Parenting Characteristics and Callous-Unemotional Traits in Children Aged 0–6 Years: A Systematic Narrative Review

American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th edn.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 Achenbach TM, Rescorla LA (2000) Child behavior checklist for ages 1 1/2-5. Reporter 10:20 Barker ED, Oliver BR, Viding E, Salekin RT, Maughan B (2011) The impact of prenatal maternal risk, fearless temperament and early parenting on adolescent callous-unemotional traits: a 14-year longitudinal investigation. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 52(8):878–888 Barrett P, Cooper M, Teoh A (2014) When time is of the essence: a rationale for ‘earlier’ early intervention. J Psychol Abnorm Child 3(4):1–9 Bedford R, Pickles A, Sharp H, Wright N, Hill J (2015) Reduced face preference in infancy: a developmental precursor to callous-unemotional traits? Biol Psychiat 78(2):144–150 Bezdjian S, Tuvblad C, Raine A, Baker LA (2011) The genetic and environmental covariation among psychopathic personality traits, and reactive and proactive aggression in childhood. Child Dev 82(4):1267–1281 Brady RG, Donohue MR, Waller R, Tillman R, Gilbert KE, Whalen DJ, Rogers CE, Barch DM, Luby JL (2022) Maternal emotional intelligence and negative parenting affect are independently associated with callous-unemotional traits in preschoolers. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 15:1–9 Campagna AX, Warwick H, Gartstein MA (2021) Early predictors of callous and unemotional traits: the role of infant, toddler, and parent temperament. Int J Psychol Psychol Ther 21(1):59–74 Childs AW, Fite PJ, Moore TM, Lochman JE, Pardini DA (2014) Bidirectional associations between parenting behavior and child callous-unemotional traits: does parental depression moderate this link? J Abnorm Child Psychol 42(7):1141–1151 Clark JE, Frick PJ (2018) Positive parenting and callous-unemotional traits: Their association with school behavior problems in young children. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 47(sup1):S242–S254 Cao VT, Davies PT, Sturge-Apple ML (2023) Disentangling the relationship between callous-unemotional traits and unsupportive parenting through a developmental lens. Dev Psychopathol 45:1–11 Chang L, Schwartz D, Dodge KA, McBride-Chang C (2003) Harsh parenting in relation to child emotion regulation and aggression. J Fam Psychol 17(4):598 Dadds MR, Allen JL, McGregor K, Woolgar M, Viding E, Scott S (2014) Callous-unemotional traits in children and mechanisms of impaired eye contact during expressions of love: A treatment target? J Child Psychol Psychiatry 55(7):771–780 Dadds MR, Allen JL, Oliver BR, Faulkner N, Legge K, Moul C, Woolgar M, Scott S (2012) Love, eye contact and the developmental origins of empathy v psychopathy. Br J Psychiatry 200(3):191–196 Dolan M (2008) Neurobiological disturbances in callous-unemotional youths. Am J Psychiatry 165(6):668–670 Dunn J (2013) Moral development in early childhood and social interaction in the family. In: Handbook of moral development. Psychology Press, pp 135–159 Dunn J, Brown JR, Maguire M (1995) The development of children’s moral sensibility: individual differences and emotion understanding. Dev Psychol 31(4):649 Ezpeleta L, Osa ND, Granero R, PeneloODomenech EJM (2013) Inventory of callous-unemotional traits in a community sample of preschoolers. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 42(1):91–105 Flom M, Saudino KJ (2017) Callous–unemotional behaviors in early childhood: genetic and environmental contributions to stability and change. Dev Psychopathol 29(4):1227–1234 Flom M, White D, Ganiban J, Saudino KJ (2020) Longitudinal links between callous-unemotional behaviors and parenting in early childhood: a genetically informed design. J Amer Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 59(3):401–409 Fonagy P, Luyten P (2018) Conduct problems in youth and the RDoC approach: a developmental, evolutionary-based view. Clin Psychol Rev 64:57–76 Frick PJ, Ellis M (1999) Callous-unemotional traits and subtypes of conduct disorder. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2(3):149–168 Frick PJ, Kimonis ER, Dandreaux DM, Farell JM (2003) The 4 year stability of psychopathic traits in non-referred youth. Behav Sci Law 21(6):713–736 Frick PJ, Morris AS (2004) Temperament and developmental pathways to conduct problems. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 33(1):54–68 Frick PJ, Viding E (2009) Antisocial behavior from a developmental psychopathology perspective. Dev Psychopathol 21(4):1111–1131 Gardner F, Ward S, Burton J, Wilson C (2003) The role of mother–child joint play in the early development of children’s conduct problems: a longitudinal observational study. Soc Dev 12(3):361–378 Gershoff ET (2002) Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: a meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychol Bull 128(4):539 Glenn AL (2019) Early life predictors of callous-unemotional and psychopathic traits. Infant Ment Health J 40(1):39–53 Goffin KC, Boldt LJ, Kim S, Kochanska G (2018) A unique path to callous-unemotional traits for children who are temperamentally fearless and unconcerned about transgressions: a longitudinal study of typically developing children from age 2 to 12. J Abnorm Child Psychol 46(4):769–780 Hawes DJ, Price MJ, Dadds MR (2014) Callous-unemotional traits and the treatment of conduct problems in childhood and adolescence: a comprehensive review. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 17(3):248–267 Henry J, Dionne G, Viding E, Vitaro F, Brendgen M, Tremblay RE, Boivin M (2018) Early warm-rewarding parenting moderates the genetic contributions to callous–unemotional traits in childhood. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 59(12):1282–1288 Herzog R, Alvarez-Pasquin M, Diaz C, Del Barrio J, Estrada J, Gil A (2013) Newcastle-Ottawa Scale adapted for cross-sectional studies. BMC Public Health 13:154 Hipwell AE, Pardini DA, Loeber R, Sembower M, Keenan K, Stouthamer-Loeber M (2007) Callous-unemotional behaviors in young girls: Shared and unique effects relative to conduct problems. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 36(3):293–304 Hyde LW, Waller R, Trentacosta CJ, Shaw DS, Neiderhiser JM, Ganiban JM, Reiss D, Leve LD (2016) Heritable and nonheritable pathways to early callous-unemotional behaviors. Am J Psychiatry 173(9):903–910 Jones LL, Hassanien A, Cook DG, Britton J, Leonardi-Bee J (2012) Parental smoking and the risk of middle ear disease in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 166(1):18–27 Kochanska G (1997) Multiple pathways to conscience for children with different temperaments: from toddlerhood to age 5. Dev Psychol 33(2):228 Kochanska G, Kim S, Boldt LJ, Yoon JE (2013) Children’s callous‐unemotional traits moderate links between their positive relationships with parents at preschool age and externalizing behavior problems at early school age. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 54(11):1251–1260 Kristie Brandt C, Perry BD, Stephen Seligman D, Tronick E (2013) Infant and early childhood mental health: core concepts and clinical practice. American Psychiatric Pub, New York Leve LD, Neiderhiser JM, Ge X, Scaramella LV, Conger RD, Reid JB, Shaw DS, Reiss D (2007) The early growth and development study: a prospective adoption design. Twin Res Hum Genet 10(1):84–95 Lomanowska AM, Boivin M, Hertzman C, Fleming AS (2017) Parenting begets parenting: a neurobiological perspective on early adversity and the transmission of parenting styles across generations. Neuroscience 342:120–139 Longman T, Hawes DJ, Kohlhoff J (2016) Callous–unemotional traits as markers for conduct problem severity in early childhood: a meta-analysis. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 47(2):326–334 López-Romero L, Domínguez-Álvarez B, Isdahl-Troye A, Romero E (2021) Bidirectional effects between psychopathic traits and conduct problems in early childhood: examining parenting as potential mediator. Rev Psicol Clínica Niños Adolesc 8:9–16 McMahon RJ, Witkiewitz K, Kotler JS (2010) Predictive validity of callous–unemotional traits measured in early adolescence with respect to multiple antisocial outcomes. J Abnorm Psychol 119(4):752 Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, Group*, P (2009) Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Ann Internal Med 151(4):264–269 Moore AA, Blair RJ, Hettema JM, Roberson-Nay R (2019) The genetic underpinnings of callous-unemotional traits: A systematic research review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 100:85–97 Northam JC, Fisher CA, Burman C, Hawes DJ, Dadds MR (2022) No hard feelings: maternal emotion socialization and callous–unemotional traits in children. