Do Children with High Callous-Unemotional Traits Have Attentional Deficits to Emotional Stimuli? Evidence from a Multi-Method and Multi-Informant Study.

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits in children and adolescents are linked to severe and persistent antisocial behavior. Based on past empirical research, several theoretical models have suggested that CU traits may be partly explained by difficulties in correctly identifying others' emotional states as well as their reduced attention to others' eyes, which could be important for both causal theory and treatment. This study tested the relationships among CU traits, emotion recognition of facial expressions and visual behavior in a sample of 52 boys referred to a clinic for conduct problems (Mage = 10.29 years; SD = 2.06). We conducted a multi-method and multi-informant assessment of CU traits through the Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI), the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional (ICU), and the Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions-Version 1.1 (CAPE). The primary goal of the study was to compare the utility of these methods for forming subgroups of youth that differ in their emotional processing abilities. An emotion recognition task assessed recognition accuracy (percentage of mistakes) and absolute dwell time on the eyes or mouth region for each emotion. Results from repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that low and high CU groups did not differ in emotion recognition accuracy, irrespective of the method of assessing CU traits. However, the high CU group showed reduced attention to the eyes of fearful and sad facial expressions (using the CPTI) or to all emotions (using the CAPE). The high CU group also showed a general increase in attention to the mouth area, but only when assessed by the CAPE. These findings provide evidence to support abnormalities in how those elevated on CU traits process emotional stimuli, especially when assessed by a clinical interview, which could guide appropriate assessment and more successful interventions for this group of youth.

Rearrest is associated with heightened callous-unemotional traits: No moderating effect of maternal relationship quality.

OBJECTIVE: The presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits in adolescence predisposes youth to negative behavioral and social outcomes and may be particularly damaging to youth involved in the justice system. Whereas research has shown that CU traits predict later arrest, it remains unknown whether rearrest predicts changes in CU traits and whether these associations may be modified by maternal relationship quality. The present study assessed whether being rearrested predicted changes in CU traits and whether these associations varied by maternal warmth and maternal hostility. HYPOTHESES: We hypothesized that self-reported CU traits would increase at data collection time points following rearrest. Further, we hypothesized that maternal warmth would buffer the negative effects of rearrest, whereas maternal hostility would not have a significant moderating effect on the associations. METHOD: Hypotheses were tested using a large, multisite longitudinal data set of 1,216 justice-involved male youth (Mage = 15.82 years at baseline; 47% Latino, 38% Black/African American, 15% White). Data from a series of nine interviews (across a 7-year period) were used to determine associations between rearrest at one-time point and CU traits at the subsequent time point. RESULTS: Rearrest is associated with a significant increase in CU traits. However, these associations are not moderated by either maternal warmth or maternal hostility. CONCLUSIONS: Rearrest predicts increases in a known risk factor for healthy socioemotional development among justice-involved youths (CU traits). Moreover, the way rearrest is associated with CU traits does not change depending on maternal warmth; rearrest is associated with increases in CU traits irrespective of the quality of a youth's relationship with their mother. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Dimensions of Parenting and Children's Conduct Problems: The Importance of Considering Children's Callous-Unemotional Traits.

Research has clearly indicated that the development of serious behavioral problems in children and adolescents is influenced by parenting. However, recent research has refined the role of parenting by showing the importance of distinguishing between different types of parenting and in considering the role of callous-unemotional traits (CU traits) and conduct problems (CP) of the children. In the current study, we advance this research by distinguishing between emotional (e.g., parental warmth; parental hostility) and behavioral (e.g., use of positive reinforcement; inconsistent discipline/harsh discipline) aspects of parenting and by considering the way parents respond to children's emotions (i.e., coaching and dismissing). The sample consisted of 136 mothers (M = 38.09 years, SD = 4.51 years, 45.41% high school degree) with a child (age range 3-5 years) enrolled in kindergarten in central Italy. Multiple regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for level of CP, use of positive reinforcement (ß = -0.31, p < 0.001) and warm feelings (ß = -0.22, p < 0.05), remained associated with CU traits and punitive parenting was no longer significant. Consistent with predictions, use of positive reinforcement was no longer associated with conduct problems when controlling for CU traits and the positive associations with punitive parenting (ß = 0.24, p < 0.05) and negativity (ß = 0.36, p < 0.001) remained significant. These findings support the need for continued research that considers both the emotional and behavioral aspects of parenting and disentangles their associations with conduct problems and CU traits. Such research could not only advance causal theories for children with conduct problems but also help to guide more effective treatments, especially for those with elevated CU traits who often leave treatment with significant conduct problems remaining.

The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) self-report version: Factor structure, measurement invariance, and predictive validity in justice-involved male adolescents.

The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) is a widely used measure of callous-unemotional (CU) traits that may aid in the assessment of the diagnostic specifier "with limited prosocial emotions," which has been added to diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder. Though there is substantial support for use of the ICU total score, the scale's factor structure has been highly debated. Inconsistencies in past factor analyses may be largely attributed to failure to control for method variance due to item wording (i.e., half of the items being worded in the callous direction and half worded in the prosocial direction). Thus, the present study used a multitrait-multimethod confirmatory factor analytic approach that models both trait and method variance to test the factor structure of the ICU self-report in a clinically relevant, high-risk sample of justice-involved male adolescents (N = 1,216). When comparing the fit of empirical and theoretical models, goodness of fit indices (χ² = 1105.877, df = 190, root-mean-square error of approximation = .063, comparative fit index = .916, Tucker-Lewis index = .878, standardized root-mean-square residual = .051) provided support for a hierarchical four-factor model (i.e., one overarching callous-unemotional factor, four latent trait factors) when accounting for method variance (i.e., covarying positively worded items). This factor structure is consistent with the way the ICU was constructed and with criteria for the limited prosocial emotions specifier. In addition, measurement invariance of this factor structure across age, race, and ethnicity was supported, and the predictive validity of the ICU was supported across these demographic groups in predicting self-reported antisocial behavior and rearrests over a 5-year period following an adolescent's first arrest. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions (CAPE): Initial tests of reliability and validity in a clinic-referred sample of children and adolescents.

