Investigating the Construct of Trauma‐Related Acquired Callousness Among Delinquent Youth: Differences in Emotion Processing

Abstract

This study tested theories regarding differences in emotion processing among youth characterized by primary versus acquired callous-unemotional (CU) traits in a sample of 417 detained adolescents (306 boys, 111 girls). Mixture modeling identified 2 groups of youth high in CU, but with different levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms consistent with theoretical conceptualizations of acquired CU as being linked to trauma. Differences between the 2 groups of youth were investigated regarding 3 dimensions of emotion processing: emotion regulation, numbing, and recognition. Compared to youth classified in the primary group, youth classified as acquired CU demonstrated greater difficulty with lack of clarity (OR = 0.53), and nonacceptance of emotions, (OR = 0.57), general numbing of emotions (OR = 0.87), and recognition of disgust (OR = 0.18). Differences in emotion processing reported by youth in the 2 groups are consistent with theories regarding acquired callousness as related to emotional detachment in the aftermath of posttraumatic distress. The results of the current study have implications for the classification of primary and acquired CU, as well as the clinical treatment of youth with these characteristics.

Characterising youth with callous–unemotional traits and concurrent anxiety: evidence for a high-risk clinical group

“…This means that although these individuals may experience heightened affect in response to another person’s distress, their ability to display socially appropriate responses may be compromised, leading them to appear callous and uncaring. The finding that CU + Anx reported the highest levels of dissociative symptoms compared to any other group may lend additional support for this hypothesis, as do prior reports of lack of emotional ‘clarity’ within this group [28]. In contrast, adults with primary psychopathy and youth with CU− Anx have been shown to be typically characterised by low emotional arousal to other people’s distress [17].…”

“…Third, CU + Anx may represent a ‘phenocopy’ of CU − Anx , but the origins of CU and the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms for the two variants may differ. A number of studies have provided support for differences in behavioural performance across variants on measures of emotional processing and behavioural activation [6, 16, 17, 28]. Future neurocognitive studies would benefit from direct comparisons of CU + Anx with anxious individuals, as well as use of tasks that investigate processes that should be compromised in CU, but not in anxiety.…”

“…they can be thought of as ‘behavioural phenocopies’), but the CU + Anx variant is associated with more severe pre- [7, 13] and post-natal [14, 15] adversity, with the most consistent evidence relating to childhood maltreatment [16–20]. Furthermore, variants have been shown to differ markedly in presentation across a range of domains, including comorbid psychiatric symptomatology [7, 14, 15, 21, 22], impulsivity [19], self-control [23], empathy [24], personality traits [25], expression of aggression [26], negative affect [20], emotional lability [27], emotional processing [6, 17, 28, 29], behavioural risk [15, 18] and biological function [13, 26, 30]. …”

“…So far, studies have primarily identified variants of CU youth using state-of-the-art clustering approaches, which are hypothesis-free and person-centred [6, 7, 14–18, 26–28, 30–32]. Together, these reports have been invaluable in demonstrating that individuals naturally cluster into groups based on their on levels of CU and anxiety—providing strong, data-driven evidence validating the existence of two variants of CU youth.…”

Numbing of Positive, Negative, and General Emotions: Associations With Trauma Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress, and Depressive Symptoms Among Justice‐Involved Youth

“…This distinction has been confirmed in samples of adults (e.g., Ayer et al., ; King, Leskin, King, & Weathers, ) as well as children and adolescents (e.g., Kassam‐Adams, Marsac, & Cirilli, ; Saul, Grant, & Carter, ; Wang, Long, Li, & Armour, ). In addition, emotional numbing has come to play a key role in theoretical models attempting to explain the association between exposure to childhood trauma and maladaptive outcomes in adolescence, particularly delinquent behavior and justice system involvement (Allwood, Bell, & Horan, ; Becker & Kerig, , ; Bennett, Kerig, Chaplo, McGee, & Baucom, ; Gaylord‐Harden, Dickson, & Pierre, 2015; Kerig & Becker, ; Kerig & Bennett, ; Kerig, Bennett, Thompson, & Becker, ). Numbing of emotions in the aftermath of trauma may serve to dampen youths’ awareness of distressing emotions (Kalisch et al., ; Orsillo, Theodore‐Oklota, Luterek, & Plumb, ), but also might increase the likelihood that youth will externalize that distress and act out against others (Ford, Chapman, Connor, & Cruise, ; Lansford et al., ).…”