Search

Using a systematic search strategy in which intellectual giftedness was operationalized in terms of IQ score, the authors examined evidence from studies reporting on associations between this aspect of giftedness and psychopathology. A total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria: compared gifted (IQ = 125) and nongifted (IQ = 90-110) peers or used IQ as a continuous variable (IQ = 90-125+) and used empirically validated psychopathology measures. Overall, results indicated that gifted children demonstrate superior socio-emotional adjustment and fewer behavioral difficulties than their typically developing peers. Issues that may bias the findings in this direction are highlighted, including the tendency to select participants from gifted programs. Some socio-emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with giftedness were found when dimensions such as levels of giftedness and ethnicity were considered. Recommendations for future research include the use of adequate sample size, longitudinal studies, individually administered cognitive abilities tests, and specific age-appropriate psychopathology measures; and testing interaction effects between variables, such as age, ethnicity, and gender.

The economic analysis of Goulter et al. (2023) identifies the long‐term financial costs arising from conduct problems in the kindergarten period, including those associated with later criminal activity, lost offender productivity, victim costs and government and medical services. These costs are substantial and provide policymakers with a compelling argument for investing in early intervention and prevention of conduct problems. The ultimate goal of reducing the long‐term costs of early conduct problems is likely to be achieved only through the coordinated efforts of many stakeholders and diverse courses of action. Outlined here are 10 recommendations for investment that in my view would support progress towards this outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tested if children and adolescents with high levels of borderline personality features (BPF) exhibit the same shame-prone self-concept previously found to characterize adults with borderline personality disorder (Rusch et al., 2007). Self-concept was indexed using the Implicit Association Test, in a community sample of children/adolescents aged 10 to 14 years (48% female; "M" age = 12.04 years). Common domains of child and adolescent psychopathology and core components of BPF were assessed using self-reports on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Borderline Personality Features Scale for Children. The identity problems component of BPF was found to significantly predict implicit levels of shame-prone self-concept, but only among girls. This effect was independent of the key dimensions of child and adolescent psychopathology that overlap with BPF--including features hyperactivity/inattention, disruptive behavior problems, and anxiety/depression--none of which were associated with shame-prone self-concept at the bivariate level or otherwise. The current findings provide preliminary evidence that self-schemas related to shame are uniquely associated with a core component of BPF in middle childhood and early adolescence and suggest that this correlate may apply uniquely to female individuals. These findings point to the identity problems component of BPF as a priority for future clinical and developmental research into mechanisms associated with BPF across childhood and adolescence. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

The aim of this study was to examine associations between ostracism, internalising problems, and threat to primary needs (belonging, control, self-esteem, meaningful existence) in children (N= 165, M age = 9 years). Ostracism was simulated experimentally using the Cyberball paradigm--a computer-based ball-throwing game--and threats to primary needs were indexed using a modified version of the primary needs questionnaire (PNQ-C; Hawes et al., 2012). Overall, children with greater internalising problems reported greater need-threat following Cyberball. Importantly however, in the domain of "belonging", the relationship between internalising problems and need-threat was moderated by inclusionary status. Specifically, children with high levels of internalising problems exhibited greater need-threat than children low in internalising problems when included by peers; yet following ostracism, children with high internalising problems were no longer distinguishable from those with low internalising problems in terms of threat to belonging.

Ostracism, the act of being excluded or ignored by another individual or group (Williams, 1997; Williams et al., 2002), is a powerful, pervasive, and complex phenomenon that transcends time and affects individuals throughout their lifespan, with some of the most damaging exclusionary experiences occurring during childhood (Williams, Forgas, & von Hippel, 2005). The current paper: a) discusses some of the problems associated with empirically investigating ostracism with a child sample using the widely used and well-validated ostracism paradigm, Cyberball (Williams, Cheung, & Choi, 2000); b) outlines methodological guidelines designed to improve the effectiveness of using Cyberball to investigate the effects of ostracism in children; and c) discusses a post-Cyberball assessment of primary need-threat that is appropriate for use with a child sample (Primary Needs Questionnaire-Child--PNQ-C; Hawes et al., 2012).

