Examining Conduct Problems in a Community Sample during Middle Childhood: The Role of Frontal EEG Asymmetry, Temperament, and Working Memory.

Previous literature shows that aspects of temperament, executive functioning, and EEG frontal asymmetry are related to externalizing behaviors in children. We examined whether frontal EEG asymmetry measured at age 6 would moderate the impact of negative affectivity, attentional control, and working memory at age 6 on conduct problems at age 9. Behavioral tasks were given to assess children's attentional control and working memory. Parents completed questionnaires about their children's negative affectivity and conduct problems. Results showed that greater negative affectivity reported at age 6 predicted for more conduct problems reported at age 9, regardless of EEG frontal asymmetry. Lower levels of attentional control and working memory at age 6 predicted for more conduct problems reported at age 9 when children also exhibited greater left EEG frontal asymmetry, which has been linked to approach motivation. These findings illustrate the importance of assessing multiple intrinsic factors, both independent and interactive, that contribute to children's conduct problems.

Physiological reactivity in children with high callous-unemotional and autistic traits: investigating unique and interactive effects.

Empathy deficits are a hallmark sign of both callous-unemotional (CU) and autistic traits. Despite these similarities, prior work did not investigate how these traits relate to physiological reactivity (heart rate and skin conductance) in response to emotional or empathy-eliciting stimuli. Understanding the physiological mechanisms associated with emotional processing deficits among individuals with autistic or CU traits is a critical step for improving both assessment and interventions. The current study was designed to investigate the unique and interactive contributions of CU and autistic traits in predicting physiological reactivity. Heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) activity in response to sad, fearful and happy emotional videos were collected form young children. Participants for the current study (n = 163; Mage = 7.30, SD= 1.42; 44.2% girls) were recruited from a larger community sample of 1652 children and were selected based on their levels of empathy. Regression analysis revealed that boys, but not girls, with high levels of CU traits exhibited low SC reactivity during sad and fearful stimuli. No significant associations were revealed for autistic traits. Finally, an interesting interaction effect suggested that CU traits were associated with stronger HR reactivity to fear stimuli only when autistic traits were low. The identified differences in physiological reactivity can inform etiological hypothesis by providing evidence for the underlying physiological mechanisms related to emotional processing among children high in CU traits but not in autistic traits.

Reconsidering the role of sex hormones in psychopathy development: Estrogen and psychopathy among male justice-involved youth.

Prominent theory suggests that factor one psychopathic traits may develop from increased input from hormones in the hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis (HPG; i.e., testosterone) and decreased input from the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA; i.e., cortisol). Although there are extensive findings connecting low cortisol to psychopathy, less support has emerged for high levels of testosterone. This study examined whether incorporating the HPG hormone, estradiol, into this model would reveal relationships in line with theory: high levels of estradiol and testosterone in combination with low levels of cortisol would inform psychopathic traits. Baseline and reactive hormone levels were measured and compared to Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL-YV) interviews among 66 male justice-involved youth (M age = 15.73) in a Southeastern juvenile detention center. The primary findings of this study were relationships between interacting HPA and HPG axis hormones with facet one and facet two psychopathic traits. Specifically, psychopathy total scores, interpersonal traits, and affective traits related to estradiol and testosterone reactivity, in that psychopathy scores were more likely with decreases in hormone reactivity (i.e., change in hormone level) following a stressor. Moreover, affective traits related to reactivity in all three hormones. These findings support inclusion of estradiol in neurobiological models of psychopathy and consideration of the individual components of psychopathy. This study adds to the growing body of research supporting interactions between variations in functioning of the HPA and HPG axes in relation to psychopathy.

Reward Processing in Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorders and Callous-Unemotional Traits in the ABCD Study.

