Primary and Secondary Variants of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Community Youths: Differences in Anticipatory Fear
Callous-unemotional (CU) traits refer to a cluster of characteristics such as low empathy, lack of remorse, and insensitivity to the emotions of others, delineating a group of youth at high risk for severe antisocial behavior. Two variants—primary and secondary CU—have been theorized to have differe...
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/3/359 |
| _version_ | 1827306710296952832 |
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| author | Yu Gao Adrian Raine |
| author_facet | Yu Gao Adrian Raine |
| author_sort | Yu Gao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Callous-unemotional (CU) traits refer to a cluster of characteristics such as low empathy, lack of remorse, and insensitivity to the emotions of others, delineating a group of youth at high risk for severe antisocial behavior. Two variants—primary and secondary CU—have been theorized to have different underlying mechanisms, although mixed findings have been reported. The current study examined if the variants differ in their level of anticipatory fear in 92 youths from the community (mean age = 14.2 years, range = 12.3–16.4 years; 43.5% female). Participants completed a countdown task while their heart rate and skin conductance responses were recorded. Parents and youths completed the inventory of callous-unemotional traits and the child behavior checklist. Compared to the control group (low CU/low anxiety), the primary CU group (high CU/low anxiety) showed prolonged heart rate deceleration in anticipation of the impending aversive stimulus. The secondary CU group (high CU/high anxiety) did not differ from the other two groups on heart rate or skin conductance responses. This prolonged heart rate deceleration in the primary CU group is interpreted in the context of the passive vagal coping theory of antisocial behavior which hypothesizes that an over-engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system reduces the impact of a socializing punishment, which in turn predisposes individuals to antisocial behavior. Findings provide further support for the distinct etiology of two variants of CU traits. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:26:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-be50d031a11a48a48cbcd8591b7921ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:26:01Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-be50d031a11a48a48cbcd8591b7921ec2024-03-27T13:31:14ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672024-03-0111335910.3390/children11030359Primary and Secondary Variants of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Community Youths: Differences in Anticipatory FearYu Gao0Adrian Raine1Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11210, USADepartments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USACallous-unemotional (CU) traits refer to a cluster of characteristics such as low empathy, lack of remorse, and insensitivity to the emotions of others, delineating a group of youth at high risk for severe antisocial behavior. Two variants—primary and secondary CU—have been theorized to have different underlying mechanisms, although mixed findings have been reported. The current study examined if the variants differ in their level of anticipatory fear in 92 youths from the community (mean age = 14.2 years, range = 12.3–16.4 years; 43.5% female). Participants completed a countdown task while their heart rate and skin conductance responses were recorded. Parents and youths completed the inventory of callous-unemotional traits and the child behavior checklist. Compared to the control group (low CU/low anxiety), the primary CU group (high CU/low anxiety) showed prolonged heart rate deceleration in anticipation of the impending aversive stimulus. The secondary CU group (high CU/high anxiety) did not differ from the other two groups on heart rate or skin conductance responses. This prolonged heart rate deceleration in the primary CU group is interpreted in the context of the passive vagal coping theory of antisocial behavior which hypothesizes that an over-engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system reduces the impact of a socializing punishment, which in turn predisposes individuals to antisocial behavior. Findings provide further support for the distinct etiology of two variants of CU traits.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/3/359psychopathydevelopmentfearprimarysecondarypsychophysiological |
| spellingShingle | Yu Gao Adrian Raine Primary and Secondary Variants of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Community Youths: Differences in Anticipatory Fear Children psychopathy development fear primary secondary psychophysiological |
| title | Primary and Secondary Variants of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Community Youths: Differences in Anticipatory Fear |
| title_full | Primary and Secondary Variants of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Community Youths: Differences in Anticipatory Fear |
| title_fullStr | Primary and Secondary Variants of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Community Youths: Differences in Anticipatory Fear |
| title_full_unstemmed | Primary and Secondary Variants of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Community Youths: Differences in Anticipatory Fear |
| title_short | Primary and Secondary Variants of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Community Youths: Differences in Anticipatory Fear |
| title_sort | primary and secondary variants of callous unemotional traits in community youths differences in anticipatory fear |
| topic | psychopathy development fear primary secondary psychophysiological |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/3/359 |
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