Adolescent Victimization as a Moderator of Early Frontolimbic Connectivity and Later Callous-Unemotional Traits

• In Event: From Neuroscience To Justice: Examining The Intersections Of Mental Health, Substance Use, And Delinquency In Youth

Abstract

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits, characterized by reduced empathy, guilt, and emotional responsiveness, are associated with antisocial behavior and adverse developmental outcomes (Frick & White, 2008). Frontolimbic functional connectivity, supporting emotional learning and threat processing, has been identified as a neurobiological risk factor for CU traits (Blair, 2013). Developmental models suggest that expression of this neural vulnerability may depend on environmental experiences such as victimization, however, longitudinal evidence indicates CU-victimization associations may reflect shared risk factors rather than direct causal effects (Joyner & Beaver, 2023). It remains unclear whether adolescent victimization moderates the association between earlier frontolimbic connectivity and subsequent CU traits. Using data drawn from the ABCD Social Development Sub-Study across five waves, CU traits were assessed using established questionnaire items indexing callousness and lack of empathy. Victimization was defined as the number of distinct victimization experiences at each assessment. Neuroimaging data included baseline measures of network-level frontolimbic functional

connectivity. Regression models examined whether victimization at follow-up moderated the association between baseline frontolimbic connectivity and later CU traits, adjusting for age, sex, and study site. Findings suggest victimization modified the relation between neural risk and CU traits, supporting models in which environmental experiences shape behavioral expression of neurobiological vulnerability.

Authors

• Rowan Moore, Yale University

• Rebecca Brady, Yale University

• Arielle Baskin-Sommers, Yale University

• Anna Goyette, Yale University