OBJECTIVE: Disrupted reward processing is implicated in the etiology of disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) and callous-unemotional traits. However, neuroimaging investigations of reward processing underlying these phenotypes remain sparse. The authors examined neural sensitivity in response to reward anticipation and receipt among youths with DBDs, with and without callous-unemotional traits. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study (mean age=9.51 years [SD=0.50]; 49% female). Reward-related activation during the monetary incentive delay task was examined across 16 brain regions, including the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), nucleus accumbens (NAcc), and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Latent variable modeling was used to examine network-level coactivation. The following diagnostic groups were compared: typically developing youths (N=693) and youths with DBDs (N=995), subdivided into those with callous-unemotional traits (DBD+CU, N=198) and without callous-unemotional traits (DBD only, N=276). RESULTS: During reward anticipation, youths in the overall DBD group (with and without callous-unemotional traits) showed decreased dorsal ACC activation compared with typically developing youths. The DBD-only group exhibited reduced ventral and dorsal striatal activity compared with the DBD+CU and typically developing groups. During reward receipt, youths with DBDs showed increased cortical (e.g., OFC) and subcortical (e.g., NAcc) regional activation compared with typically developing youths. The DBD+CU group demonstrated greater activation in several regions compared with those in the typically developing (e.g., amygdala) and DBD-only (e.g., dorsal ACC) groups. At the network level, the DBD-only group showed reduced anticipatory reward activation compared with the typically developing and DBD+CU groups, whereas youths in the DBD+CU group showed increased activation during reward receipt compared with those in the typically developing group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings advance our understanding of unique neuroetiologic pathways to DBDs and callous-unemotional traits.

Temporal Discounting Impulsivity and Its Association with Conduct Disorder and Irritability.

Objectives: Temporal reward discounting impulsivity (TDI) reflects a propensity to choose smaller immediate rather than larger delayed rewards relative to age/IQ-matched peers. Previous work with adults has linked TDI to an increased risk for antisocial behavior but also psychopathology in general. However, little work has examined TDI in adolescents with conduct disorder (CD), or considered whether TDI might be associated dimensionally with traits associated with antisocial behavior, that is, impulsivity, irritability, and/or callous-unemotional traits. In this study TDI was investigated in a large adolescent group with varying levels of antisocial behavior. Methods: Participants consisted of 195 adolescents (67 with CD, 77 in a psychiatric comparison group and 51 typically developing adolescents). Participants performed a temporal discounting task and individual differences were measured through the Connors rating scale for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (impulsivity), Affective Reactivity Index (irritability), and Inventory of Callous-Unemotional traits. Results: The adolescents with CD and those in the psychiatric comparison group showed significantly greater TDI than typically developing adolescents. However, these group differences were abolished when dimensional covariates were included. Irritability was significantly associated with TDI. Conclusions: We conclude that TDI reflects a transdiagnostic form of dysfunction that particularly manifests in adolescents with increased irritability.

Frontal alpha asymmetry and emotional processing in youth with psychopathic traits.

Emotional processing deficits are often considered central to psychopathy. There is evidence that those high in psychopathy pay less attention to emotional stimuli, and it is possible that these individuals experience diminished withdrawal motivation or heightened approach motivation in response to emotional stimuli. Studying emotional processing abnormalities, especially among youth, may be essential for better understanding psychopathy's development and for informing interventions. However, few studies on psychopathy have experimentally manipulated emotional processing, and despite the growing literature on neuroscience and psychopathy, there are aspects of neural activity that have yet to be investigated. The current study used a sample of 52 justice-involved youth to examine how psychopathy, as measured by the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder scale, relates to frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), a neural correlate of approach and withdrawal motivation. Alpha asymmetry was first measured at rest and then while youth were asked to process emotional stimuli spontaneously as well as to increase and decrease their responses to emotional stimuli. Results indicated that total psychopathy was not related to FAA at rest or during task performance. However, youth higher in callous-unemotional traits demonstrated similar patterns of neural activity to youth lower in callous-unemotional traits when instructed to increase their response to emotional stimuli. These findings were not evident for grandiose-manipulative or daring-impulsive traits. These findings may indicate that youth high in callous-unemotional traits are capable of modulating their emotional responding, which could in turn have treatment implications for youth high in psychopathic traits.

Neural Responses to Signals for Behavior Change: Greater Within-Person Variability is Associated With Risk Factors for Substance Dependence.

