Callous-unemotional behaviors in early childhood: Genetic and environmental contributions to stability and change

Associations Between Maternal Negative Affectivity and Young Children's Disruptive Behavior Problems: The Mediating Effect of Callous-Unemotional Traits

The current study examined associations between maternal negative affectivity (NA) and child disruptive behavior problems. The mediating role of child callous-unemotional (CU) traits in these relationships was also investigated. A multilevel mediation modeling approach was adopted using a sample of 100 families with children between 2.5 and 5.5 years of age (N = 201; mean age = 3.8, standard deviation = 1.0). The mediation models showed significant mediating effects of maternal NA through CU traits for ADHD (β = 0.12, p<.01), ODD (β =0.13, p<.01), and aggression (β =0.16, p<.001), and a significant direct effect for aggression (β = 0.12, p<.05). A structural equation modeling analysis was also performed, and overall, the results were consistent with that from mediation models, which suggested that child CU traits were significantly correlated with maternal NA (β = 0.252, p<.001), ADHD (β = 0.504, p<.001), ODD (β = 0.545, p<.001), and aggression (β = 0.686, p<.001). Our results indicated that maternal NA could serve as a potential risk factor for child CU, which, in turn, may contribute to disruptive behavior during early childhood.

Dimensions of Warm Parenting Attributions Differentiate Conduct Problem Subtypes in Young Children

Understanding the developmental psychopathology of child conduct problems (CP) has been advanced by differentiating subtypes based on levels of internalizing problems (INT) and/or callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., low empathy/guilt, poor motivation, shallow/deficient affect). The current study sought to elucidate prior inconsistencies in the role of warm/positive and harsh/negative parenting subcomponents in CP by differentiating subtypes on the basis of INT and CU traits. Parents of 135 young children (M age = 4.21 years, SD = 1.29) referred to specialty clinics for the treatment of CP completed pre-treatment measures of parenting and rated their child's levels of CP, INT, and CU traits. Results of planned comparisons revealed that mothers of children classified as secondary CU variants (high CU/ high INT) reported fewer overall warm attributions toward their child, compared with CP-only (low CU) children. They also reported a more negative dyadic relationship characterized by feelings of anger/hostility, active avoidance and/or a desire to do harm to their child relative to primary CU variants (high CU/ low INT). Mothers of primary CU variants attributed fewer good and altruistic intentions towards others in their child, relative to CP-only children. Subtypes were undifferentiated on observed positive and negative parenting behaviors, indicative of a disconnect between parenting behaviors and cognitions for mothers of children high on CU traits. Findings are discussed in relation to their theoretical and practice implications, and in guiding future research.

Parenting Characteristics and Callous-Unemotional Traits in Children Aged 0-6 Years: A Systematic Narrative Review

There has been a growing interest in research examining the relationship between parenting and child callous-unemotional (CU) traits, particularly in early childhood. This study reviewed evidence from studies that investigated the relationship between parenting characteristics (e.g., caregiving beliefs, attitudes, behaviour or quality, or parental mental health) and callous-unemotional traits in children aged 0 to 6 years. A systematic search conducted according to PRISMA guidelines yielded 27 peer-reviewed articles. Analysis of the included articles suggested that there was strong evidence to support links between child CU traits and parenting characteristics (particularly, parental feelings about their child, warm parenting, and harsh/ inconsistent parenting). Taken together, the results of this review demonstrate the links between both positive and negative dimensions of parenting and CU traits in early childhood; however, mixed findings highlight the need for further research.

Facial reactions to emotional films in young children with conduct problems and varying levels of callous-unemotional traits

BACKGROUND

Elevated levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits have proven useful for identifying a distinct subgroup of children whose conduct problems (CP) are early emerging, severe, persistent, and underpinned by aberrant emotional processing. The early childhood emotional experiences and expressions of CP subtypes are poorly understood, despite their importance to understanding the problematic attachments and atypical social affiliation experienced by children with elevated CU traits. The current study aimed to test for differences in facial emotional reactions to mood-inducing film clips in children with CP and varying levels of CU traits.

METHOD

We compared facial emotional reactions during a developmentally appropriate mood induction task in a mixed-sex sample of clinic-referred preschool children (Mage  = 3.64 years, SD = 0.63, 66.9% male) classified as CP with elevated levels of CU traits (CP + CU; n = 25) versus low CU traits (CP-only; n = 47), and typically developing children (TD; n = 28).

RESULTS

Relative to TD children, children with clinical CP showed less congruent and more incongruent facial emotional expressions to sad and happy film clips, controlling for child sex, age, and ethnicity.

