NCJ Number
199333
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 42 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2003 Pages: 364-371
Date Published
March 2003
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study sought to clarify the characteristics of a callous/unemotional factor (C/U) and an impulsivity/conduct-problems factor (I/CP) in incarcerated adolescents, and it examined the relationship of these two factors to social-cognitive problems.
Abstract
A total of 169 male and female adjudicated youths were recruited for participation in the study. Self-report measures and archival data were used to assess psychopathic traits, emotional distress, behavioral dysregulation, social-cognitive processes, and delinquency severity. The results supported several hypotheses regarding the nature of the two factors of psychopathy and the relationship between C/U traits and social-cognitive processes. Consistent with conceptualizations of psychopathic traits in children, the C/U factor was strongly associated with deficits in cognitive and emotional empathy, and the I/CP dimension was more strongly related to behavioral dysregulation. Higher C/U traits were related to increased expectations and values associated with the positive consequences of aggression (i.e., tangible rewards, dominance) and decreased expectations and values associated with the negative consequences of deviant behavior (punishment), even after controlling for the effects of the I/CP dimension, demographic characteristics, history of abuse, intellectual abilities, and delinquency severity. These results provide evidence that C/U traits designate a subgroup of delinquent youths who have a number of distinct temperamental and social-cognitive characteristics. 3 tables and 32 references