1-154 - Early Childhood Callous-Unemotional Behavior: Genetically-Informed Research on Regulatory, Personality, and Parenting Correlates

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors include lack of guilt and empathy along with interpersonal callousness. These behaviors may develop in early childhood and increase risk for conduct problems and later antisocial behavior. Several child characteristics and aspects of parenting have been identified as risk factors for early CU behaviors, but genetically-informed research is lacking. Genetically-informed designs, including twin and adoption studies, can help disentangle the extent to which links between early CU behaviors, risk factors for these behaviors, and later problematic outcomes are due to shared genetic risk, gene-environment processes, or socialization.

The presentations in this paper symposium use genetically-informed research designs to study early CU behaviors. The first presentation examines associations between CU behaviors, theory of mind, and emotion regulation in a sample of three-year-old twins. Genetic and non-shared environmental factors played a role in associations between these constructs. The second presentation investigates longitudinal associations between CU behaviors and harsh parenting in a sample of adopted children and their parents. This study supported longitudinal associations between harsh parenting and CU behaviors across the preschool transition, and two of the associations were stronger among children at higher inherited risk for psychopathic traits. The third presentation explores associations between concern and disregard for others during toddlerhood and symptoms of antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy during early adulthood in a longitudinal twin study. Observations of toddlers’ disregard for others were associated with symptoms of antisocial personality disorder and primary psychopathy in early adulthood. An expert on early CU behaviors will serve as the discussant.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chair

• Christopher Trentacosta, Wayne State University

Discussant

• Luke W Hyde, University of Michigan

Individual Presentations

• Early Childhood Social Cognitive Processing Examined through Genetic and Environmental Influences - Presenting Author: Dorothy White, George Washington University; Megan Flom, Boston University; Jody Ganiban, George Washington University; Kimberly J Saudino, Boston University

• Callous-Unemotional Behaviors and Harsh Parenting across Early Childhood: Reciprocal Associations and Moderation by Inherited Risk - Presenting Author: Christopher Trentacosta, Wayne State University; Rebecca Waller, University of Michigan; Luke W Hyde, University of Michigan; Daniel S. Shaw, University of Pittsburgh; Misaki Natsuaki, UC Riverside; Jody Ganiban, George Washington University; David Reiss, Yale University; Leslie Leve, University of Oregon; Jenae Neiderhiser, The Pennsylvania State University

• Early Concern and Disregard for Others during Toddlerhood: Links to Antisocial Personality and Psychopathy in Adulthood - Presenting Author: Kerri Woodward, University of Colorado Boulder; Robin Corley, University of Colorado Boulder; Alta du Pont, University of Colorado Boulder; Naomi Friedman, University of Colorado Boulder; John Hewitt, University of Colorado Boulder; Laura Hink, University of Colorado Boulder; JoAnn Robinson, University of Connecticut; Carolyn Zahn-Waxler, University of Wisconsin Madison; Soo Hyun Rhee, University of Colorado Boulder