To what extent does punishment insensitivity explain the relationship between callous-unemotional traits and academic performance in secondary school students?

BACKGROUND: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are related to low achievement but not to deficits in verbal ability, commonly regarded as a major risk factor for poor academic outcomes in antisocial youth. This suggests that CU traits may have utility in explaining heterogeneous risk pathways for poor school performance in antisocial children. Reduced sensitivity to teacher discipline has been suggested as a potential explanation for the association between CU traits and low achievement, given its importance in facilitating engagement in learning. This study is the first to examine punishment insensitivity as a potential mechanism explaining the relationship between CU traits and poor achievement. AIM: The current study investigated the indirect pathway from CU traits via the predictor of punishment insensitivity to English, Maths, and Science grades. SAMPLE: A total of 437 English secondary school students aged 11 to 14 years (49% girls). METHODS: We conducted a mediation analysis within a structural equation modelling framework. CU traits and punishment insensitivity were assessed using child report questionnaires and academic grades were obtained from school records. RESULTS: CU traits were indirectly associated with low academic grades in Maths and Science, but not English, via punishment insensitivity, controlling for child age, gender, single parent household status, free school meals eligibility, externalizing problems, and classroom effects. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicated that reduced sensitivity to discipline forms a pathway linking CU traits to poor performance in Maths and Science. Teachers may therefore need additional support to implement discipline effectively with children high in CU traits in order to prevent poor academic outcomes.

Assessing the Measurement Invariance of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in School Students in China and the United Kingdom.

The current study investigated the measurement invariance of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in school-attending youth in the UK (N = 437) and China (N = 364). The original 24-item ICU and five shortened versions proposed in previous studies were tested and compared using confirmatory factor analysis in the UK sample. Results indicated that the original ICU was a poor fit in the UK sample. A shortened, 11-item version (ICU-11) featuring two factors (Callousness and Uncaring) provided the best fit and was invariant across gender in both the UK and Chinese samples. Comparisons of the ICU-11 in UK and Chinese school children revealed a similar item-factor combination and factor loadings, but different item thresholds. Findings indicate that the ICU-11 may be a preferable alternative to the original version, but that average ICU-11 scores may have a different meaning in the UK and China.

Callous-Unemotional Traits and Academic Performance in Secondary School Students: Examining the Moderating Effect of Gender.

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits and male gender are both known risk factors for poor academic outcomes in children and adolescents. However, despite gender differences in CU trait severity, comorbid difficulties and correlates of CU traits, research has yet to examine whether the CU traits and male gender may work together to increase risk for poor academic performance. That is, whether boys high in CU traits perform more poorly across academic disciplines than girls high in these traits. This study therefore aimed to investigate i) the relationships between CU traits, student gender and English, Science and Math grades, and ii) whether gender moderates the association between CU traits and academic outcomes. Participants were 437 children aged 11 to 14 years (mean age 12.50 years; 49% girls; 85% White) attending a state secondary school in England. Students reported on CU traits and externalizing problems and their English, Math and Science grades were gathered from school records. Using hierarchical linear modelling, CU traits were found to be significantly related to lower English, Math and Science grades when controlling for age, gender, sociodemographic disadvantage and externalizing problems. CU traits were significantly related to lower Science grades for boys but not girls. However, gender did not moderate the association between CU traits for English or Math grades. Findings enhance our understanding of how child characteristics may interact to increase the likelihood of poor school outcomes, and therefore help us to identify youth at-risk for poor academic performance.