The better of two evils? Evidence that children exhibiting continuous conduct problems high or low on callous–unemotional traits score on opposite directions on physiological and behavioral measures of fear

Abstract

The present study examines whether heterogeneous groups of children identified based on their longitudinal scores on conduct problems (CP) and callous-unemotional (CU) traits differ on physiological and behavioral measures of fear. Specifically, it aims to test the hypothesis that children with high/stable CP differentiated on CU traits score on opposite directions on a fear-fearless continuum. Seventy-three participants (M age = 11.21; 45.2% female) were selected from a sample of 1,200 children. Children and their parents completed a battery of questionnaires assessing fearfulness, sensitivity to punishment, and behavioral inhibition. Children also participated in an experiment assessing their startle reactivity to fearful mental imagery, a well-established index of defensive motivation. The pattern of results verifies the hypothesis that fearlessness, assessed with physiological and behavioral measures, is a core characteristic of children high on both CP and CU traits (i.e., receiving the DSM-5 specifier of limited prosocial emotions). To the contrary, children with high/stable CP and low CU traits demonstrated high responsiveness to fear, high behavioral inhibition, and high sensitivity to punishment. The study is in accord with the principle of equifinality, in that different developmental mechanisms (i.e., extremes of high and low fear) may have the same behavioral outcome manifested as phenotypic antisocial behavior.

Early Callous-Unemotional Behavior, Theory-of-Mind, and a Fearful/Inhibited Temperament Predict Externalizing Problems in Middle and Late Childhood

“…Therefore, our results are consistent with the idea that emotional characteristics such as low fear and shyness may moderate pathways to more severe externalizing problems, particularly among children with high CU behavior, but this effect may only last through early school-age. This finding is consistent with a previous study which found that among school-aged children with high CU behavior, a group with high levels of conduct problems displayed lower behavioral inhibition compared to the group with low conduct problems (Fanti et al, 2015). Similar to ToM, low levels of fearful/inhibited temperament could predict increasing externalizing problems only in the presence of other temperamental characteristics, such as CU behavior.…”

“…A handful of recent studies has pointed to the importance of examining other child features, such as fearlessness or behavioral inhibition, along with CU behavior in order to understand the heterogeneity in developmental pathways to conduct problems (Fanti, Panayiotou, Lazarou, Michael, & Georgiou, 2015; Kingzell, Fanti, Colins, Frogner, Andershed, & Andershed, 2015). Broadly, theory and some empirical evidence suggest that disruptions in affective development may play a role in the development of severe antisocial problems in high-CU children (Frick & Viding, 2009).…”

Psychopathic personality traits in 5 year old twins: the importance of genetic and shared environmental influences

“…Our finding agree with prior work linking environmental factors to callous–unemotional traits and studies suggesting that interventions focusing on environmental stimuli may be effective in reducing callous–unemotional traits (for a review: [34]). The moderate genetic influence in our sample for callous–unemotional traits might also be related to heterogeneity within these traits, with subgroups showing differences in behavioral and physiological measures of anxiety and fear reactivity (e.g., [23, 24]).…”

Callous‐unemotional, impulsive‐irresponsible, and grandiose‐manipulative traits: Distinct associations with heart rate, skin conductance, and startle responses to violent and erotic scenes

“…Although prior physiological studies propose that low HR and SC are associated with fearlessness, these physiological measures are not specific indices of fear and are mainly related to arousal levels (Fanti, ). Measures that tap into the defensive system are required to support fearlessness as the underlying construct behind psychopathic traits (Fanti, ; Fanti, Panayiotou, Lombardo, & Kyranides, ; Fanti, Panayiotou, Lazarou, Michael, & Georgiou, ). The eyeblink startle reflex is an involuntary response to a sudden intense acoustic stimulus, and is a well‐established measure of defensive motivation that is modulated by dimensions of affect, and by fear in particular (Fanti, Kyranides et al, ; Vaidyanathan, Patrick, & Cuthbert, 2009; Vrana, Spence, & Lang, ).…”