Incorporating callous–unemotional behaviors into school-based research.

Abstract

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.

Callous-unemotional Traits and Child Response to Teacher Rewards, Discipline, and Instructional Methods in Chinese Preschools: A Classroom Observation Study

“…We investigated CU traits, teacher-child interaction (teacher rewards, discipline and instructional methods), and children’s peer cooperation and academic engagement using classroom observation. Our hypothesis that CU traits would be significantly associated with more frequent teacher discipline was not supported, aligning with previous studies in South Korea and the United States that found no significant relationship between CU traits and the frequency or severity of teacher discipline (Hwang et al, 2020 ; Willoughby et al, 2022 ). Hwang et al suggested that, unlike the findings on CU traits and parental discipline (e.g., Waller et al, 2017), teachers may not use harsh discipline towards children high in CU traits due to their professional ethics, legal responsibilities, and training.…”

“…Encouragingly, CU traits were not associated with harsh discipline at either data collection point. This is consistent with the results of a cross-sectional study of 138 first and second grade children in the United States where CU traits were unrelated to increased disciplinary infractions (Willoughby et al, 2022 ). Ciucci et al ( 2014 ) found that CU traits were related to more teacher recorded formal warnings in 540 Italian children aged 11 to 14 years, however, in contrast to the other two studies, externalizing problems were not controlled for.…”

“…CU traits are associated with greater conflict and less closeness between teachers and students (Baroncelli & Ciucci, 2020 ), impaired peer relationships (Wagner et al, 2020 ), and academic underachievement (Horan et al, 2016 ). This has led to recent calls to recognize the potential utility of CU traits for addressing disruptive behavior in school, with teacher-child interaction identified as a potential target for intervention (Hwang et al, 2022 ; Willoughby et al, 2022 ).…”

Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD): Further validation of the parent-report version in a nationally representative U.S. sample of 10- to 17-year-olds.

“…These findings also fit with existing research (e.g., DeLisi et al, 2014). Specifically, previous studies have linked psychopathic traits to low school achievement, poor reading comprehension, elevated school aggression, and social and interpersonal functioning impairments (DeLisi et al, 2014; Gumpel, 2014; Marshall & Cooke, 1999; Vaughn et al, 2011; Willoughby et al, 2022). Marshall and Cooke (1999) were among the first to examine individuals with elevated psychopathic traits within the school environment by retrospectively asking those individuals with elevated psychopathic traits about their childhood experiences.…”