BACKGROUND: An impaired ability to change behavior in the face of cues indicating a need for change is one means of defining risk for substance dependence. The present study used a cognitive task administered in a laboratory as a model of this process. It focused on 2 known and related correlates of risk (conduct disorder, borderline personality disorder) and examined their associations with reactivity to cues requesting a change in motor behavior. METHODS: A total of 224 teenagers, 14 to 19 years of age, performed a task during which white noise bursts were used to cue a requirement to reverse the mapping of right and left key press responses onto high- and low-frequency pure tones during a subsequent trial block. The amplitude of the P300 electroencephalographic (EEG) response to each cue was summarized by calculating its across-trial average as well as its intertrial variability (ITV). In addition, the number of motor response reversal failures (perseveration errors) was calculated. RESULTS: The ITV of the P300 response to cues for behavior change was superior to its average amplitude in revealing associations with risk: It was significantly greater among teenagers with more conduct problems and more borderline personality disorder symptoms in comparison with their less-affected peers. ITV was also positively correlated with perseveration errors. No group differences were found in P300 amplitude averaged over trials. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the measurement of intertrial variability in brain activity may be more valuable than the average level for revealing neurophysiological differences associated with impulsivity and personality risk factors for dependence. EEG measures may be particularly valuable in this context because they offer superior temporal resolution and signal-to-noise characteristics.

Classification of pure conduct disorder from healthy controls based on indices of brain networks during resting state.

Conduct disorder (CD) is an important mental health problem in childhood and adolescence. There is presently a trend of revealing neural mechanisms using measures of brain networks. This study goes further by presenting a classification scheme to distinguish subjects with CD from typically developing healthy subjects based on measures of small-world networks. In this study, small-world networks were constructed, and feature data were generated for both the CD and healthy control (HC) groups. Two methods of feature selection, including the F-score and feature projection with singular value decomposition (SVD), were used to extract the feature data. Furthermore, and importantly, the classification performances were compared between the results from the two methods of feature selection. The selected feature data by SVD were employed to train three classifiers-least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM), naive Bayes and K-nearest neighbour (KNN)-for CD classification. Cross-validation results from 36 subjects showed that CD patients can be separated from HC with a sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of 88.89%, 100% and 94.44%, respectively, by using the LS-SVM classifier. These findings suggest that the combination of the LS-SVM classifier with SVD can achieve a higher degree of accuracy for CD diagnosis than the naive Bayes and KNN classifiers. Graphical abstract.

Facial emotion recognition in children with externalising behaviours: A systematic review.

Difficulties in facial emotion recognition (FER) are associated with a range of mental health and antisocial presentations in adolescents and adults. Externalising behaviours in children are often one of the earliest signs of risk for the development of such difficulties. This article systematically reviews the evidence (from both group and correlational studies) for whether there is a relationship between FER and externalising behaviours in pre-adolescent children (aged 12 and under), both across and within externalising behaviour domains (hyperactivity, conduct problems, callous-unemotional traits, and aggression). Four electronic databases were searched producing 1,296 articles. Articles were included if they used validated measures of FER and externalising behaviours. Sixteen articles met criteria for inclusion in the review. Overall, the results suggested FER problems are present in ADHD, CP and callous-unemotional presentations, and in samples of children with higher levels of externalising problems rather than in community samples. However, there was no consistent evidence for specific emotions being implicated in the studies reviewed. Clinically, the findings suggest that FER difficulties are commonly associated with externalising behaviours, and hence this review offers some support that FER deficits could be a relevant target of intervention for externalising behaviours. However, more longitudinal studies are required, that control for other variables that might underlie FER difficulties (e.g. IQ or basic Theory of Mind abilities), to inform our knowledge of whether FER difficulties are a causal factor in externalising behaviours.

Emotion Processing in Children with Conduct Problems and Callous-Unemotional Traits: An Investigation of Speed, Accuracy, and Attention.

This study aimed to assess whether callous-unemotional traits (CU) are associated with deficits in emotion recognition independent of externalizing behavior and whether such deficits can be explained by aberrant attention. As previous studies have produced inconsistent results, the current study included two different emotion recognition paradigms and assessed the potential influence of factors such as processing speed and attention. The study included N = 94 children (eight to 14 years) with an oversampling of children with conduct problems (CP) and varying levels of CU-traits. Independent of externalizing behavior, CU-traits were associated with slower recognition of angry, sad and fearful facial expressions but not with higher error rates. There was no evidence that the association between CU-traits and emotion processing could be explained by misguided attention. Our results implicate that in children with high levels of CU-traits emotion recognition deficits depend on deficits in processing speed.

Do motor coordination and sleep difficulties predict peer functioning in children and adolescents with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder after accounting for existing ADHD symptomology?

