The prevalence of and connections between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and psychopathic traits among general population adolescents, including mediators and links to mental health and adolescent criminality

Background. Severe conduct disorder in youth, associated with psychopatic traits, is linked to youth criminality and is considered highly challenging to treat. When prolonged, severe conduct disorder tends to become chronic, leading to antisocial personality disorder in adulthood, which is widely associated with psychosocial difficulties and challenges in integrating into society. A significant underlying factor are adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which themselves increase the risk of later psychological, physical, and social distress. Therefore, retrospectively assessing ACEs, identifying psychopatic traits and their potential mediators in adolescence are of great importance.

Objective. This study aims to validate two self-report questionnaires among Finnish adolescents: the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory - Short Version (YPI-S) and the THL Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire - Youth Version (Y-ACE-THL). In addition to research use, these questionnaires are intended for clinical application in social and mental health care settings. Furthermore, the study seeks to examine the relationship between ACEs and psychopatic traits, potential mediating factors, and their connections to adolescent criminality.

Methods. The participants are 15- to 16-year-old Finnish-speaking adolescents attending the 9th grade in secondary schools in Finland. The validation study consists of two phases. First, in cognitive interviews, participants (n=20) will be asked to articulate their thought processes when responding to the questionnaires. Adjustments to the questionnaires will be made if needed. Second, adolescents (n=400) will be invited to fill out the revised questionnaires during school lessons. Statistically appropriate analyses will be employed to examine associations and mediation effects, as well as to evaluate the reliability and validity of the questionnaires.

The study is conducted in collaboration between the University of Helsinki and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) as part of the IMAGINE consortium research.