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Callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been shown to delineate a unique subgroup of children with severe and persistent conduct problems that seem to have unique etiological origins. However, commonly used measures of CU traits in children may not adequately capture the full range of these characteristics in a developmentally appropriate manner. As a result, the 24-item Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU; self-, parent-, and teacher-report versions; Frick, 2004) was recently developed as a more extensive assessment of CU traits. However, studies to date have focused almost exclusively on the self-report version ICU in adolescents and have identified problems with the factor structure of the measure. The current study is the 1st to examine the factor structure of the parent-report version ICU in a sample of 250 boys (ages 6-12 years) exhibiting significant conduct problems. Initial analyses indicated that factor models reported for the parent-report version of the ICU demonstrated a relatively poor fit to the data. Item response theory techniques were used to develop a more psychometrically sound and efficient short form of the ICU consisting of 2 factors (i.e., Callous and Uncaring) using 12 of the original 24 items. The revised version scores demonstrated high internal consistency, good discrimination across the continuum of the CU construct, and adequate short-term test-retest reliability. The revised measure total score also exhibited evidence of convergent and discriminant validity, although the subscales exhibited some differential correlations with theoretically meaningful constructs. Avenues for future measure refinement and use with children are discussed.

Clinicians routinely administer Hare's (2003) Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) to sex offenders and report PCL-R scores as meaningful predictors of recidivism risk. Although a 2005 meta-analysis reported a small (d=0.29) association between PCL-R scores and sexual recidivism (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005), no meta-analysis has examined effects for PCL-R factors and facets, the widely cited combination of high PCL-R and high sexual deviance scores, or potential moderators of the PCL-R/recidivism relation. We conducted a meta-analysis of effects from all available studies examining the relation between PCL-R scores and sexual recidivism (k=20, N=5,239). The effect for PCL-R Total scores predicting sexual recidivism was d=0.40, which falls beyond the upper end of the 2005 confidence interval [.20, .38]. Effects were stronger for Factor 2 (d=0.44) and Facet 4 (d=0.40) scores than other factor or facet scores (ds=0.01 to 0.17). Effects tended to be stronger for scores calculated for research (d=0.44) compared to those calculated for clinical use (d=0.28). Offenders who scored high on both the PCL-R and a measure of sexual deviance were more likely to reoffend sexually than other offenders (odds ratio=2.80 to 3.21, k=6). Results indicate that PCL-R scores, particularly combined with a measure of sexual deviance, are potentially relevant to sex offender risk. But results also underscore several practical challenges to implementing these findings in routine clinical practice.

The Personality Assessment Inventory (L. C. Morey, 1991) includes 3 measures for identifying overreporting of psychopathology: the Negative Impression scale (NIM), Malingering Index (MAL), and Rogers Discriminant Function (RDF). Meta-analysis revealed that each measure was a strong predictor of uncoached (NIM, d = 1.48, k = 23; MAL, d = 1.15, k = 19; RDF, d = 1.13, k = 15) and coached malingering (NIM, d = 1.59, k = 8; MAL, d = 1.00, k = 6; RDF, d = 1.65, k = 3). For uncoached malingering, effects were larger in simulation than criterion groups studies, for identifying feigning of severe mental disorders than mood/anxiety disorders, and when feigners were compared to unimpaired honest respondents as opposed to patients. Cut scores of NIM > or = 81 and MAL > or = 3 resulted in the highest overall classification rates for identifying feigning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

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AimTo examine individual variability between perceived physical features and hormones of pubertal maturation in 9–10-year-old children as a function of sociodemographic characteristics.MethodsCross-sectional metrics of puberty were utilized from the baseline assessment of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study—a multi-site sample of 9–10 year-olds (n = 11,875)—and included perceived physical features via the pubertal development scale (PDS) and child salivary hormone levels (dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone in all, and estradiol in females). Multi-level models examined the relationships among sociodemographic measures, physical features, and hormone levels. A group factor analysis (GFA) was implemented to extract latent variables of pubertal maturation that integrated both measures of perceived physical features and hormone levels.ResultsPDS summary scores indicated more males (70%) than females (31%) were prepubertal. Perceived physical features and hormone levels were significantly associated with child’s weight status and income, such that more mature scores were observed among children that were overweight/obese or from households with low-income. Results from the GFA identified two latent factors that described individual differences in pubertal maturation among both females and males, with factor 1 driven by higher hormone levels, and factor 2 driven by perceived physical maturation. The correspondence between latent factor 1 scores (hormones) and latent factor 2 scores (perceived physical maturation) revealed synchronous and asynchronous relationships between hormones and concomitant physical features in this large young adolescent sample.ConclusionsSociodemographic measures were associated with both objective hormone and self-report physical measures of pubertal maturation in a large, diverse sample of 9–10 year-olds. The latent variables of pubertal maturation described a complex interplay between perceived physical changes and hormone levels that hallmark sexual maturation, which future studies can examine in relation to trajectories of brain maturation, risk/resilience to substance use, and other mental health outcomes.

Despite their widespread use in forensic and correctional practice, surprisingly little research investigates how well actuarial risk assessment instruments (ARAIs) for sexual offenders work within the contexts where they are routinely applied. We examined the predictive validity (M = 4.77 years follow-up) of the two most widely used ARAIs for sexual offenders, the STATIC-99 and Minnesota Sex Offender Sex Offender Screening Tool–Revised (MnSOST-R), as administered in routine practice among 1,928 offenders screened for possible civil commitment as sexually violent predators. Effect sizes for both ARAIs were lower than in most published research and meta-analytic reviews, although the STATIC-99 was a more consistent predictor of recidivism than the MnSOST-R. Recidivism rates for the STATIC-99 were much closer to those expected based on the 2009 norms than the 2003 norms. Offender characteristics (e.g., age at release, prior arrests, release type) were often as or more effective than ARAIs for predicting recidivism. This study, apparently the largest cross-validation study of popular ARAIs for sex offenders, suggests that the predictive validity of these measures in routine practice in the United States may be poorer than often assumed.

Learning a second language in childhood is inherently advantageous for communication. However, parents, educators and scientists have been interested in determining whether there are additional cognitive advantages. One of the most exciting yet controversial 1 findings about bilinguals is a reported advantage for executive function. That is, several studies suggest that bilinguals perform better than monolinguals on tasks assessing cognitive abilities that are central to the voluntary control of thoughts and behaviours-the so-called 'executive functions' (for example, attention, inhibitory control, task switching and resolving conflict). Although a number of small-2-4 and large-sample 5,6 studies have reported a bilingual executive function advantage (see refs. 7-9 for a review), there have been several failures to replicate these findings 10-15 , and recent meta-analyses have called into question the reliability of the original empirical claims 8,9. Here we show, in a very large sample (n = 4,524) of 9-to 10-year-olds across the United States, that there is little evidence for a bilingual advantage for inhibitory control, attention and task switching, or cognitive flexibility, which are key aspects of executive function. We also replicate previously reported disadvantages in English vocabulary in bilinguals 7,16,17. However, these English vocabulary differences are substantially mitigated when we account for individual differences in socioeconomic status or intelligence. In summary, notwithstanding the inherently positive benefits Reprints and permissions information is available at www.nature.com/reprints.