2-035 - Biopsychosocial Examinations of Emerging Conduct Problems and Callous Unemotional Behaviors: Multi-method, multi-system analyses

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

A biopsychosocial framework emphasizes that development occurs as a function of coactions across multiple integrated and nested systems that are endogenous and exogenous to the individual. This perspective has been adopted in the study of child conduct problems (CP) for some time (typically with passive longitudinal designs), but only recently has it been applied to the study of emerging callous unemotional (CU) behaviors. CU behaviors (a combination of emotional and affective deficits such as a lack of guilt and empathy) differentiate a subgroup of children with CP that later exhibits more persistent and severe aggression over time. In addition, there is evidence that CP and CU behaviors emerge early in life and are associated with child and familial factors, suggesting opportunities for early detection and intervention. This symposium includes four papers examining parenting factors and their interaction across genetic, biological, and broader contextual variables in the prediction of CP and CU behaviors. Importantly, these studies (1) move beyond main effect models to consider the multi-system interplay across development, (2) represent a range of ages (from early through middle childhood), and (3) reflect unique and powerful research methodologies including large scale biobehavioral panel studies, a prospective adoption study, and a population-based twin study. Collectively these studies highlight the interplay between endogenous and exogenous factors as well as heritable and non-heritable sources of influence on early CP and CU behaviors. Areas of convergence and divergence across studies will be presented and discussed, along with implications for prevention, intervention, and future studies.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chairs

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

• Nicholas Wagner, University of Mayland

Individual Presentations

• Parenting in context: Parental negativity interacts with neighborhood poverty to moderate the etiology of child conduct problems - Presenting Author: S. Alexandra Burt, Michigan State University; Kelly L. Klump, Michigan State University; Jenae Neiderhiser, The Pennsylvania State University

• Examining heritable and non-heritable temperamental pathways to early callous-unemotional behaviors - Presenting Author: Luke W Hyde, University of Michigan; Rebecca Waller, University of Michigan; Christopher Trentacosta, Wayne State University; Daniel S. Shaw, University of Pittsburgh; Jenae Neiderhiser, The Pennsylvania State University; Jody Ganiban, George Washington University; David Reiss, Yale University; Leslie Leve, University of Oregon

• Oxytocin receptor gene and caregiving predict early callous unemotional behaviors, but not conduct problems, for girls and boys - Presenting Author: Peter David Rehder, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; William Roger Mills-Koonce, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Michael Willoughby, RTI International; Nisha Gottfredson, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Martha Cox, UNC Chapel Hill

• Caregiving and HPA axis functioning interactively predict conduct problems and callous-unemotional behaviors in childhood - Presenting Author: Nicholas Wagner, University of Mayland; William Roger Mills-Koonce, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Michael Willoughby, RTI International; Martha Cox, UNC Chapel Hill