Codevelopment of psychopathic features and alcohol use during emerging adulthood: Disaggregating between- and within-person change

The current study examined whether there is a bidirectional association between changes in alcohol use and psychopathic features during the transition into emerging adulthood. The nature of this association was investigated among a large sample of serious male adolescent offenders (N = 1,170) across 7 annual assessments (ages ~17-23), with a focus on disaggregating between- and within-person change. Findings indicated that there was significant variability between participants in their rate of change of psychopathic features and alcohol use throughout this period of development. Both, between- and within-person increases in alcohol use tended to parallel increases in psychopathic features during the transition into emerging adulthood. In addition, evidence indicated that during years when adolescents consumed more alcohol than normal, they experienced higher than usual levels of self-reported psychopathic features at the subsequent assessment. The relevance of these findings for public policy and their potential to inform treatments and interventions are discussed.