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Assessment of Callous-Unemotional Traits in 6 to 12 Year-Old Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder by Parent Ratings

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Abstract

The factorial structure of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU; Frick 2004) has been inconsistent across previous studies using different rater versions (self-report, parent, teacher) and versions in different languages applied to both clinical and nonreferred samples predominantly of adolescents. The present study examined the factorial structure of the parent-report version of the ICU in a clinical sample of boys aged 6–12 years with Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder (n = 131) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Results from the CFA supported previous findings, but even the preferred model with three independent factors (Callousness, Uncaring, and Unemotional) showed inadequate model fit. Subsequent EFA revealed a three-factor model consisting of two new subscales (Callousness/Lack of Guilt or Remorse, Unconcerned about Performance) and the original subscale Unemotional. Internal consistencies of the three subscales and total score were satisfactory, and intercorrelations of the subscales were weak, except for a moderate correlation between the subscales Callousness/Lack of Guilt or Remorse and Unconcerned about Performance. The corresponding subscales of the original and new versions were highly correlated. As expected, the ICU subscale Callousness/Lack of Guilt or Remorse showed associations with other measures of aggressive and oppositional behavior. The other two ICU subscales were not associated with aggression or oppositional/antisocial behavior, but Unconcerned about Performance correlated with a measure of attention problems and Unemotional correlated with the internalizing problem withdrawn. The implications of these findings are discussed, especially as a callous unemotional specifier for the diagnosis of Conduct Disorder is included in DSM-5.

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Experiment Participants

The experimental protocols of the study were approved by the ethics committee of the Medical Faculty of the University Cologne. The data were collected with informed consent of the participating patients and parents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Christina Benesch, Dieter Breuer & Manfred Döpfner

  2. Institute for Clinical Child Psychology of the Christoph-Dornier-Foundation of Clinical Psychology at the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Christina Benesch, Anja Görtz-Dorten & Manfred Döpfner

  3. School for Child Behavior Therapy at the University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Anja Görtz-Dorten & Manfred Döpfner

Authors
  1. Christina Benesch
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  2. Anja Görtz-Dorten
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  3. Dieter Breuer
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  4. Manfred Döpfner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manfred Döpfner.

Additional information

Christina Benesch and Anja Görtz-Dorten contributed equally to the manuscript

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Benesch, C., Görtz-Dorten, A., Breuer, D. et al. Assessment of Callous-Unemotional Traits in 6 to 12 Year-Old Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder by Parent Ratings. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 36, 519–529 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9420-7

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