Impacts of psychopathic traits dimensions on the development of indirect aggression from childhood to adolescence.

Abstract

Children who show elevated levels of indirect aggression (IA) from childhood to adolescence are at increased risks of experiencing detrimental outcomes. Some studies suggest that psychopathic traits could act as a predisposing vulnerability in the development of IA, but the contributions of all three dimensions of psychopathic traits in explaining developmental trajectories of IA from childhood to adolescence remain unclear. This study aimed to determine if the three dimensions of psychopathic traits during childhood (i.e., callous–unemotional, narcissism–grandiosity, and impulsivity–irresponsibility at 6–9 years old) increase the risk of following a high IA trajectory across preadolescence, and whether sex moderated these associations. Participants were 744 children (47% girls; 93% born in Quebec, Canada, and over 50% from low socioeconomic backgrounds) assessed annually over 5 years. Approximately half of them (n = 370; 40.3% girls) were referred to school-based services for conduct problems (CP) at study intake. Latent class growth analyses revealed four developmental trajectories of IA, which were regressed on psychopathic traits dimensions using a three-step approach. After adjusting for demographic confounders, CP, and other dimensions of psychopathic traits, only narcissism–grandiosity traits significantly predicted memberships to a high and stable trajectory of IA use. The associations between the other dimensions of psychopathic traits and IA trajectories were not significant when considering confounders. No moderating effects by child sex were observed. These results suggest that narcissism–grandiosity traits could be of use for clinicians aiming to detect children most at risk of showing high and persistent levels of IA.

Are prosocial tendencies relevant for developmental psychopathology? The relations of prosocial behavior and empathy-related responding to externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and autism spectrum disorder

“…Moreover, Zych, Ttofi, et al, (2019) found that perpetration of school bullying was positively related to CU traits (OR = 2.55), and Graziano and Garcia (2016) reported that youths with ADHD were high in CU traits (d = .68), even after accounting for conduct problems and emotion recognition/understanding (aspects of cognitive empathy). CU traits also have been positively related to children's indirect aggression, although CU traits did not predict trajectories of indirect aggression when the latter was simultaneously predicted by conduct problems and the other aspects of psychopathy (Boutin et al, 2023).…”