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Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health
Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Letter to the Editor

Short report: self-reported psychopathic traits in Finnish and Dutch samples of non-referred adolescents: exploration of cultural differences

Authors: Svetlana Oshukova, Riittakerttu Kaltiala-Heino, Sanne Hillege, Corine de Ruiter, Grigori Joffe, Jouko Miettunen, Riikka Marttila, Mauri Marttunen, Matti Kaivosoja, Nina Lindberg

Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

Culture-related differences in psychopathic traits have been reported for adults, but for adolescents such knowledge is lacking. The aim of this cross-national study was to compare self-reported psychopathic traits between Finnish and Dutch samples of mid-adolescent community youth.

Methods

The Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory (YPI) was filled in by 372 Finnish and 474 Dutch 15- to 16-year-old pupils. As gender-specific differences exist in psychopathic traits, we analyzed the data separately for boys and girls.

Results

Dutch boys scored significantly higher than Finnish boys on total and all dimensional scores of the YPI as well as on most sub-dimensional scores. Dutch girls scored significantly higher than Finnish girls on the Affective dimension and on the two corresponding sub-dimensions: remorselessness and callousness. Finnish girls scored significantly higher on grandiosity, which loads to the Interpersonal dimension of the YPI.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that culture influences the manifestation of psychopathic traits already in adolescence and that this relation is more prominent in boys.
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Metadata
Title
Short report: self-reported psychopathic traits in Finnish and Dutch samples of non-referred adolescents: exploration of cultural differences
Authors
Svetlana Oshukova
Riittakerttu Kaltiala-Heino
Sanne Hillege
Corine de Ruiter
Grigori Joffe
Jouko Miettunen
Riikka Marttila
Mauri Marttunen
Matti Kaivosoja
Nina Lindberg
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1753-2000
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-015-0090-3

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