(PS6-3) Are Callous-unemotional Traits Adaptive in Adverse Contexts?

Youth who display externalizing behaviors are at risk for myriad psychosocial and developmental difficulties over time, particularly if they also exhibit callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., low empathy, guilt, and remorse; Frick & White, 2008). However, among youth who experience traumatic events (e.g., maltreatment, witnessing or experiencing violence) or contextual risk (e.g., neighborhood unsafety), CU traits could actually be adaptive, such that emotional detachment may permit focus on self-preservation in challenging circumstances. Thus, in these instances, CU traits may be associated with lower levels of externalizing behaviors. To test this possibility, we examined whether CU traits, in the context of traumatic events or unsafe neighborhoods, were associated with risk or resilience for youth externalizing problems among a large, community-based sample of adolescents.

Caregivers provided data for CU traits (4 items, from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and CBCL); neighborhood unsafety (3 items, Neighborhood Safety/Crime Survey); traumatic events (17 items, K-SADS); and externalizing behaviors (CBCL) for 11,868 participants (48% female, M_age = 9.48, SD = 0.51) in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. Multiple regression analyses indicated that neighborhood unsafety and traumatic events were associated with externalizing behaviors (βs = 0.113 and 0.190, respectively; ps < .001). CU traits × contextual variables were significant for both neighborhood unsafety (β = 0.017, p = .047) and traumatic events (β = 0.053, p < .001) on externalizing behaviors. Post hoc probing revealed that slopes were significant for individuals with lower CU traits (neighborhood unsafety: B = 1.02; traumatic events: B = 1.423; both ps < .001) and higher CU traits (neighborhood unsafety: B = 1.356; traumatic events: B = 2.497; both ps < .001). In the context of both higher and lower levels of neighborhood unsafety and traumatic events, higher CU traits were associated with higher levels of externalizing behaviors. Of note, higher rates of contextual variables and higher CU traits were associated with the highest levels of externalizing behaviors.  These findings extend to previous work indicating a strong association between high levels of CU traits and high levels of externalizing behaviors to youth who experience traumatic events or neighborhood unsafety. Further, these findings support the notion that CU traits confer greater risk for externalizing behaviors, even among youth who experience more adverse social contexts. Thus, preventive interventions and treatments should not only address contextual stressors, but also assess for and target CU traits as a mechanism to reduce risk related to initial or continued engagement in externalizing behaviors.