Children with conduct problems and high callous-unemotional (CP+CU) traits are characterized by dampened emotional responding, limiting their ability for affective empathy and impacting the development of prosocial behaviors. However, research documenting this dampening in young children is sparse and findings vary, with attachment-related stimuli hypothesized to ameliorate deficits in emotional responding. Here we test emotional responsiveness across various emotion-eliciting stimuli using multiple measures of emotional responsiveness (behavioral, physiological, self-reported) and attention, in young children aged 2–8 years (M age = 5.37), with CP+CU traits (CP+CU; n = 36), CPs and low CU traits (CP−CU; n = 82) and a community control sample (CC; n = 27). We found no evidence that attachment-related stimulus ameliorated deficits in emotional responding. Rather, at a group level we found a consistent pattern of reduced responding across all independent measures of responsiveness for children with CP+CU compared to the CC group. Few differences were found between CP+CU and CP−CU groups. When independent measures were standardized and included in a regression model predicting to CU trait score, higher CU traits were associated with reduced emotional responding, demonstrating the importance of multimodal measurement of emotional responsiveness when investigating the impact of CU traits in young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary theories of early development and emerging child psychopathology all posit a major, if not central role for physiological responsiveness. To understand infants' potential risk for emergent psychopathology, consideration is needed to both autonomic reactivity and environmental contexts (e.g., parent–child interactions). The current study maps infants' arousal during the face-to-face still-face paradigm using skin conductance (n = 255 ethnically-diverse mother–infant dyads; 52.5% girls, mean infant age = 7.4 months; SD = 0.9 months). A novel statistical approach was designed to model the potential build-up of nonlinear counter electromotive force over the course of the task. Results showed a significant increase in infants' skin conductance between the Baseline Free-play and the Still-Face phase, and a significant decrease in skin conductance during the Reunion Play when compared to the Still-Face phase. Skin conductance during the Reunion Play phase remained significantly higher than during the Baseline Play phase; indicating that infants had not fully recovered from the mild social stressor. These results further our understanding of infant arousal during dyadic interactions, and the role of caregivers in the development of emotion regulation during infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antisocial children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits appear to be disconnected from other people's emotions; although little is known about their experience of the parent-child emotional bond. This study examined parent-child attachment relationships and levels of CU traits in conduct-problem children. Method: Attachment classifications in boys (M = 6.31 years) with disruptive behaviour disorders were assessed using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task. Multiple informants rated children's CU traits. Results: Independent of severity of conduct problems, high levels of CU traits were associated with more insecure attachment; specifically, disorganised attachment representations; however, CU traits were not associated with avoidant representations. Conclusions: Among conduct-problem children, those higher on CU traits appear to be at increased risk of experiencing disruptions in parent-child attachment relationships; attachment may be an important area for treatment and prevention efforts for CU traits in young children.

This study examined relationships between parent-child emotional communication and callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct problems. References to negative and positive emotions made by clinic-referred boys (3-9 years) and their parents were coded from direct observations of family interactions involving the discussion of shared emotional experiences. Although frequencies of parents' emotion expression did not generally relate to levels of CU traits, boys higher on CU traits were observed to be more expressive of negative emotions in conversation with their caregivers--specifically for sadness and fear. Independent coders did not judge these children to be less genuine in their emotion expression compared to their low-CU counterparts. We also examined whether CU traits moderated the relationship between parents' focus on emotions and conduct problem severity. Higher levels of maternal focus on negative emotions were found to be associated with lower conduct problems in high-CU boys but related to higher conduct problems in low-CU boys. Frequencies of fathers' emotional communication were unrelated to either child CU traits or conduct problems. We discuss the implications of these findings for the conceptualization of CU traits in preadolescent children, and interventions for conduct problems in children elevated on these traits. (Contains 6 tables and 2 figures.)

Background: Research suggests that parenting has little influence on the development of antisocial behavior in children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits. We aimed to extend and improve on prior studies examining the moderating role of CU traits on associations between parenting and conduct problems, by using independent observations of two key dimensions of parenting: coercion and warmth. Methods: The participants included clinic-referred conduct-disordered boys (4-12 years; N = 95) and their families. Coercive parenting was coded from observations of family interaction and parental warmth was coded from Five-Minute Speech Samples. CU traits and conduct problems were rated by multiple informants. Results: In both mothers and fathers, CU traits moderated links between observed parenting and conduct problems. Specifically, coercive parenting was more strongly positively associated with conduct problems in boys with lower levels of CU traits, whereas parental warmth was more strongly negatively associated with conduct problems in boys with higher levels of CU traits. Conclusions: These findings suggest that different dimensions of parenting may need to be targeted in the treatment of early onset conduct problems in children high and low on CU traits.

