Title: Role of Psychopathic Features in Trajectories of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Authors: Catherine S. Shaffer, Dylan Gatner, Kevin S. Douglas, Jodi L. Viljoen, & Evan McCuish Abstract: Using data from 885 male offenders, we examined the role of psychopathic features measured in adolescence on trajectories of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration in young adulthood while also considering developmental precursors. Three trajectories of IPV perpetration were identified: a no IPV trajectory, a low-level IPV trajectory, and a high-level decreasing IPV trajectory. Controlling for exposure to violence, substance abuse, and peer delinquency, psychopathic features were associated with membership in the low-level IPV trajectory and the high-level decreasing IPV trajectory compared to the no IPV trajectory. These findings suggest that adolescent psychopathy should be considered in programming to target IPV. Summary: Violence against romantic or intimate partners is a serious social and public health problem among adolescents and adults (Desmarais, Reeves, Nicholls, Telford, & Fiebert, 2012), with detrimental effects for victims (e.g., physical injury) and perpetrators (e.g., justice involvement; Mahony, 2009). Given the potential for adolescents to continue a path of violence perpetration as they enter adulthood (Foshee et al., 2008), it is important to identify factors that predict membership in persistent trajectories of intimate partner violence (IPV). One risk factor that could increase the likelihood of membership in persistent compared to time- limited or non-perpetration pathways is psychopathy. Psychopathy is an enduring personality syndrome comprised of interpersonal, affective, and behavioral features (Hare, 2003). Psychopathy is prominent in conceptual models of adult IPV (Holzworth-Munroe, 2000). In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that adolescent psychopathic features are associated with IPV perpetration in adulthood (Sweeten, Larson, & Piquero, 2016). Prior work, however, has failed to control for important developmental risk factors. As such, it is unclear whether the relationship between psychopathic features and IPV perpetration is due to overlap in other key risk factors, such as exposure to violence, substance abuse, or peer delinquency. Furthermore, despite research suggesting that psychopathy can be subdivided into two distinct dimensions (i.e., interpersonal/affective features and lifestyle/antisocial features), prior work has applied a unitary conceptualization of psychopathy. This approach is unable to shed light on whether different dimensions of psychopathy distinguish between offenders who vary in their pathways of IPV perpetration. To address these gaps, we used data from the Pathways to Desistance Study, a longitudinal study of adolescent offenders in the United States, to examine the role of unidimensional, interpersonal/affective, and lifestyle/antisocial psychopathic features in trajectories of IPV perpetration controlling for developmental risk factors. Method Participants: Participants were 885 male offenders (Mage = 16.04; SDage = 1.17) who were in a romantic relationship and reported on IPV perpetration during at least two waves of data collection. Most of the sample self-identified as Black (41.9%, n = 371) or Hispanic (34.7%, n = 307).