Children with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to experience peer problems compared to their non-ADHD peers, though ADHD-specific symptoms only partially explain this association. This study examined whether sleep difficulties and motor coordination problems are additional predictors of peer problems in an ADHD population. An ADHD sample of 72 participants aged 6-14 years (M = 9.86 years, SD = 1.79 years) was evaluated for an association of peer problems with measures of motor coordination, sleep difficulties as well as ADHD and comorbidity symptoms. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis (HMRA) was used to test the current study aims. Motor coordination, but not sleep difficulties, predicted additional variance in peer problems after controlling for inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, internalizing problems, oppositionality, and conduct problems. Poor motor coordination predicts peer problems beyond ADHD symptoms. Clinicians seeking to improve peer functioning in children with ADHD should also consider motor coordination difficulties in addition to existing treatment strategies. Statement of contribution What is already known Children with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience greater peer problems (i.e., making friends, being victimized, participating in play) than their typically developing peers. Previous studies have attributed this association between ADHD and peer problems to the symptoms of ADHD (i.e., inattention and/or hyperactivity) disrupting the typical trajectory of social development. However, quantitative studies have identified that symptoms of ADHD predict only portion of the variance in a child's peer problems - highlighting that there may be other unique factors that contribute to the higher incidence of peer problems typically observed in this population. What this study adds This study tested whether additional theoretically relevant factors could predict levels of peer problems in children with ADHD beyond the primary symptoms of the disorder. Internalizing symptomatology, conduct problems, oppositionality, motor coordination, and sleep difficulties were added to a regression model already including inattention and hyperactivity symptoms. These factors explained 51% of the variability in peer problems. In this sample of 72 ADHD children, the results of the final model highlighted that only motor coordination and conduct problems remained significant predictors of peer problems - highlighting two potentially important target areas for screening and intervention.

The associations of maternal polycystic ovary syndrome and hirsutism with behavioral problems in offspring.

OBJECTIVE: To study the associations between maternal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hirsutism with offspring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, conduct disorder, and behavioral problems. DESIGN: Prospective birth cohort study. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): A total of 1,915 mother-child dyads. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Maternal report of offspring ADHD, anxiety, or conduct disorder diagnosis at 7 to 8 years; emotional symptoms, behavioral problems (including peer relationship, conduct, hyperactivity/inattention), and prosocial problems measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at 7 years. RESULT(S): Prevalence of PCOS and hirsutism were 12.0% and 3.9%; 84% of women with hirsutism had PCOS. After adjustment for sociodemographic covariates, prepregnancy body mass index, and parental history of affective disorders, children born to mothers with PCOS had higher risk of anxiety (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-2.57) and borderline emotional symptoms (aRR 1.66; 95% CI, 1.18-2.33) compared with children born to mothers without PCOS. The associations between maternal PCOS and offspring ADHD were positive but imprecise. Maternal hirsutism was related to a higher risk of children's ADHD (aRR 2.33; 95% CI, 1.28-4.24), conduct disorder (aRR 2.54; 95% CI 1.18-5.47), borderline emotional symptoms, peer relationship problems, and conduct problems (aRRs 2.61; 95% CI, 1.69-4.05; 1.92; 95% CI, 1.16-3.17; and 2.22; 95% CI, 1.30-3.79, respectively). CONCLUSION(S): Maternal PCOS was associated with offspring anxiety, and hirsutism was related to other offspring behavioral problems. These findings should be interpreted with caution as replication is needed in prospective cohort studies that assess PCOS and hirsutism diagnoses using medical records.

Pupil Response to Affective Stimuli: a Biomarker of Early Conduct Problems in Young Children.

Childhood conduct problems have been associated with reduced autonomic arousal to negative cues indicative of an insensitivity to aversive stimuli, with mixed evidence in response to positive cues. Autonomic arousal to affective stimuli has traditionally been measured through galvanic skin responses and heart-rate, despite evidence that pupillometry is more reliable and practically beneficial (i.e., no wires are attached to the participant). The current study is the first to examine abnormal pupillary responsivity to affective stimuli as a biomarker for childhood conduct problems. We measured pupil reactivity to negative, positive and neutral images in 131 children aged 4-7 years, who were referred by their teachers for being at risk of future psychopathology. We assessed relationships between pupil response to the images and teacher-rated scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which indexed child conduct problems and their overlapping emotional, behavioural and social difficulties. Reduced pupil dilation to negative images was associated with significantly increased conduct, hyperactivity, emotional and peer problems, as well as reduced prosocial behaviour. Composite scores for disruptive behaviour and emotional difficulties both uniquely predicted blunted pupil response to negative threat stimuli; there were no relations with pupil responses to positive images. These findings highlight that blunted pupil responsivity to negative stimuli serves as a biomarker for early disruptive behavioural problems and affective difficulties. Pupillometry offers an inexpensive, fast and non-intrusive measure to help identify children who are showing early disruptive behaviour or experiencing affective difficulties, which can provide opportunities for preventative intervention to avoid further psychopathology.

