This study examined the structure, distribution, and correlates of a new measure of self-reported callous-unemotional (CU) traits in 1,443 adolescents (774 boys, 669 girls) between the ages of 13 to 18 years. The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits was subjected to exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis produced three factors: callousness, uncaring, and unemotional. Fit indexes suggested that the three-factor model, with a single higher-order factor, represented a satisfactory solution for the data. This factor structure fits well for both boys and girls. CU traits correlated significantly with measures of conduct problems and psychosocial impairment. Furthermore, the traits showed predicted associations with sensation seeking and the Big Five personality dimensions, supporting the construct validity of the measure of CU traits.
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Youth Self-Report and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont.
2.
Akaike, H. (1987). Factor analysis and AIC. Psychometrika, 52, 317-332.
3.
Anderson, J. C., Williams, S., McGee, R., & Silva, P. A. (1987). DSM-III disorders in preadolescent children: Prevalence in a large sample from the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 69-76.
4.
Arbuckle, J. L. (2003). Amos Version 5.0. Chicago: Small Waters.
5.
Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V., Rabasca, A., & Pastorelli, C. (2003). A questionnaire for measuring the Big Five in late childhood. Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 645-664.
6.
Barry, C. T., Frick, P. J., DeShazo, T. M., McCoy, M. G., Ellis, M., & Loney, B. R. (2000). The importance of callous-unemotional traits for extending the concept of psychopathy to children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 335-340.
7.
Blair, R. J. R. (1999). Responsiveness to distress cues in the child with psychopathic tendencies. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 135-145.
8.
Brislin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1, 185-216.
9.
Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136-162). New York: Russell Sage.
10.
Campbell, M. A., Porter, S., & Santor D. (2004). Psychopathic traits in adolescent offenders: An evaluation of criminal history, clinical, and psychosocial correlates. Behavioral Science and the Law, 22, 23-47.
11.
Caputo, A. A., Frick, P. J., & Brodsky, S. L. (1999). Family violence and juvenile sex offending: Potential mediating roles of psychopathic traits and negative attitudes toward women. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 26, 338-356.
12.
Christian, R., Frick, P. J., Hill, N., Tyler, L. A., & Frazer, D. (1997). Psychopathy and conduct problems in children: II. Subtyping children with conduct problems based on their interpersonal and affective style. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 233-241.
13.
Cleckley, H. (1976). The mask of sanity (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
14.
Dadds, M., Fraser, J., Frost, A., & Hawes, D. (2005). Disentangling the underlying dimensions of psychopathy and conduct problems in childhood: A community study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 400-410.
15.
Edens, J., Skeem, J., Cruise, K., & Cauffman, E. (2001). The assessment of juvenile psychopathy and its association with violence: A critical review. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 19, 53-80.
16.
Essau, C. A. (2000). Angst und Depression bei Jugendlichen (Anxiety and depression in adolescents). Habilitationschrift (thesis for a postdoctoral degree), University of Bremen.
17.
Essau, C. A., Muris, P., & Ederer, E. M. (2002). Reliability and validity of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders in German children. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 33, 1-18.
18.
Fisher, L., & Blair, R. J. R. (1998). Cognitive impairment and its relationship to psychopathic tendencies in children with emotional and behavioral difficulties. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 26, 511-519.
19.
Forth, A. E., Kosson, D. S., & Hare, R. D. (2003). The Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Multi-Health Systems.
20.
Frick, P. J. (2003). The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits. Unpublished rating scale, University of New Orleans.
21.
Frick, P. J., Bodin, S. D., & Barry, C. T. (2000). Psychopathic traits and conduct problems in community and clinic-referred samples of children: Further development of the Psychopathy Screening Device. Psychological Assessment, 12, 382-393.
22.
Frick, P. J., Cornell, A. H., Barry, C. T., Bodin, S. D., & Dane, H. A. (2003). Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems in the prediction of conduct problem severity, aggression, and self-report of delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 457-470.
23.
Frick, P. J., Cornell, A. H., Bodin, S. D., Dane, H. A., Barry, C. T., & Loney, B. R. (2003). Callous-unemotional traits and developmental pathways to severe conduct problems. Developmental Psychology, 39, 246-260.
24.
Frick, P. J., & Hare, R. D. (2001). The antisocial process screening device. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Multi-Health Systems.
25.
Frick, P. J.Kimonis, E. R., Dandreaux, D. M., & Farrell, J. M. (2003). The four-year stability of psychopathic traits in non-referred youth. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 21, 713-736.
26.