CONCLUSIONS

Consistent with older samples, young children with CP show atypical facial emotional expressions in response to positive and negative emotional stimuli. Findings have implications for developmental models of childhood antisocial behavior and can inform the development of targeted interventions.

Heritability of Psychological Traits and Developmental Milestones in Infancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE

Although infancy is the most rapid period of postnatal growth and development, factors associated with variation in infant traits are not well understood.

OBJECTIVE

To synthesize the large twin study literature partitioning phenotypic variance in psychological traits and developmental milestones in infancy into estimates of heritability and shared and nonshared environment.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, PsycINFO, and references of included publications were searched up to February 11, 2021.

STUDY SELECTION

Peer-reviewed publications using the classical twin design to study psychological traits and developmental milestones from birth to 2 years old were included.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Data were extracted in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and categorized using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children and Youth Version. Data were pooled in 3-level random effects models, incorporating within-cohort variance in outcome measurement and between-cohort variance. Data were analyzed from March 2021 through September 2021.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcomes were monozygotic and dizygotic twin correlations. These were used to calculate genetic and shared and nonshared environment estimates.

RESULTS

Among 139 publications that were systematically retrieved, data were available on 79 044 twin pairs (31 053 monozygotic and 47 991 dizygotic pairs), 52 independent samples, and 21 countries. Meta-analyses were conducted on psychological traits and developmental milestones from 106 publications organized into 10 categories of functioning, disability, and health. Moderate to high genetic estimates for 8 categories were found, the highest of which was psychomotor functions (pooled h2, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.25-0.79; P < .001). Several categories of traits had substantial shared environment estimates, the highest being mental functions of language (pooled c2, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.24-0.86; P = .001). All examined categories of traits had moderate or high nonshared environment estimates, the highest of which were emotional functions (pooled e2, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.33-0.50; P < .001) and family relationships (pooled e2, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.30-0.55; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

These findings may be an important source of information to guide future gene discovery research, public perspectives on nature and nurture, and clinical insights into the degree to which family history and environments may estimate major domains of infant functioning, disability, and health in psychological traits and developmental milestones.

Parenting in the Context of the Child: Genetic and Social Processes

The focus on the role of parenting in child development has a long-standing history. When measures of parenting precede changes in child development, researchers typically infer a causal role of parenting practices and attitudes on child development. However, this research is usually conducted with parents raising their own biological offspring. Such research designs cannot account for the effects of genes that are common to parents and children, nor for genetically influenced traits in children that influence how they are parented and how parenting affects them. The aim of this monograph is to provide a clearer view of parenting by synthesizing findings from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS). EGDS is a longitudinal study of adopted children, their birth parents, and their rearing parents studied across infancy and childhood. Families (N = 561) were recruited in the United States through adoption agencies between 2000 and 2010. Data collection began when adoptees were 9 months old (males = 57.2%; White 54.5%, Black 13.2%, Hispanic/Latinx 13.4%, Multiracial 17.8%, other 1.1%). The median child age at adoption placement was 2 days (M = 5.58, SD = 11.32). Adoptive parents were predominantly in their 30s, White, and coming from upper-middle- or upper-class backgrounds with high educational attainment (a mode at 4-year college or graduate degree). Most adoptive parents were heterosexual couples, and were married at the beginning of the project. The birth parent sample was more racially and ethnically diverse, but the majority (70%) were White. At the beginning of the study, most birth mothers and fathers were in their 20s, with a mode of educational attainment at high school degree, and few of them were married. We have been following these family members over time, assessing their genetic influences, prenatal environment, rearing environment, and child development. Controlling for effects of genes common to parents and children, we confirmed some previously reported associations between parenting, parent psychopathology, and marital adjustment in relation to child problematic and prosocial behavior. We also observed effects of children's heritable characteristics, characteristics thought to be transmitted from parent to child by genetic means, on their parents and how those effects contributed to subsequent child development. For example, we found that genetically influenced child impulsivity and social withdrawal both elicited harsh parenting, whereas a genetically influenced sunny disposition elicited parental warmth. We found numerous instances of children's genetically influenced characteristics that enhanced positive parental influences on child development or that protected them from harsh parenting. Integrating our findings, we propose a new, genetically informed process model of parenting. We posit that parents implicitly or explicitly detect genetically influenced liabilities and assets in their children. We also suggest future research into factors such as marital adjustment, that favor parents responding with appropriate protection or enhancement. Our findings illustrate a productive use of genetic information in prevention research: helping parents respond effectively to a profile of child strengths and challenges rather than using genetic information simply to identify some children unresponsive to current preventive interventions.

