Can a laboratory measure of emotional processing enhance the statistical prediction of aggression and delinquency in detained adolescents with callous-unemotional traits?

Eva R Kimonis; Paul J Frick; Luna C Munoz; Katherine J Aucoin

doi:10.1007/s10802-007-9136-1

Can a laboratory measure of emotional processing enhance the statistical prediction of aggression and delinquency in detained adolescents with callous-unemotional traits?

J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2007 Oct;35(5):773-85. doi: 10.1007/s10802-007-9136-1. Epub 2007 May 18.

Authors

Eva R Kimonis¹, Paul J Frick, Luna C Munoz, Katherine J Aucoin

Affiliation

¹ Department of Psychology & Social Behavior, School of Social Ecology, University of California, 3325 Social Ecology II, Irvine, CA 92697-7085, USA. ekimonis@uci.edu

PMID: 17510788
DOI: 10.1007/s10802-007-9136-1

Abstract

In this cross-sectional study, we investigated whether the combination of the presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits and emotional deficits to distressing stimuli, assessed by a computerized dot-probe task, enhanced the statistical prediction of aggression and delinquency in a sample of 88 detained and predominantly African-American (68%) adolescents (M age = 15.57; SD = 1.28). Overall, self-reported CU traits were associated with self-report measures of aggression and delinquency, but not with official records of arrests. However, there was an interaction between CU traits and emotional deficits for predicting self-reported aggression, self-reported violent delinquency, and a record of violent arrests. Youth high on CU traits and who showed a deficit in their responses to visual depictions of distress showed the highest levels of aggression and violent delinquency.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Aggression / psychology*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Emotions*
Humans
Juvenile Delinquency / psychology*
Male
Personality Assessment*
Predictive Value of Tests
Prisoners / psychology
Projective Techniques
Regression Analysis
Risk Assessment
Violence / psychology*