Frick, P. J., Lilienfeld, S. O., Ellis, M. L., Loney, B. R., & Silverthorn, P. (1999). The association between anxiety and psychopathy dimensions in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27, 381-390.
27.
Frick, P. J., & Marsee, M. A. (2006). Psychopathy and developmental pathways to antisocial behavior in youth. In C. J. Patrick (Ed.), Handbook of psychopathy (pp. 353-374). New York: Guilford.
28.
Frick, P. J., & Morris, A. S. (2004). Temperament and developmental pathways to conduct problems. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 54-68.
29.
Frick, P. J., O’Brien, B. S., Wootton, J. M., & McBurnett, K. (1994). Psychopathy and conduct problems in children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 700-707.
30.
Frick, P. J., Stickle, T. R., Dandreaux, D. M., Farrell, J. M., & Kimonis, E. R. (2005). Callous-unemotional traits in predicting the severity and stability of conduct problems and delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 471-487.
31.
Gendreau, P., Goggin, C., & Smith, P. (2002). Is the PCL-R really the “unparalleled” measure of offender risk? A lesson in knowledge accumulation. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 29, 397-426.
32.
Hare, R. D. (1970). Psychopathy: Theory and research. New York: John Wiley.
33.
Hare, R. D. (1985). A comparison of procedures for the assessment of psychopathy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 716-716.
34.
Hare, R. D. (1991). Manual for the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Multi-Health Systems.
35.
Hare, R. D. (1998). Psychopathy, affect, and behavior. In D. J. Cooke, A. E. Forth, & R. D. Hare (Eds.), Psychopathy: Theory, research, and implications for society (pp. 105-138). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer.
36.
Harpur, T. J., Hare, R. D., & Hakstian, A. R. (1989). Two-factor conceptualization of psychopathy: Construct validity and assessment implications. Psychological assessment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1, 6-17.
37.
Hemphill, J. F., Hare, R. D., & Wong, S. (1998). Psychopathy and recidivism: A review. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 3, 139-170.
38.
Hoyle, R. H., Stephenson, M. T., Palmgreen, P., Lorch, E. P., & Donohew, R. L. (2002). Reliability and validity of a brief measure of sensation seeking. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 401-414.
39.
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1989). LISREL 7: A guide to the program and applications (2nd ed.). Chicago: SPSS.
40.
Kagan, J., Reznick, J. S., & Snidman, N. (1987). The physiology and psychology of behavioural inhibition. Child Development, 58, 1459-1473.
41.
Kamphaus, R. W., & Frick, P. J. (1996). Clinical assessment of child and adolescent personality and behavior. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
42.
Kimonis, E. R., Frick, P. J., Fazekas, H., & Loney, B. R. (in press). Psychopathy, aggression, and the processing of emotional stimuli in non-referred children. Behavioral Science and the Law.
43.
Kochanska, G. (1993). Toward a synthesis of parental socialization and child temperament in early development of conscience. Child Development, 64, 325-347.
44.
Kochanska, G., Gross, J. N., Lin, M. H., & Nichols, K. E. (2002). Guilt in young children: Development, determinants, and relations with a broader system of standards. Child Development, 73, 461-482.
45.
Kruh, I. P., Frick, P. J., & Clements, C. B. (2005). Historical and personality correlates to the violence patterns of juveniles tried as adults. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 32, 69-96.
46.
Lee, Z., Vincent, G. M., Hart, S. D., & Corrado, R. R. (2003). The validity of the Antisocial Process Screening Device as a self-report measure of psychopathy in adolescent offenders. Juvenile psychopathy. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 21, 26-38.
47.
Loeber, R. (1982). The stability of antisocial and delinquent child behavior: A review. Child Development, 53, 1431-1446.
48.
Loney, B. R., Frick, P. J., Clements, C. B., Ellis, M. L., & Kerlin, K. (2003). Callous-unemotional traits, impulsivity, and emotional processing in antisocial adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 66-80.
49.
Lynam, D. R. (1996). The early identification of chronic offenders: Who is the fledgling psychopath?Psychological Bulletin, 120, 209-234.
50.
Lynam, D. R. (1997). Pursuing the psychopath: Capturing the fledgling psychopath in a normological net. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 425-438.
51.
Lynam, D. R. (1998). Early identification of the fledgling psychopath: Locating the psychopathic child in the current nomenclature. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 566-575.
52.
Marsee, M. A., Silverthorn, P., & Frick, P. J. (in press). The association of psychopathic traits with aggression and delinquency in non-referred boys and girls. Behavioral Science and the Law.