Examining the potential link between child maltreatment and callous-unemotional traits in children and adolescents: A multilevel analysis

BACKGROUND

There is a great deal of research indicating that callous-unemotional traits in childhood are among the strongest predictors of adult psychopathy and psychopathic traits. As a result, there has been a recent surge of studies examining potential risk factors that may be related to the development of callous-unemotional traits.

OBJECTIVE

The current study sought to extend prior research examining potential risk factors for the development of callous-unemotional traits by estimating the extent to which child maltreatment related to callous-unemotional traits in children and adolescents.

PARTICIPANTS

To do so, the study uses a longitudinal sample of 4579 male and female youths drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW I) across four waves of data. Data collection ran from November 1999 to December 2006.

METHODS

A series of multilevel random-effects models were estimated in order to examine the association between child maltreatment and callous-unemotional traits.

RESULTS

The results of the analyses revealed a significant association between child maltreatment and callous-unemotional traits across all the models. Additionally, our models demonstrated that the association between child maltreatment and callous-unemotional traits may be dependent upon the biological sex of the individual with child maltreatment having a stronger effect on males than females (β = 0.15*).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our analyses lend support to prior research examining child maltreatment as a risk factor for the development of callous-unemotional traits in youth. We conclude by discussing the implications of our study and considerations for future research.

Psychopathy

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by a constellation of affective, interpersonal, lifestyle and antisocial features whose antecedents can be identified in a subgroup of young people showing severe antisocial behaviour. The prevalence of psychopathy in the general population is thought to be ~1%, but is up to 25% in prisoners. The aetiology of psychopathy is complex, with contributions of both genetic and environmental risk factors, and gene-environment interactions and correlations. Psychopathy is characterized by structural and functional brain abnormalities in cortical (such as the prefrontal and insular cortices) and subcortical (for example, the amygdala and striatum) regions leading to neurocognitive disruption in emotional responsiveness, reinforcement-based decision-making and attention. Although no effective treatment exists for adults with psychopathy, preliminary intervention studies targeting key neurocognitive disturbances have shown promising results. Given that psychopathy is often comorbid with other psychiatric disorders and increases the risk of physical health problems, educational and employment failure, accidents and criminality, the identification of children and young people at risk for this personality disorder and preventative work are important. Indeed, interventions that target the antecedents of psychopathic features in children and adolescents have been found to be effective.

Genetic and environmental influences on the developmental trajectory of callous-unemotional traits from childhood to adolescence

BACKGROUND

This study examined the genetic and environmental influences underlying baseline level and developmental course of callous-unemotional (CU) traits across childhood and adolescence.

METHODS

The data on 8,958 twin pairs (3,108 MZ twin pairs and 5,850 DZ twin pairs) from the Twins Early Development Study were analysed. CU traits were assessed at ages 7, 9, 12 and 16 by mothers and analysed using a biometric latent growth model.

RESULTS

Individual differences in the baseline level of CU traits were highly heritable (76.5%), while the heritability of the developmental course of CU traits was moderate (43.6%). The genetic influences on baseline level and developmental course of CU traits were mostly nonoverlapping. Nonshared environment made a modest contribution to the baseline level of CU traits (21.7%). Nonshared environmental influences on the developmental course of CU traits were moderate (43.2%), with nearly half of them being the same as those influencing the baseline level and just over half being specific. Shared environmental effects did not contribute to systematic change across childhood and adolescence but were rather age-specific.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrate that rather than only being conceptualized as factors of stability, genes also play a dynamic role in explaining systematic change in CU traits. Genetic effects for the initial risk and subsequent development of CU traits are not the same. In addition to genetic factors, nonshared environmental influences play an important role in explaining why some children will increase or maintain their CU traits over time, whereas other will desist. New genetic and environmental influences with age suggest that repeated, age-tailored interventions may be required throughout development to make a lasting difference in the presentation of CU traits and associated outcomes.

