Differential correlates to self‐report and parent‐report of callous–unemotional traits in a sample of juvenile sexual offenders

PurposeCallous–unemotional (CU) traits are currently viewed as the defining signs and symptoms of juvenile psychopathy. It is unclear, however, whether CU traits have validity only in the context of conduct disorder (CD) as proposed by Frick and Moffitt (A proposal to the DSM-V childhood disorders and the ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders work groups to include a specifier to the diagnosis of conduct disorder based on the presence of callous–unemotional traits, American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, 2010), or also outside CD, either in combination with other forms of psychopathology or as a stand-alone construct.MethodsThe current review systematically studied the existent literature on CU traits in juveniles to examine their validity inside and outside CD according to the framework regarding the validity of a psychiatric diagnosis provided by Robins and Guze (Am J Psychiatry 126:983–987, 1970).ResultsInside youth with conduct problems, and CD specifically, it seems that CU traits meet the Robins and Guze criteria. As many of the reviewed studies included youth with ODD and ADHD as well, there are indications the same might be true for ODD and ADHD, although probably to a lesser extent. In other disorders, CU traits may be present as well, but their role is not firmly established. As stand-alone construct, data are lacking or are scarce on all of the above-mentioned criteria.ConclusionsCU traits are a useful specifier in CD, and possibly also in disruptive behaviour disorders (DBDs) more generally. High CU traits outside DBDs exist but it is as yet unknown if there is a clinical need for defining CU traits as a stand-alone construct.

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“…For reviews we refer to, e.g. [13, 15, 63], with recent publications confirming these observations [64–73]. …”

Section: Criterion 2: Are Cu Traits Dissociable From Other Related DImentioning

confidence: 78%

Callous–unemotional traits as a cross-disorders construct

Herpers

Rommelse

Bons

et al. 2012

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

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“…In these instances, only the most recent and/or comprehensive version of the study was included. Six studies were excluded because they did not examine whether the tool predicted reoffending (Chavez, 2010;Costin, 2005;Fanniff & Letourneau, 2011;Rombouts, 2006;Schoenfeld, 2008;White, Cruise, & Frick, 2009). Two studies were excluded because they examined single items or unique combinations of items rather than total or subscale scores (Edwards, Beech, Bishopp, Erikson, Friendship, & Charlesworth, 2005;Young, 2006).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prediction of adolescent sexual reoffending: A meta-analysis of the J-SOAP-II, ERASOR, J-SORRAT-II, and Static-99.

Viljoen

Mordell

Beneteau

2012

Law and Human Behavior

101

121

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Several risk assessment tools, including the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (Prentky & Righthand, 2003), the Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism (Worling & Curwen, 2001), the Juvenile Sexual Offense Recidivism Risk Assessment Tool-II (Epperson, Ralston, Fowers, DeWitt, & Gore, 2006), and the Static-99 (Hanson & Thornton, 1999), have been used to assess reoffense risk among adolescents who have committed sexual offenses. Given that research on these tools has yielded somewhat mixed results, we empirically synthesized 33 published and unpublished studies involving 6,196 male adolescents who had committed a sexual offense. We conducted two separate meta-analyses, first with correlations and then with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs). Total scores on each of the tools significantly predicted sexual reoffending, with aggregated correlations ranging from .12 to .20 and aggregated AUC scores ranging from .64 to .67. However, in many cases heterogeneity across studies was moderate to high. There were no significant differences between tools, and although the Static-99 was developed for adults, it achieved similar results as the adolescent tools. Results are compared to other meta-analyses of risk tools used in the area of violence risk assessment and in other fields.

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“…Specifically, studies have documented links between higher levels of CU traits and conduct problems (Essau et al 2006) as well as impulsive and antisocial behaviors (White et al 2009), especially earlyonset antisocial behavior (Dandreaux and Frick 2009). In contrast, empirical work on the link between CU traits and internalizing problems has been somewhat mixed (Sevecke and Kosson 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Validation of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in a Community Sample of Young Adult Males

Byrd

Kahn

Pardini

2012

J Psychopathol Behav Assess

107

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Callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been shown to delineate a subgroup of individuals at high risk for exhibiting severe and persistent criminal behavior. The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU; Frick 2004) was recently developed as a comprehensive rating scale designed to measure multiple facets of CU traits. However, validation of this measure has been limited to youth in adolescence and emerging adulthood (age range=12–20), leaving questions about the utility of this measure in early adulthood unanswered. The current study evaluated the factor structure of the ICU within a racially diverse and well characterized community sample of adult males (n=425) using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). While results found the best fitting model to be the three-bifactor structure that has been previously reported in adolescent samples, the fit indices were only marginally acceptable and suggest the need for scale refinement. Total and subscales scores demonstrated significant and distinct associations with relevant external criteria (e.g., delinquency, psychopathy, psychopathology, psychosocial functioning). Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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Differential correlates to self‐report and parent‐report of callous–unemotional traits in a sample of juvenile sexual offenders

Cited by 67 publications

References 50 publications

Callous–unemotional traits as a cross-disorders construct

Callous–unemotional traits as a cross-disorders construct

Prediction of adolescent sexual reoffending: A meta-analysis of the J-SOAP-II, ERASOR, J-SORRAT-II, and Static-99.

A Validation of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in a Community Sample of Young Adult Males

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