Assessing Psychopathic Traits Among Children: The First Validation Study of the Child Problematic Traits Inventory in a Clinical Sample

Colins, Olivier F.; Roetman, Peter J.; López‐Romero, Laura; Andershed, Henrik

doi:10.1177/1073191119832654

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…CPTI items are rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (does not apply at all) to 4 (applies very much), with higher values indicating greater CU behaviors. The CPTI was validated in two large (N > 1,100) samples of typically developing 3-5 years, as well as a clinic-referred sample of children ranging from 6 to 13 years, which included parent and teacher reports (Colins et al, 2014(Colins et al, , 2017(Colins et al, , 2020. The CPTI CU scale has demonstrated good internal consistency and convergent validity, with parent and teacher ratings of externalizing behavior, fearlessness, and prosocial peer interactions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating callous–unemotional behaviors into school-based research.

et al. 2022

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This study investigated the utility of including teacher-reported callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors in the assessment of disruptive behaviors in school-based research. Participants included 138 firstand secondgrade children (68% male; 76% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch; 61% Black, 9% Latinx, 23% White, and 7% multiracial) who completed assessments during the baseline assessment of an intervention study. Results indicated that teachers could distinguish CU from traditional indicators of disruptive behavior, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behaviors and conduct problems (CP). When considered alone, there was mixed evidence for the utility of CU behaviors. Although higher levels of CU behaviors explained unique variation in teacher-reported social competence and global impairment, CU behaviors did not explain unique variation in disciplinary infractions, classroom behavior, or academic functioning after accounting for ADHD and CP behaviors. A different pattern of results was evident when CU was considered in conjunction with ADHD and CP behaviors. Latent profile analyses identified three subgroups of participants (i.e., a nondisruptive group, an ADHD group, and a comorbid group, who exhibited elevated levels of ADHD, CP, and CU). Compared to the nondisruptive group, the ADHD group exhibited higher rates of off-task classroom behavior and worse academic functioning. The comorbid group exhibited moderate-to-large differences from both groups on teacher-reported and objective outcomes. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to the potential value of incorporating CU behaviors, which are becoming prominent in clinical psychology and psychiatry, into school-based research and for school psychology practice. Impact and ImplicationsCU behaviors often co-occur with disruptive behaviors and contribute to profound impairment in interpersonal functioning. Consideration of CU behaviors as a part of the assessment of disruptive behaviors may help to reduce heterogeneity among children who qualify for an emotional disturbance, per the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act. Moreover, ongoing efforts among clinical scientists to develop innovative treatments and to personalize treatments for children with CU behaviors may inform similar efforts by school psychologists.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating callous–unemotional behaviors into school-based research.

et al. 2022

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“…To sum-up, since cross-cultural research on CU traits in children is still scarce (Verona et al, 2010), studies that test the psychometric properties of the ICU and similar instruments, in other young age groups and several cultures, become important. As stated by Colins et al (2014), having a reliable and well validated instrument available, which explores traits of psychopathic personality in early childhood, can help in understanding the development of psychopathic personality from childhood to adulthood, although should not be used for clinical decision making (Colins et al, 2020) until more findings have been replicated. This study showed that the Portuguese teacher-version of the ICU seems reliable, accessible, and can be used to evaluate callous-unemotional traits in the educational context, with low time consumption.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric properties of the Portuguese teacher-version of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits

Figueiredo

Moreira

Ramião

et al. 2022

Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry

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Callous unemotional (CU) traits refer to specific deficits in affective experience and interpersonal style, characterized by absence of guilt, constrictive display of emotion and failure to show empathy, callous use of others for one’s own gain. The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) was developed to measure CU traits in children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyze the factorial structure of the Portuguese version of teacher-report ICU for children in school age and examine psychometric properties such as internal consistency and convergent validity in a community sample. Thirty-six teachers provided behavioral ratings of 100 and 78 children of elementary school, 88 boys and 90 girls, aged between 6 and 10 years old. Confirmatory factor analyses provided further support to a 2-factor structure, comprising the following dimensions: callous and uncaring. This study showed that the ICU seems a reliable an accessible tool that can be used in the Portuguese educational context to evaluate CU traits with low time consumption.

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“…( 46 ) undertook a large twin study (N = 8762), and administered the Child Problematic Trait Inventory – Short Version to index psychopathy. They reported a significant relationship between psychopathy and autism amongst boys, r = .38, and girls, r = .33, bearing in mind that there may be validity issues with their choice of measure ( 94 ). Leno et al.…”

Section: Autism and Callous And Unemotional Traits In Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between psychopathy and autism: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

Maguire,

Warman,

Blumenfeld

et al. 2024

Front. Psychiatry

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Background and methodsThe aim of this systematic review was to synthesise research examining the relationship between autism and psychopathy to: (a) better understand the relationship between these two constructs, and (b) describe the clinical manifestation of the two when they co-occur. A systematic search of the literature returned 36 studies.ResultsAcross all ages, autistic individuals and those with elevated autistic traits but no autistic diagnoses appeared to have increased callous and unemotional traits or psychopathy relative to the general population. Several studies evidenced that although both constructs are associated with empathetic dysfunction, the underlying mechanisms differ. In adults, psychopathy/psychopathic traits were associated with diminished affective empathy and intact cognitive empathy, whilst the opposite was seen autistic adults and those with elevated autistic traits. In children, those with autistic traits or a diagnosis of autism had diminished cognitive empathy, but not affective empathy, while the relationship between callous and unemotional traits/psychopathy and empathy amongst children was less clear. The co-occurrence of autism and psychopathy was seen to lead to additional empathic and cognitive impairment, but findings were mixed making it challenging to clearly describe the clinical manifestation.ConclusionThere remains a paucity of research investigating the interaction between autism and psychopathy and included studies were characterised by multiple measurement difficulties. Attention should be directed toward developing better methods for identifying psychopathic traits in autistic individuals to advance our understanding of the relationship between autism and psychopathy to allow for the development of appropriate care pathways for this population.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=413672, identifier CRD42023413672.

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Assessing Psychopathic Traits Among Children: The First Validation Study of the Child Problematic Traits Inventory in a Clinical Sample

Cited by 20 publications

References 57 publications

Incorporating callous–unemotional behaviors into school-based research.

Incorporating callous–unemotional behaviors into school-based research.

Psychometric properties of the Portuguese teacher-version of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits

The relationship between psychopathy and autism: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

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