Recent changes to diagnostic criteria for serious conduct problems in children and adolescents have included the presence of elevated callous-unemotional traits to define etiologically and clinically important subgroups of youth with a conduct problem diagnosis. The Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions (CAPE) is an intensive assessment of the symptoms of this limited prosocial emotions specifier that uses a structured professional judgment method of scoring, which may make it useful in clinical settings when diagnoses may require more information than that provided by behavior rating scales. The present study adds to the limited tests of the CAPE's reliability and validity, using a sample of clinic-referred children ages 6-17 years of age, who were all administered the CAPE by trained clinicians. The mean age of the sample was 10.13 years (SD = 2.64); 54% of the sample identified as male and 46% identified as female; and 67% of participants identified as White, 29% identified as Black, and 52% identified as another race/ethnicity (i.e., Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, or other). The findings indicated that CAPE scores demonstrated strong interrater reliability. The scores also were associated with measures of conduct problems and aggression, even when controlling for behavior ratings of callous-unemotional traits. Further, when children with conduct problem diagnoses were divided into groups based on the presence of the limited prosocial emotions specifier from the CAPE, the subgroup with the specifier showed more severe conduct problems and aggression. The results support cautious clinical use of the CAPE, its further development and testing, and research into ways to make its use feasible in many clinical settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Callous-Unemotional Traits and Emotion Perception Accuracy and Bias in Youths.

This study investigated the associations among conduct problems, callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and indices of emotion recognition accuracy and emotion recognition bias obtained from human faces. Impairments in emotion recognition were considered within broader, impaired emotional and social functioning. The sample consisted of 293 middle-school students (51.19% girls; M age = 12.97 years, SD = 0.88 years). In general, CU traits were associated with less accuracy in recognizing emotions, especially fearful and angry faces, and such deficits in emotional recognition were not associated with conduct problems independent of CU traits. These results support the importance of studying potential deficits in the recognition of emotions other than fear. Furthermore, our results support the importance of considering the role of CU traits when studying emotional correlates of conduct problems. For children scoring high on CU traits, the emotion recognition accuracy of anger was low irrespective of the level of conduct problems, whereas in children scoring low on CU traits, less accuracy in recognizing emotions was related to increases in conduct problems. Finally, our results support the need for research to not only focus on accuracy of emotional recognition but also test whether there are specific biases leading to these inaccuracies. Specifically, CU traits were associated not only with lower accuracy in recognizing fearful faces but also with a tendency to interpret fearful faces as angry. This suggests that the emotional deficit associated with CU traits is not just a deficit in empathic concern toward others distress but also includes a tendency to overinterpret emotions as potential threats to oneself.

Trajectories of offending over 9 years after youths' first arrest: What predicts who desists and who continues to offend?

Antisocial and illegal behavior generally declines as youth approach adulthood, but there is significant individual variation in the timing of the peak and decline of offending from adolescence to young adulthood. There are two primary research questions in the present study. First, are there subgroups of youth who follow similar patterns of offending over the nine years after their first arrest? Second, what baseline factors predict which youth will follow each pattern of offending? Data were drawn from the Crossroads study, which includes a sample of racially and ethnically diverse boys who were interviewed regularly for 9 years following their first arrest. Boys were between 13 and 17 years old at the start of the study and were approximately 24-25 years old at the final interview. Trajectories were measured with youths' self-reported offending using latent class growth analysis (LCGA). Results indicated that there were four subgroups of youth: a stable low group (55%), an escalating group (23%), a short-term recidivist group (15%), and a persistently high group (7%). Several baseline factors distinguished the groups. In particular, the results indicated that youth who were informally processed after their first arrest were more likely to be in the low offending group than any of the other LCGA groups. Age at first arrest, peer delinquency, exposure to violence, substance use, callous-unemotional traits, physical aggression, and perceptions of police legitimacy were also significantly related to group membership. Results suggest that certain risk factors identified after youths' first arrest may predict which youth continue to offend and which desist.

Health Service Utilization in Adolescents Following a First Arrest: The Role of Antisocial Behavior, Callous-Unemotional Traits, and Juvenile Justice System Processing.

Previous research indicates that youth exhibiting antisocial behavior are at risk for utilizing a disproportionate amount of health services compared to youth without these problems. The present study investigates whether being processed by the juvenile justice system and showing callous-unemotional (CU) traits independently predict health service utilization (medical and mental health service use and out-of-home placement) over and above the severity of antisocial behavior across adolescence. A total of 766 participants who had been arrested for the first time in adolescence provided data at ten appointments over a period of seven years. Results showed that self-reported antisocial behavior at the time of arrest predicted increased use of most health service use types over the next seven years (i.e. medicine prescriptions, tests for sexually transmitted infections, mental health service appointments, and out-of-home placements). All except prescription medication use remained significant when controlling for justice system processing and CU traits. Further, justice system processing added significantly to the prediction of medical service appointments. Whereas CU traits were associated with mental health service appointments and out-of-home placements, these did not remain significant when controlling for severity of antisocial behavior. These findings are consistent with prior research documenting the health care costs of antisocial behavior.