Callous-Unemotional Behaviors and Harsh Parenting: Reciprocal Associations across Early Childhood and Moderation by Inherited Risk

Callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors increase children's risk for subsequent antisocial behavior. This risk process may begin in early childhood with reciprocal pathways between CU behaviors and harsh parenting. In a sample of 561 linked triads of biological mothers, adoptive parents, and adopted children, the present study examined bidirectional links between CU behaviors and harsh parenting across three time points from 18 to 54 months and investigated moderation by inherited risk for psychopathic traits. Child CU behaviors and harsh parenting were measured using adoptive mother and adoptive father reports, and biological mothers provided reports of their personality characteristics. Findings supported reciprocal associations between harsh parenting and CU behaviors during early childhood, especially during the transition from toddlerhood (27 months) to the preschool period (54 months). Moreover, multiple-group analyses showed that level of inherited risk moderated associations between CU behaviors and harsh parenting. Specifically, there were statistically reliable associations between CU behaviors at 27 months and adoptive mothers' harsh parenting at 54 months, and between adoptive fathers' harsh parenting at 27 months and CU behaviors at 54 months among children at higher inherited risk, but not among those at lower inherited risk. The findings illustrate the dynamic interplay between parenting, CU behaviors, and heritable risk.

Less imitation of arbitrary actions is a specific developmental precursor to callous-unemotional traits in early childhood

OBJECTIVE

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits in early childhood explain heterogeneity within conduct problems and are associated with higher risk for later diagnoses of childhood disruptive behavior disorders and antisocial behavior in adulthood. Emerging research implicates impairments in affiliative processes in the etiology of CU traits. The current study tests whether the imitation of intentional actions with no functional significance -a behavior that supports the acquisition of social conventions and affiliative bonds, is a specific developmental precursor to CU traits in early childhood.

METHODS

Data came from a longitudinal twin study of 628 children (Age 2: 47% females; Age 3: 44.9% females) with observations of arbitrary (i.e., nonfunctional actions) and instrumental (i.e., functional actions) imitation and parent reports of CU traits and oppositional defiant (ODD) behaviors at ages 2 and 3.

RESULTS

Lower arbitrary imitation at age 2, but not instrumental imitation, was related to increases in CU traits from ages 2 to 3 (β = -.10, p = .02).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings establish early social and affiliative processes in the etiology of CU traits, highlighting that novel personalized treatment and intervention strategies for CU traits may benefit from targeting these processes to help reduce CU traits and risk for persistent conduct problems in children.

Internet-Delivered Parent Training for Preschoolers with Conduct Problems: Do Callous-Unemotional Traits Moderate Efficacy and Engagement?

Recent efforts to improve access to evidence-based parent training programs using online delivery have largely neglected findings that young children with callous-unemotional (CU)-type conduct problems receive less benefit from parent training than children with conduct problems alone. The current study aimed to examine the moderating effect of child CU traits on efficacy and engagement outcomes associated with Internet-delivered Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (iPCIT) versus standard, clinic-based PCIT. Forty families (57.6% non-Hispanic Caucasian) with a 3-5 year-old (M = 3.95 years, SD = 0.9; 83.5% boys) child with a disruptive behavior disorder were randomized to either iPCIT or clinic-based PCIT. Families participated in four assessments across time; child conduct problems, global functioning and treatment responder status, and parent-rated treatment satisfaction were measured. Analyses revealed that the negative influence of CU traits on functional gains was not uniform across treatment formats. Specifically, the detrimental effect of CU traits on functional gains was significantly more pronounced among children treated with iPCIT than clinic-based PCIT. CU traits also predicted lower parental treatment satisfaction across delivery formats, but this effect was more pronounced among iPCIT parents. In contrast, CU traits did not moderate differential effects across iPCIT and clinic-based PCIT for conduct problem severity or treatment response status. Findings suggest that iPCIT is a promising treatment option for early conduct problems, particularly when access-to-care barriers exist, but that further research is needed to determine whether strategic adaptations to online programs can more optimally address the distinct needs of children with clinically significant CU traits.

The Boston University Twin Project (BUTP) II

The Boston University Twin Project (BUTP) uses a multimethod, longitudinal approach to study the role of genetic and environmental factors on the development of child temperament and related behaviors in early childhood. There are two phases in this project. The first, described in the previous Twin Research and Human Genetics special issue on twin registries, focused on activity level and comprised over 300 twin pairs assessed in the home and laboratory at ages 2 and 3. In this article, we describe subject recruitment, sample characteristics, and study procedures and measures of the second phase of the BUTP. This recent study focuses more broadly on the development of multiple temperament dimensions and explores associations between temperament trajectories, parenting and child adjustment in a new cohort of approximately 300 twin pairs assessed at 3, 4 and 5 years of age.

Do Genetic Factors Explain the Links Between Callous-Unemotional, Attention Hyperactivity and Oppositional Defiant Problems in Toddlers?