Callous-Unemotional Traits and Disorganized Attachment: Links with Disruptive Behaviors in Toddlers.

Children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits and children with disorganized attachment patterns are at heightened risk of poor psychological outcomes but little is known about the overlap between these constructs and their unique contributions to conduct problems in early childhood. This study examined associations between CU traits, disorganized attachment, and conduct problem (CP) severity in a sample of clinic-referred toddlers with behavioral problems. Mother-child dyads (n = 56; mean child age 19.50 months) completed parent-report questionnaires, a dyadic play session, and the Strange Situation Procedure to assess child attachment pattern. Significant positive associations were found between CU traits and disorganized attachment, independent of CP severity. CU traits but not disorganized attachment predicted CP severity. Results indicate that among toddlers with clinic-referred disruptive behavior problems, there are clear links between CU traits and attachment disorganization. Of the two constructs, however, CU traits appear to be most salient in the expression of CPs.

White matter microstructure of the extended limbic system in male and female youth with conduct disorder.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies of conduct disorder (CD) have reported structural and functional alterations in the limbic system. However, the white matter tracts that connect limbic regions have not been comprehensively studied. The uncinate fasciculus (UF), a tract connecting limbic to prefrontal regions, has been implicated in CD. However, CD-related alterations in other limbic tracts, such as the cingulum and the fornix, have not been investigated. Furthermore, few studies have examined the influence of sex and none have been adequately powered to test whether the relationship between CD and structural connectivity differs by sex. We examined whether adolescent males and females with CD exhibit differences in structural connectivity compared with typically developing controls. METHODS: We acquired diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data from 101 adolescents with CD (52 females) and 99 controls (50 females). Data were processed for deterministic spherical deconvolution tractography. Virtual dissections of the UF, the three subdivisions of the cingulum [retrosplenial cingulum (RSC), parahippocampal and subgenual cingulum], and the fornix were performed and measures of fractional anisotropy (FA) and hindrance-modulated orientational anisotropy (HMOA) were analysed. RESULTS: The CD group had lower FA and HMOA in the right RSC tract relative to controls. Importantly, these effects were moderated by sex - males with CD significantly lower FA compared to male controls, whereas CD and control females did not differ. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the importance of considering sex when studying the neurobiological basis of CD. Sex differences in RSC connectivity may contribute to sex differences in the clinical presentation of CD.

The role of effortful control in the development of ADHD, ODD, and CD symptoms.

Many adolescents have difficulty regulating their impulses and become prone to externalizing problems (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], oppositional defiant disorder [ODD], and conduct disorder [CD]) and other adverse consequences. Using multimethod data from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin youth (N = 674), assessed annually from age 10 to 16, we examined the relations between effortful control and ADHD, ODD, and CD symptoms over time. Bivariate latent growth curve models showed negative correlations between the trajectories of effortful control and ADHD, ODD, and CD, indicating that steeper decreases in effortful control were related to steeper increases in ADHD, ODD, and CD symptoms. Using a novel statistical technique, the factor of curves model (FOCUS), we found that ADHD, ODD, and CD share a common "externalizing" trajectory during adolescence. Although effortful control was strongly associated with this common trajectory, it had few unique associations with the individual disorder trajectories, above and beyond their shared trajectory. When we extended the FOCUS model to include the effortful control trajectory as an indicator, we found that ADHD and ODD had strong loadings, whereas effortful control and CD had comparatively weak loadings on the shared developmental trajectory. Follow-up analyses showed that a two-factor solution, with externalizing symptom trajectories on one factor and the effortful control facet trajectories on a separate factor, was a better fit to the data than a one-factor solution. Finally, parent ASPD symptoms were related to increases in CD, but had no significant influence on effortful control, ADHD, or ODD. We discuss the implications for personality and externalizing problem development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychotic-like experiences during early adolescence predict symptoms of depression, anxiety, and conduct problems three years later: A community-based study.

