Callous-Unemotional Traits in Children and Adolescents
Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese Version of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits
Abstract
Abstract. The Inventory of Callous and Unemotional Traits (ICU) was developed to measure callous-unemotional (CU) psychopathic traits in children and adolescents. Studies that have examined the factor structure of ICU showed considerable controversy. The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and psychometric proprieties of the Portuguese translation of the ICU. A total of 1,011 children and adolescents (495 boys and 516 girls), mean age of 13.36 years, participated in this study. Exploratory factor analysis produced two factors: uncaring and callousness; Cronbach’s α for each of the factor was .83 and .79 for the total score. Significant main gender and interaction between gender and age effects were found; girls reported lower CU traits than boys; children reported higher CU traits compared to preadolescents and adolescents, particularly in boys. CU also correlated with emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and psychosocial impairment. Furthermore, CU traits related to conduct problems both in boys and in girls, although this relationship was higher for boys. To conclude, findings of the present study showed that the Portuguese version of the ICU seems to be a reliable and valid instrument to assess CU traits among children and adolescents in Portugal. However, the original 3-factor model was not supported.
References
2010). Avaliação de intervenções de educação parental: Relatório
([Assessment of parental education interventions: Report] . Retrieved from http://www.cnpcjr.pt/preview_documentos.asp?r=3493&m=PDF2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
. (2005). EQS 6.1: Structural equations program manual. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software.
(2006). The MACS approach to testing for multigroup invariance of a second-order structure: A walk through the process. Structural Equation Modeling, 13, 287–321. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1302_7
(2002). Evaluating goodness of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5
(2014). The association between callous-unemotional traits and behavioral and academic adjustment in children: Further validation of the inventory of callous-unemotional traits. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 36, 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-013-9384-z
(2016). Psychopathic personality in the general population: Differences and similarities across gender. Journal of Personality Disorders, 4, 1–26.
(2001). The assessment of juvenile psychopathy and its association with violence: A critical review. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 19, 53–80.
(2006). Callous-unemotional traits in a community sample of adolescents. Assessment, 13, 454–469. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191106287354
(2015). Variants of girls and boys with conduct disorder: Anxiety symptoms and callous-unemotional traits. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 773–785. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9946-x
(2017). Stability and change in callous-unemotional traits: Longitudinal associations with potential individual and contextual risk and protective factors. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 87, 62–75.
(2009). Linking callous-unemotional traits to instrumental and non-instrumental forms of aggression. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31, 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-008-9111-3
(2012). Assessing callous-unemotional traits across different groups of youths: Further cross-cultural validation of the inventory of callous-unemotional traits. International Journal of Law Psychiatry, 35, 251–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2012.04.002
(2005). Questionário de Capacidades e de Dificuldades (SDQ-Por)
([Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire — Portuguese version] . Retrieved from http://www.sdqinfo.org2003). The inventory of callous-unemotional traits Unpublished rating scale. University of New Orleans.
(2013). Annual research review: A developmental psychopathology approach to understanding callous-unemotional traits in children and adolescents with serious conduct problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55, 532–548. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12152
(2008). Research review: The importance of callous-unemotional traits for developmental models of aggressive and antisocial behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 359–375. https://doi.org/101111/j.1469-7610.2007.01862.x
(2016). Affective differences between psychopathy variants and genders in adjudicated youth. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44, 295–307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-015-9990-1
(1998). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A pilot study on the validity of the self-report version. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 7, 125–130.
(2016). Parsing the heterogeneity of psychopathy and aggression: Differential associations across dimensions and gender. Personality Disorders, 7, 2–14. https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000128
(2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6, 53–60.
(1999). Cut-off criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
(1996). Clinical assessment of child and adolescent personality and behavior. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
(2008). Assessing callous-unemotional traits in adolescent offenders: Validation of the inventory of callous-unemotional traits. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 31, 241–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2008.04.002
(2015). Assessing callous-unemotional traits in a Spanish sample of institutionalized youths: The inventory of callous-unemotional traits. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 37, 392–406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9469-3
(2004). The use of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in the Southern European countries. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 13, 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-004-2007-1
(1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674–701.
(2017). Isolating trait and method variance in the measurement of callous and unemotional traits. Assessment, 24, 763–771. https://doi.org/10.177/107319115624546
(2016). Validation of the inventory of callous-unemotional traits among a Portuguese sample of detained juvenile offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60, 349–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X14551256
(2015). Assessing callous-unemotional traits in adolescents: Validity of the inventory of callous-unemotional traits across gender, age, and community/institutionalized status. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 37, 407–421.
(2016). Positive and negative item wording and its influence on the assessment of callous-unemotional traits. Psychological Assessment, 28, 304–404.
(2002). Adolescent development and the measurement of juvenile of psychopathy. Law and Human Behavior, 26, 219–239.
(2004). Continuities in antisocial behavior and parenting across three generations. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 230–247.
(2013). The incremental utility of callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems in predicting aggression and bullying in a community sample of boys and girls. Psychological Assessment, 25, 366–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031153
(2010). Understanding discrepancies in parent-child reporting of emotional and behavioural problems: Effects of relational and socio-demographic factors. BMC Psychiatry, 10, 56. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471–244X-10–56
(1992). Agreement between parents’ reports and adolescents’ self-reports of problem behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33, 1011–1023. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1992.tb00922.x
(2001). Using the psychopathy checklist – Revised with female samples: Reliability, validity, and implications for clinical utility. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 8, 117–132.
(