Preventing Conduct Disorder and Callous Unemotional Traits: Preliminary Results of a School Based Pilot Training Program

Abstract

This study investigated whether a school-based pilot prevention program is effective in reducing Conduct Disorder (CD) symptoms and callous unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., lack of empathy and guilt) in a community sample of children. A total of 304 children from three schools in Cyprus were randomly assigned at school level to either a prevention group that received a skill building training program (N = 94; M = 7.91, SD = .74; 52.1% female) or a control group that received no training (N = 210; M = 7.82, SD = .81; 50.5% female). To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, CD symptoms and CU traits were assessed before the implementation of the training program and at 3 and 9 months after training. Additionally, the child's impulsivity, parental involvement and friend support were assessed pre- and post-prevention. Significant post-training reductions in CU traits were identified for the prevention, but not the control, group at both 3-month and 9-month follow-ups and in CD symptoms at the 9 month follow-up. Furthermore, children in the prevention group scored lower on impulsivity and higher on paternal involvement and friend support compared to the control group after participating in the training program. This study provides preliminary evidence that child focused training delivered in the school setting can provide lasting benefits by preventing the development of CU traits, impulsivity, and CD. The program was also successful in improving the child's social relationships with peers and parents. These findings emphasize the importance of school based prevention efforts.

Investigating the association between callous‐unemotional traits with relational bullying and victimization: A cross‐national study

“…Accordingly, it suggests that such traits help to understand engagement in RB across cultures (Essau et al, ; Fanti et al, ; Frick et al, ). Notwithstanding other important unexamined factors known to contribute to relational bullying and victimization, our findings suggest that prevention efforts should consider CU traits in order to protect youth from relational bullying (see Kyranides et al, ). Prevention efforts focusing on enhancing students’ empathy might result in decreased relational bullying and victimization, although cultural and gender differences should also be considered.…”

“…Although youth scoring high on CU traits are less likely to respond to traditional intervention compared to antisocial youth low on CU traits, initial evidence has indicated that various preventions and interventions have been proved effective in reducing their problematic behaviors (Hawes & Dadds, ). A study conducted in Cyprus suggested that school preventions focusing on enhancing empathy and emotion regulation can decrease both antisocial behaviors and CU traits (Kyranides et al, ).…”

In the eyes of the beholder: investigating the effect of visual probing on accuracy and gaze fixations when attending to facial expressions among primary and secondary callous-unemotional variants

“…In the present study, ICU scores demonstrated adequate internal consistency across all three assessment points (α 1 = 0.77, α 2 = 0.80, α 3 = 0.89). The reliability and construct validity of the Greek version of the ICU that have been supported by prior work [32,34].…”

Behavior Disorders: knowledge and actions of health professionals and social work

“…However, violence and BP relationship is even more complex and multidirectional. While on the one hand, environmental stressors in periods of greater vulnerability, such as maltreatment and growing in violent communities and schools, significantly increase chances of developing BP (2)(3)(4) , on the other hand, once BP is started, there is a greater chance of developing mood, anxiety, and chemical dependency disorders, as well as dropping out of school before high school, engaging in violence and crime, and failing to enter the market work in adult life (5)(6)(7)(8)(9) .…”