Validation of the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) Self-Report Version in Iranian School-Attending Adolescents.

ABSTRACT

The Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) scale was developed to advance the study of child and adolescent psychopathy, especially as it relates to conduct disorder. This study is the first to test the factor structure, measurement invariance, internal consistency, and validity of the Persian PSCD self-report version in a gender-mixed sample of 1,506 school-attending 11 to 18 years old youth (M age = 15.23; SD = 1.83; 49.60% boys). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed four-factor hierarchical structure of the PSCD, though with 19 items loaded on grandiose-manipulative, callous-unemotional, daring-impulsive, and conduct disorder components. This factor structure was also invariant across gender. The PSCD total and four components scores were internally consistent and exhibited the expected relations with proactive aggression, externalizing problems, anxiety and depression, and poor school performance, supporting the PSCD scores' convergent, discriminant, and criteria validity. The findings indicated that with some modifications, the Persian PSCD might hold promise for assessing psychopathy components in Iranian school-attending adolescents and may spark additional research in a variety of settings.