This study examined the relationship between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and parenting practices over time in a mixed-sex community cohort (N = 1,008; 52.6% boys), aged 3 to 10 years (M = 6.5, SD = 1.3). Measures of CU traits, externalizing psychopathology, parenting practices, and socioeconomic risk factors were collected at baseline, and parenting practices and CU traits were reassessed at 12-month follow-up. CU traits uniquely accounted for change in three domains of parenting (inconsistent discipline, punishment, and parental involvement). Likewise, multiple domains of parenting (positive parenting, parental involvement, and poor monitoring/supervision) uniquely predicted change in CU traits. These seemingly bidirectional dynamics between CU traits and parenting were found to be largely moderated by child age and sex. Results partially replicate previous findings regarding the association between quality of parenting and prospective change in CU traits, and provide initial evidence that CU traits disrupt parenting practices over time. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 1 footnote.)

Background: Psychopathy is characterised by profound deficits in the human tendency to feel and care about what other people feel, often known as "affective empathy". On the other hand, the psychopath often has intact "cognitive" empathy skills, that is, he is able to describe what and why other people feel, even if he does not share or care about those feelings. Despite a rapidly advancing neuroscience of empathy, little is known about the developmental underpinnings of this psychopathic disconnect between affective and cognitive empathy. Methods: The parents of N = 2760, 3-13-year-olds reported on the levels of empathy, callous-unemotional traits (CU), and antisocial behaviour (AB). Consistent with current theory and measurement practice, an index of "psychopathic traits" was derived from the CU and AB measures. Results: There are important gender and developmental differences in empathy deficits related to psychopathic traits. As expected, psychopathy is associated with severe deficits in affective empathy across all ages for males; however, no such deficits were found for females. Contrary to adult findings, psychopathic traits are associated with deficits in cognitive empathy in childhood for both sexes; however, males with high psychopathic traits appear to overcome these deficits in cognitive empathy as they move through the pubertal years. Conclusions: In contrast to cognitive empathy, low affective empathy does not appear to be associated with psychopathic traits in females. The characteristic disconnect between cognitive and affective empathy seen in adult male psychopathy crystallises in the pubertal years when they appear to learn to "talk the talk" about other people's emotions, despite suffering severe deficits in their emotional connection (affective empathy) to others.

The construct of "empathy" embodies a number of characteristics necessary for psychological health in children. Surprisingly, most research has been based solely on children and adolescent report and observational measures despite evidence that multi-informant assessment is fundamental to the accurate measurement of such constructs. We present research documenting the development and validation of a brief parent-report measure of child empathy targeted at the formative years for the development of empathic skills, through to adolescence. The Griffith Empathy Measure, adapted from the Bryant Index of Empathy, showed convergence with child ratings, and good reliability and validity across gender and age. Consistent with theoretical accounts of empathy, it was found to include affective and cognitive components that showed divergent associations with other aspects of child functioning.

This study examined stability and malleability in the callous-unemotional (CU) traits of young boys (M age = 6.29 years, SD = 1.55) referred to clinics with conduct problems who underwent a parent-training intervention. In contrast to the high stability predicted, CU scores dropped posttreatment for a subset of the sample. However, as hypothesized, posttreatment and 6-month follow-up measures of CU traits and general conduct problems were predicted by different variables. Post hoc analyses of cases grouped according to pattern of CU stability indicated that boys with the most stable high CU traits showed the poorest outcomes at follow-up.

The specific parenting domains measured by the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) make it particularly relevant to interventions concerned with the modification of parenting practices. This study assessed the validity and clinical utility of parent reports on the APQ using observational data of parents and children (N=56, aged 4-8 years) participating in a parent training intervention for childhood conduct problems. Parent reports on the measure were found to converge well with observations of parents' use of praise, and harsh/aversive parenting. APQ scores also reflected change in parenting practices across treatment, and were associated with clinical child outcomes. Comparisons of the five original APQ subscales with a three-factor empirically-derived form of the measure indicated greater support for the original subscales, which were found to be valid and clinically informative in the treatment of childhood conduct problems.

Previous research has produced mixed findings on the role of child and family factors in the genesis of childhood cruelty. The authors examined the relationships of cruelty to animals to a range of child and family factors. First, the authors test the idea that cruelty is a callous aggression that will be more strongly associated with psychopathic (callous or unemotional, CU) traits than general externalizing problems. Second, the authors operationalize family problems as open conflict rather than parenting problems as used earlier. Results indicated that for both genders, CU traits were associated strongly with cruelty. For boys, externalizing problems also added prediction in regression analyses. Family conflict was not associated with cruelty for either. These results suggest that cruelty to animals may be an early manifestation of the subgroup of children developing conduct problems associated with traits of low empathy and callous disregard rather than the more common pathway of externalizing problems and parenting problems. (Contains 1 note, 3 tables and 1 figure.)