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), such as delusions and hallucinations, are risk markers for psychiatric symptoms and functional impairment. However, the unique contribution of PLEs to psychiatric symptoms remains unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of PLEs on psychiatric symptoms, adjusting for the baseline of such symptoms. We assessed a community-based cohort of young adolescents (N = 1445; mean age = 14.38 years, SD = 1.04) to establish a baseline and reassessed them three years later (mean age = 17.31 years, SD = 1.04). Participants reported PLEs they had experienced in the last year and any internalizing (depression and anxiety) or externalizing (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct problems) psychiatric symptoms. The experience of more PLEs predicted more internalizing symptoms three years later, and to a lesser extent, more conduct problems as well, even when adjusting for the baseline occurrence of these symptoms. The association was not sex-specific, although girls reported more PLEs than did boys. The strongest predictor of internalizing/externalizing symptoms was the occurrence of those same symptoms at baseline. These findings highlight the importance of PLEs as markers for a wide range of psychiatric symptoms, emphasizing the importance of assessing PLEs in early adolescence.

Factor Structure of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in a Representative Sample of German 9th Grade Students.

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits represent the affective components of the psychopathy construct and show a strong relationship to violence and conduct-disorder in children. The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) is the current standard to assess CU traits. Despite the ICU having originally been constructed as a four-dimensional instrument, several studies found a three-factorial structure in combination with a general ICU-factor to be the best fitting factor-model. An imbalance in the number of positively and negatively worded items can be observed between the identified ICU dimensions. To investigate the effect of item keying on the factor structure we tested different factor-models in data stemming from a large sample (N = 3878) of German ninth grade students. Our findings suggest that the original four-factorial structure with a method factor shows good model fit. This solution is furthermore in line with the specifiers of the additional coding of Limited Prosocial Emotions for Conduct Disorder in the DSM-V.

Examining Psychopathic Traits in Children Using the Child Psychopathy Scale - Revised.

Applying the affective dimension of psychopathy to youth has advanced understanding of conduct problems in youth, leading to suggestions that other aspects of psychopathy may do the same. This was addressed in the present study by examining the structure and validity of psychopathic traits in elementary-age children as rated by mothers and teachers on the Child Psychopathy Scale - Revised (CPS-R). Participants were 222 children (80.2% male; Mage = 8.92), the majority (71.6%) of whom met criteria for both ADHD and conduct problems. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-factor model consisting of prosocial-empathic (PE), grandiose-manipulative (GM), emotionally volatile (EV), and attentive-planful(AP) factors. The CPS-R demonstrated good criterion validity with well-established measures of child behavior problems and callousness. The EV and AP factors demonstrate incremental validity by moderating the relation between conduct problems and impairment. Latent profiles supported a three-profile solution for mothers and a four-profile solution for teachers, with profiles consisting of one group low, one group moderate, and one high on all measures for both informants, and a fourth group that was high on all measures except CD and limited PE. Profiles differed significantly from each other on callousness and impairment, with limited PE being the best differentiator of youth highest in antisocial behavior based on mother and teacher report. Findings suggest that mothers and teachers may be able to identify children at risk for a more negative trajectory of antisocial behavior, that it is worthwhile to examine multiple psychopathy dimensions (rather than just the affective dimension), and that the CPS-R may be useful to screen for youth who are most likely to display more severe antisocial behavior and impairment.

Conduct Disorder: Biology and Developmental Trajectories.

For centuries, attempting a successful rehabilitation of youth with antisocial behaviors has challenged juvenile justice systems and society. More recently, advances in science and neuroimaging have permitted a deeper understanding of the biological underpinnings of antisocial behavior and psychopathic tendencies. This paper reviews biological findings in youth with conduct disorder, highlighting comparisons to biological findings in adults with antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy. Overall, youth with conduct disorder exhibit several biological findings that are similar to adults with antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy, consistent with theories that conduct disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that progresses to these adult conditions. There is evidence that treatment interventions might mitigate this progression and induce biological changes. Further, biological findings might guide interventions to rehabilitate youth and change the developmental trajectory of antisocial behaviors.