Associations among harsh parenting, sensitivity to reward and punishment, and callous-unemotional traits in young children

• In Event: Callous-Unemotional And Psychopathic Traits: Looking Back at the Early Years to Inform Prevention and Intervention

Abstract

Objective. Rewards and discipline are powerful tools parents use for the successful socialisation of their children. Longitudinal research suggests that harsh parenting and insensitivity to punishment are risk factors for the development of callous-unemotional (CU) traits (Barker et al., 2011). Conversely, research suggests that emphasising parental rewards may be a promising avenue for reducing CU traits (Pasalich et al., 2011). However, less is known about how punishment insensitivity may influence the responses of children with CU traits to parenting practices. Moreover, no studies to date have investigated the relationship between CU traits and responsiveness to different types of rewards in children. The current study aimed to investigate whether punishment insensitivity and harsh parenting are related to CU traits in young children, and whether punishment insensitivity moderates the relationship between harsh parenting and CU traits. This study also investigated whether CU traits are related to stronger motivation following receipt of tangible rewards compared to social rewards.

Method. Participants were 109 children aged 3 to 6 years (54% male) recruited from schools, preschools, and children’s centers in the United Kingdom. Parents (97% mothers, 3% fathers) completed questionnaires assessing child CU traits, sensitivity to punishment, and responsiveness to parental rewards including tangible and social rewards (praise, affection, and spending time with parents). Parents’ use of harsh disciplinary practices including corporal punishment and psychological aggression were also assessed by questionnaire. Children completed novel experimental tasks assessing punishment sensitivity and reward preferences. Multiple regression analyses included child sex and conduct problems as covariates.

Results. Greater insensitivity to punishment demonstrated on both the behavioural task and parent questionnaire report was associated with higher CU traits. Parents’ use of harsh discipline was also positively associated with higher levels of child CU traits, and this association was moderated by punishment insensitivity. Simple slopes analyses indicated that for children low in punishment insensitivity, harsh parenting was related to increased CU traits. This effect is also observed in children high in punishment insensitivity, but to a lesser extent. For the motivational value of different types of rewards, CU traits were uniquely associated with lower responsiveness to social rewards controlling for responsiveness to tangible rewards, but there was no association with responsiveness to tangible rewards. In contrast to parent report, CU traits were not related to a difference in performance when rewarded with tangible rewards versus praise in the behavioural task.

Conclusions. Results show that punishment insensitivity is associated with CU traits even in early childhood and that harsh parenting is less strongly related to CU traits among children who are higher in punishment insensitivity. This suggests that CU traits are more likely to develop independent of parenting among children who are insensitive to punishment. Results also suggest that parental use of social rewards may protect against the risk of developing CU traits, but further research is needed to confirm longitudinal associations. Findings will be discussed in terms of their implications for parental discipline and reward-based strategies used within behavioural parent training for children with CU traits and conduct problems.

Authors

• Celine Y Chhoa, University College London (UCL)
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Allen, University of Bath
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jorg Huijding, Utrecht University
  Non-Presenting Author