53.
Miller, J. D., & Lynam, D. R. (2001). Structural models of personality and their relations to antisocial behavior: A meta-analytic review. Criminality, 39, 765-797.
54.
Miller, J. D., Lynam, D. R., Widiger, T. A., & Leukefeld, C. (2001). Personality disorders as extreme variants of common personality dimensions: Can the five-factor model adequately represent psychopathy?Journal of Personality, 69, 253-276.
55.
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674-701.
56.
Muris, P., Meesters, C., & Diederen, R. (2005). Psychometric properties of the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C) in a Dutch sample of young adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 1757-1769.
57.
Pardini, D. A., Lochman, J. E., & Frick, P. J. (2003). Callous/unemotional traits and social-cognitive processes in adjudicated youths. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 364-371.
58.
Price, C. S., Spence, S. H., Sheffield, J., & Donovan, C. (2002). The development and psychometric properties of a measure of social and adaptive functioning for children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 31, 111-122.
59.
Rogeness, G. A., Javors, M. A., & Pliszka, S. R. (1992). Neurochemistry and child and adolescent psychiatry. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 765-781.
60.
Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., & Hershey, K. (1994). Temperament and social behavior in childhood. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 40, 21-39.
61.
Rothbart, M. K., & Bates, J. E. (1998). Temperament. In W. Damon (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3, Social, emotional, and personality development (pp. 105-176). New York: John Wiley.
62.
Salekin, R. T., Leistico, A. R., Neumann, C. S., DiCicco, T. M., & Duros, R. L. (2004). Psychopathy and comorbidity in a young offender sample: Taking a closer look at psychopathy’s potential importance over disruptive behavior disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 416-427.
63.
Schwab-Stone, M., Chen, C., Greenberger, E., Silver, Lichtman, J., & Voyce, C. (1999). No safe haven, II: The effects of violence exposure on urban youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 359-367.
64.
Seagrave, D., & Grisso, T. (2002). Adolescent development and the measurement of juvenile of psychopathy. Law and Human Behavior, 26, 219-239.
65.
Silverthorn, P., Frick, P. J., & Reynolds, R. (2001). Timing of onset and correlates of severe conduct problems in adjudicated girls and boys. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 23, 171-181.
66.
Spain, S. E., Douglas, K. S., Poythress, N. G., & Epstein, M. (2004). The relationship between psychopathic features, violence and treatment outcome: The comparison of three youth measures of psychopathic features. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 22, 85-102.
67.
Stephenson, M. T., Hoyle, R. H., Palmgreen, P., & Slater, M. D. (2003). Brief measures of sensation seeking for screening and large-scale surveys. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 72, 279-286.
68.
Stephenson, M. T., Palmgreen, P., Hoyle, R. H., Donohew, L., Lorch, E. P., & Colon, S. E. (1999). Short-term effects of an anti-marijuana media campaign targeting high sensation seeking adolescents. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 27, 175-195.
69.
Sutker, P. B. (1994). Psychopathy: Traditional and clinical antisocial concepts. In D. C. Fowles, P. Sutker, & S. H. Goodman (Eds.), Progress in experimental personality and psychopathology research (pp. 73-120). New York: Springer.
70.
Sutton, S. K., Vitale, J. E., & Newman, J. P. (2002). Emotion among women with psychopathy during picture perception. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 610-619.
71.
Tanaka, J. S. (1993). Multifaceted conceptions of fit in structural equation models. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 10-39). New York: Russell Sage.
72.
Vermeiren, R., Jones, S. M., Ruchkin, V., Deboutte, D., & Schwab-Stone, M. (2004). Juvenile arrest: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 567-576.
73.
Vermeiren, R., Schwab-Stone, M., Ruchkin, V. V., King, R. A., Van Heeringen, C., & Deboutte, D. (2003). Suicidal behavior and violence in male adolescents: A school-based study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 41-48.
74.
Vincent, G. M., Vitacco, M. J., Grisso, T., & Corrado, R. R. (2003). Subtypes of adolescent offenders: Affective traits and antisocial behavior patterns. Behavioral Science and the Law, 21, 695-712.
75.
Vitale, J. E., & Newman, J. P. (2001). Using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised with female samples: Reliability, validity, and implications for clinical utility. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 8, 117-132.
76.
Walker, J. L., Lahey, B. B., Russo, M. F., Christ, M. A., McBurnett, K., Loeber, R., et al. (1991). Anxiety, inhibition, and conduct disorder in children: I. Relations to social impairment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 187-191.