Research demonstrates that callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Problems (ODD) are related, but little is known about the sources of covariation among the three externalizing behaviors. The present study looked at genetic and environmental links between all three behavioral domains in twins at ages 2 and 3 years (MZ = 145, DZ = 169), a time when CU behaviors are beginning to emerge. CU, ADHD, and ODD behaviors as assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 (Achenbach and Rescorla 2000) were strongly interrelated at both ages. Genetic factors primarily explained the covariation among the three behavioral domains via a common externalizing factor; however, there were also genetic factors unique to each behavior. Furthermore, the majority of nonshared environmental influences on each externalizing behavior were behavior-specific. The heritable externalizing factor was highly stable across age, largely due to genetic factors shared across ages 2 and 3 years. Despite their extensive phenotypic and genetic overlap, CU, ADHD, and ODD behaviors have unique genetic and nonshared environmental influences as early as toddlerhood. This supports phenotypic research showing that the three are related but distinct constructs in very young children.

A biopsychosocial approach to processes and pathways in the development of overweight and obesity in childhood: Insights from developmental theory and research

Childhood obesity has reached alarming proportions in many countries. There is consensus that both biological (especially genetic) and environmental (including psychosocial) factors contribute to weight gain and obesity in childhood. Research has identified extensive risk or predictive factors for childhood obesity from both of these domains. There is less consensus about the developmental processes or pathways showing how these risk factors lead to overweigh/obesity (OW/OB) in childhood. We outline a biopsychosocial process model of the development of OW/OB in childhood. The model and associated scholarship from developmental theory and research guide an analysis of research on OW/OB in childhood. The model incorporates biological factors such as genetic predispositions or susceptibility genes, temperament, and homeostatic and allostatic processes with the psychosocial and behavioral factors of parenting, parental feeding practices, child appetitive traits, food liking, food intakes, and energy expenditure. There is an emphasis on bidirectional and transactional processes linking child biology and behavior with psychosocial processes and environment. Insights from developmental theory and research include implications for conceptualization, measurement, research design, and possible multiple pathways to OW/OB. Understanding the developmental processes and pathways involved in childhood OW/OB should contribute to more targeted prevention and intervention strategies in childhood.

Longitudinal associations of callous-unemotional and oppositional defiant behaviors over a three-year interval for Spanish children

The objective was to determine the longitudinal associations between callous-unemotional (CU) and oppositional defiant (OD) behaviors from the first to fourth grades for Spanish children. Four possible outcomes were evaluated: (a) CU behaviors in the first grade predict increases in OD behaviors in the fourth grade, controlling for OD behaviors in the first grade; (b) OD behaviors in the first grade predict increases in CU behaviors in the fourth grade, controlling for CU behaviors in the first grade; (c) both unique effects are significant; and (d) neither unique effect is significant. A longitudinal panel model with two latent variables (CU and OD behaviors), three sources (mothers, fathers, teachers), and two occasions (spring of the first and fourth grades) was used to evaluate the four possibilities among 758 (54% boys) first grade and 469 (53% boys) fourth grade Spanish children. For mother-, father-, and teacher-reports, OD behaviors in the first grade predicted increases in CU behaviors in the fourth grade, after controlling for CU behaviors in the first grade, whereas CU behaviors in the first grade did not predict increases in OD behaviors in the fourth grade, after controlling for OD behaviors in the first grade. OD behaviors thus conferred independent vulnerability to increases in CU behaviors 3 years later among young children.

Longitudinal Links Between Callous-Unemotional Behaviors and Parenting in Early Childhood: A Genetically Informed Design

OBJECTIVE

Most research on callous-unemotional behaviors (CU) and parenting does not focus on directions of effect, and work that does so has not been genetically informed. The present study is the first to examine potential reciprocal effects between parenting and CU in a community sample of early childhood. Use of a twin sample also allows us to distinguish child-based genetic effects from environmentally driven effects, which is necessary before translating this research to interventions.

METHOD

The present study used biometric cross-lagged models to investigate the relation between CU and parenting in twins at 2 and 3 years of age (monozygotic = 145, dizygotic = 169 twin pairs). CU was assessed using the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5. Scores were residualized to control for conduct problems assessed on the Revised Rutter Parent Scale for Preschool Children. Parents' reports of negative and positive parenting were obtained using parent ratings of discipline and parent feelings from the Parent Feelings Questionnaire.

RESULTS

CU and negative parenting were significantly correlated at both ages. Cross-lagged analyses revealed a unidirectional effect with CU at age 2 years predicting negative parenting at age 3 years. These child-driven effects were primarily genetically mediated, although there were modest nonshared environmental contributions. CU and positive parenting were not consistently correlated, and further biometric analyses were not performed.

