). Across samples, boys self-reported more physical aggression and girls reported more relational aggression, with the exception of higher levels of both forms of aggression in detained girls. Further, few boys showed high rates of relational aggression without also showing high rates of physical aggression. In contrast, it was not uncommon for girls to show high rates of relational aggression alone, and these girls tended to also have high levels of problem behavior (e.g., delinquency) and mental health problems (e.g., emotional dysregulation and callous-unemotional traits). Finally, for physical aggression in both boys and girls, and for relational aggression in girls, there was a clear pattern of aggressive behavior that emerged from cluster analyses across samples. Two aggression clusters emerged, with one group showing moderately high reactive aggression and a second group showing both high reactive and high proactive aggression (combined group). On measures of severity (e.g., self-reported delinquency and arrests) and etiologically important variables (e.g., emotional regulation and callous-unemotional traits), the reactive aggression group was more severe than a nonaggressive cluster but less severe than the combined aggressive cluster.

Nonpathological and pathological narcissism: which self-reported characteristics are most problematic in adolescents?

Prior research indicates that dimensions of adolescent narcissism differ in their associations with indicators of positive and negative psychological functioning (e.g., Barry, Frick, Adler, & Grafeman, 2007 ; Barry & Wallace, 2010 ). This study investigated correlates of 2 empirically derived factors of adolescent narcissism (i.e., pathological and nonpathological narcissism) from 2 measures thought to differ based on their inclusion of pathological versus nonpathological content. In a sample of 188 at-risk adolescents ages 16 to 18, pathological narcissism was associated with various indicators of maladjustment, including aggression, low self-esteem, internalizing problems, and poor perceived interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, nonpathological narcissism was positively associated with self-esteem and aggression but negatively associated with internalizing problems. The implications for the conceptualization of adolescent narcissism are discussed.

Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) scale: A Latent Profile Analysis with At-Risk Adolescents.

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD; Salekin in Pers Disord: Theory Res Treat 7:180-191, 2016) scale was designed to assess interrelated psychopathic trait domains in conjunction with symptoms of Conduct Disorder (CD) in children and adolescents (i.e., grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive). Variable-centered studies have provided support for a four-factor PSCD structure (Salekin et al. in Psychol Assess 34(10):985-992, 2022) in line with other adolescent and adult studies. The current person-centered study used latent profile analysis of the PSCD domains to examine whether theoretically meaningful and empirically robust PSCD subtypes emerged from a diverse sample (70.9% White, 20.1% Black, 3.6% Hispanic, and 5.4% other) of adolescents (modal age = 17) in a military style residential facility (N = 409; Males = 80.6%). As hypothesized, a four-class solution was best, consistent with adult psychopathy subtyping research (Hare et al. in Handbook of Psychopathy 39-79, 2018; Roy et al. in Pers Disord: Theory Res Treat, in press). The PSCD subtype profiles were uniform across sex and race/ethnicity. Adolescents evincing a psychopathic trait propensity profile (elevated on all four PSCD domains) displayed the greatest number of arrests and higher overall externalizing psychopathology, compared to the other three latent classes, as well as higher internalizing psychopathology compared to adolescents with general delinquency. The PSCD provides a sound measure of psychopathic trait propensities in youth and our results offer investigators and clinicians a means for understanding person-centered psychopathic traits versus antisocial profiles among at-risk adolescents. Taken together, the current results may offer a viable approach for examining specific treatment targets based on PSCD subtype profiles.

The view from the looking glass: how are narcissistic individuals perceived by others?

Previous studies have found that narcissistic individuals are often viewed negatively by those who know them well. The present study sought to extend these previous findings by examining whether normal and pathological aspects of narcissism were associated with perceiver ratings of narcissistic characteristics and aggression. This was accomplished by having each of our undergraduate participants (288 targets) recruit friends or family members to complete ratings of the target who recruited them (1,296 perceivers). Results revealed that perceived entitlement was strongly associated with perceived aggression. Further, self-reported levels of pathological narcissism moderated these results such that vulnerable narcissism exacerbated the association between perceived entitlement and aggression, whereas grandiose narcissism mitigated the association. The discussion will focus on the implications of these results for understanding the various features of narcissism.

Do perceived social stress and resilience influence the effects of psychopathy-linked narcissism and CU traits on adolescent aggression?

The current study explored the influences of social stress and resilience on the relation between psychopathy-linked personality characteristics (i.e., narcissism, dimensions of CU traits) and aggression with the expectation that social stress would exacerbate the relation, whereas resilience would mitigate it. In a sample of 154 at-risk adolescents (ages 16-18; 84% male), contrary to expectations, high social stress attenuated the relations of narcissism and callousness with aggression. Self-reported resilience attenuated the relation between callousness and aggression. The implications for understanding the role that these moderators might play in the association between adolescent psychopathic tendencies, particularly callousness, and aggression are discussed.

Relations of Adolescent Knowledge of COVID-19, Social Media Engagement, and Experiences During Quarantine/Lockdown with Well-Being.

This study investigated the relations of adolescent COVID-19 knowledge, quarantine/lockdown experiences, and social media use with indices of their psychosocial adjustment. The sample consisted of 215 adolescents from throughout the United States, with adolescents ranging from ages 14 to 17. Better knowledge of COVID-19 was related to lower loneliness, stress, anxiety, depression, and fear of missing out (FoMO). Higher parent-reported restrictions during quarantine were associated with these difficulties as well. Further, the lowest anxiety was reported for adolescents with good COVID-19 knowledge who also checked social media relatively less frequently. The findings point to the importance of accurate information about COVID-19 for adolescents and the impact of quarantine/lockdown experiences on their perceived emotional and social adjustment.

Locus of control as a contributing factor in the relation between self-perception and adolescent aggression.

Researchers continue to debate the role of self-esteem in aggression, but research has shown a consistent association between narcissism and aggression in adults and adolescents [e.g., Barry et al., 2007; Bushman and Baumeister, 1998; Stucke, 2007]. The primary aim of the current study was to examine whether locus of control (LOC) moderated the relation between self-perception variables (i.e., self-esteem and narcissism) and aggression in adolescents. Participants were 174 youth (145 males, 26 females) between the ages of 16 and 19 who were enrolled in a voluntary residential program for youth who have dropped out of school. The results showed that LOC moderated the association between self-esteem and aggression such that low self-esteem was associated with higher levels of aggression for individuals with an external LOC. Contrary to expectations, LOC failed to moderate the narcissism-aggression relation. The implications of this study for understanding how self-perception is related to adolescent aggression are discussed.