1-007 - Genetic and environment factors associated with early callous-unemotional behaviors and their associations with later development

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Two decades of research have demonstrated that callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors play a critical role in understanding conduct problems (CP) in children. Well-replicated evidence suggests that children with both CP and CU behaviors exhibit more severe, varied, and developmentally-stable antisocial behavior compared to children with CP alone. A growing body of literature suggests that CU behaviors emerge early in life. This symposium presents new research examining the origins of CU behavior and CP within a developmental psychopathology framework. The first paper examines the continuity of very early CU behaviors across childhood and links with disruptive behavior in late childhood. Subsequent presentations examine potential genetic and environmental factors underpinning child CU behaviors and escalating CP. Using a longitudinal twin sample, the second presentation identifies a unique genetic correlation between poor emotion discrimination and CU behaviors suggesting a common genetic etiology consistent with adult models of CU behaviors. The third presentation uses birth cohort data to examine how early parenting predicts changes in CU behaviors that are partially mediated by children’s representations of family relationships. Finally, within a longitudinal study of children with adoptive parents, the fourth presentation provides evidence that associations between early CU behaviors and later child aggression appear particularly pronounced among children with unresponsive adoptive mothers. All four studies employ innovative prospective, longitudinal designs, representing demographic diversity in their respective samples, and assessing children from birth to age 10 years. This symposium emphasizes the clinical significance of early CU behaviors and potential processes underlying their emergence and development across childhood.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chairs

• William Roger Mills-Koonce, University of North Carolina Greensboro

• Daniel Waschbusch, Penn State

Individual Presentations

• The continuity of CU behavior across childhood from ages 3-9 and links to more severe behavior problems - Presenting Author: Rebecca Waller, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Daniel S. Shaw, Univ of Pittsburgh; FRANCES GARDNER, University of Oxford; Thomas J Dishion, Arizona State University; Melvin N Wilson, Univ of Virginia; Luke W. Hyde, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

• Callous-Unemotional Behavior and Emotion Discrimination in Young Children: Differential Associations and Gene-Environment Etiology - Presenting Author: Amelie Petitclerc, Columbia University; Stuart White, National Institute of Mental Health; Bei Feng, Laval University; R. James Blair, National Institute of Mental Health; Margaret Briggs-Gowan, University of Connecticut Health Center; Lauren S Wakschlag, Northwestern University; Michel Boivin, Laval University

• Parenting and children’s representations of family predictor disruptive behaviors and callous-unemotional traits - Presenting Author: Nicholas James Wagner, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; William Roger Mills-Koonce, University of North Carolina Greensboro; Michael Willoughby, Research Triangle Institute; Daniel Waschbusch, Penn State; Bharathi Zvara, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill; Martha J Cox, Univ of North Carolina

• The protective effects of parental warmth on the link between early CU behaviors and later conduct problems in an adopted sample - Presenting Author: Luke W. Hyde, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Daniel S. Shaw, Univ of Pittsburgh; Rebecca Waller, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Jenae M Neiderhiser, Pennsylvania State University; David Reiss, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Jody Ganiban, George Washington Univ; Misaki Natsuaki, University of California, Riverside; Leslie D. Leve, Univ of Oregon