CONCLUSION

Children's genetically influenced CU behaviors can have an impact on the parenting that they experience. Child-driven CU effects, although less examined in the literature, are important and should receive more attention in future work.

The genetic underpinnings of callous-unemotional traits: A systematic research review

BACKGROUND

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits represent the affective features of psychopathy used to delineate youth at high risk for externalizing pathology. The genetic etiology CU traits is not currently well-understood.

METHODS

The current review surveyed the literature for studies on the genetic underpinnings of CU traits and integrated information from 39 genetic studies.

RESULTS

The results from 24 studies with quantitative data suggest that the heritability for CU traits is likely between 36-67%. A majority of the 16 molecular genetic studies focused on candidate genes in the serotonin and oxytocin systems with results that have not been well replicated. Although two genome-wide association studies have been conducted, no genome-wide significant loci have been discovered.

DISCUSSION

There is some evidence to suggest that the serotonin and oxytocin systems may play a role in CU traits; however, there is currently not enough evidence to implicate specific genetic mechanisms. The authors encourage researchers to continue to apply the most up-to-date and relevant methodology, specifically collaborations and consortiums using genome-wide and polygenic methods.

Empathy is not in our genes

In academic and public life empathy is seen as a fundamental force of morality - a psychological phenomenon, rooted in biology, with profound effects in law, policy, and international relations. But the roots of empathy are not as firm as we like to think. The matching mechanism that distinguishes empathy from compassion, envy, schadenfreude, and sadism is a product of learning. Here I present a dual system model that distinguishes Empathy¹, an automatic process that catches the feelings of others, from Empathy², controlled processes that interpret those feelings. Research with animals, infants, adults and robots suggests that the mechanism of Empathy¹, emotional contagion, is constructed in the course of development through social interaction. Learned Matching implies that empathy is both agile and fragile. It can be enhanced and redirected by novel experience, and broken by social change.

Biological and Psychosocial Processes in the Development of Children's Appetitive Traits: Insights from Developmental Theory and Research

There has been increasing concern expressed about children's food intakes and dietary patterns. These are closely linked to children's appetitive traits (such as disinhibited eating and food fussiness/neophobia). Research has examined both biological and psychosocial correlates or predictors of these traits. There has been less focus on possible processes or mechanisms associated with children's development of these traits and research that links biological and psychosocial factors. There is an absence of research that links biological and psychosocial factors. In the present article, we outline a model intended to facilitate theory and research on the development of appetitive traits. It is based on scholarship from developmental theory and research and incorporates biological factors such as genetic predispositions and temperament as well as psychosocial factors in terms of parent cognitions, feeding styles and feeding practices. Particular attention is directed to aspects such as emotional eating and feeding, self-regulation of energy intake, and non-shared family environments. We highlight the opportunity for longitudinal research that examines bidirectional, transactional and cascade processes and uses a developmental framework. The model provides a basis for connecting the biological foundations of appetitive traits to system-level analysis in the family. Knowledge generated through the application of the model should lead to more effective prevention and intervention initiatives.

Callous-unemotional behaviors in early childhood: the development of empathy and prosociality gone awry

Callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors are critical to understanding the development of severe forms of aggression and antisocial behavior. CU behaviors include deficits in empathy and prosocial behavior, as well as reduced interpersonal responsivity to others. We review recent research examining CU behaviors in early childhood and the role that parents play in the development of early CU behaviors. We integrate research on the development of empathy and prosociality with that of CU behaviors to propose a developmental model of early CU behaviors that considers person-by-context interactions.

Understanding the development of psychopathy: progress and challenges

Psychopathy is an adult condition that incurs substantial societal and individual costs. Here we review neurocognitive and genetically informative studies that shed light on how and why this condition emerges. Children cannot present with psychopathy. However, the presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits can distinguish a group of children who are at elevated risk of psychopathy in adulthood. These children display diminished empathy and guilt and show attenuated brain activation to distress cues in others. Genetically informative studies indicate that individual differences in CU traits show moderate-to-strong heritability, but that protective environmental factors can counter heritable risk. On the basis of the extant research findings, we speculate on what might represent the priorities for research over the next decade. We also consider the clinical implications of these research findings. In particular, we consider the importance of delineating what precisely works for children with CU traits (and their parents) and the ways in which intervention and prevention programs may be optimized to improve engagement as well as clinical outcomes.