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Profiles of primary and secondary callous-unemotional features in youth: The role of emotion regulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2018

Stephanie G. Craig Open the ORCID record for Stephanie G. Craig [Opens in a new window]  and
Marlene M. Moretti
Stephanie G. Craig*
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia
Marlene M. Moretti
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia
*
Author for correspondence:Simon Fraser University, 888 University Drive RCB 5246, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6; E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

There is increasing evidence for multiple pathways in the development of callous-unemotional (CU) features, including primary and secondary profiles. Understanding affect regulation strategies among variants may provide further insight to the development and treatment of CU features. This study evaluated whether profiles of CU features could be identified within a clinical sample of youth using measures of affect dysregulation, affect suppression, anxiety, and maltreatment. We also examined whether these profiles were consistent across gender. Participants (N = 418; 56.7% female) ranged in age from 12 to 19 years (M = 15.04, SD = 1.85) and were drawn from a clinical sample. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted using five indicators, including affect regulation, suppression, anxiety, CU features, and maltreatment. The best fitting model, a four-profile solution, included a low (low CU/dysregulation), anxious (low CU/high dysregulation), primary CU (high CU/low dysregulation), and secondary CU profile (high CU/dysregulation/maltreatment). LPAs found the same four-profile model when conducted separately for males and females. This is the first study to examine gender and include affect regulation strategies in the examination of primary and secondary profiles of CU.

Keywords

adolescenceaggressioncallous-unemotionalmaltreatment
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , October 2019 , pp. 1489 - 1500
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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