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 31(12):1983–1993 Obando D, Hill J, Wright N (2022) The moderating role of maternal praise and positivity in the association between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and later aggression: a prospective study in preschool children in Colombia. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 4:1–10 Ordway MR, Webb D, Sadler LS, Slade A (2015) Parental reflective functioning: an approach to enhancing parent-child relationships in pediatric primary care. J Pediatr Health Care 29(4):325–334 Orton S, Jones L, Cooper S, Lewis S, Coleman T (2014) Predictors of children’s secondhand smoke exposure at home: a systematic review and Pasalich DS, Dadds MR, Hawes DJ (2014) Cognitive and affective empathy in children with conduct problems: additive and interactive effects of callous–unemotional traits and autism spectrum disorders symptoms. Psychiatry Res 219(3):625–630 Pasalich DS, Dadds MR, Hawes DJ, Brennan J (2011) Do callous-unemotional traits moderate the relative importance of parental coercion versus warmth in child conduct problems? An observational study. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 52(12):1308–1315 Pasalich DS, Dadds MR, Vincent LC, Cooper FA, Hawes DJ, Brennan J (2012) Emotional communication in families of conduct problem children with high versus low callous-unemotional traits. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 41(3):302–313 Pauli R, Tino P, Rogers JC, Baker R, Clanton R, Birch P, Brown A, Daniel G, Ferreira L, Grisley L (2021) Positive and negative parenting in conduct disorder with high versus low levels of callous–unemotional traits. Dev Psychopathol 33(3):980–991 Perlstein S, Fair M, Hong E, Waller R (2023) Treatment of childhood disruptive behavior disorders and callous‐unemotional traits: a systematic review and two multilevel meta‐analyses. J Child Psychol Psychiatry Perlstein S, Waller R, Wagner NJ, Saudino KJ (2022) Low social affiliation predicts increases in callous-unemotional behaviors in early childhood. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 63(1):109–117 Pingault JB, Rijsdijk F, Zheng Y, Plomin R, Viding E (2015) Developmentally dynamic genome: evidence of genetic influences on increases and decreases in conduct problems from early childhood to adolescence. Sci Rep 5:10053 Pueyo N, Navarro J-B, De La Osa N, Penelo E, Ezpeleta L (2022) Describing callous unemotional traits and stressful life event trajectories: differences on risk factors and mental health outcomes from the age of 3 to 10. Span J Psychol 25:78 Roberts R, McCrory E, Joffe H, Phillips H, Gaule A, Viding E (2022) Parenting boys with conduct problems and callous-unemotional traits: parent and child perspectives. Euro Child Adoles Psychiatry 32(12):2547–2555 Sharp C, Fonagy P (2008) The parent’s capacity to treat the child as a psychological agent: constructs, measures and implications for developmental psychopathology. Soc Dev 17(3):737–754 Schütte S, Lohaus A, Symanzik T, Heinrichs N, Konrad K, Reindl V (2023) Longitudinal associations between parenting and child behaviour problems and the moderating effect of child callous unemotional traits in foster and biological families. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 54(5):1274–1286 Spinrad TL, Gal DE (2018) Fostering prosocial behavior and empathy in young children. Current Opin Psychol 20:40–44 Trentacosta CJ, Waller R, Neiderhiser JM, Shaw DS, Natsuaki MN, Ganiban JM, Reiss D, Leve LD, Hyde LW (2019) Callous-unemotional behaviors and harsh parenting: Reciprocal associations across early childhood and moderation by inherited risk. J Abnorm Child Psychol 47(5):811–823 Vaughan EP, Frick PJ, Ray JV, Robertson EL, Thornton LC, Wall Myers TD, Steinberg L, Cauffman E (2021) The associations of maternal warmth and hostility with prosocial and antisocial outcomes in justice-involved adolescents. Dev Psychol 57(12):2179 Viding E, McCrory E (2020) Disruptive behavior disorders: the challenge of delineating mechanisms in the face of heterogeneity. Amer J Psychiatry 177(9):811–817 Viding E, Price TS, Jaffee SR, Trzaskowski M, Davis OS, Meaburn EL, Haworth CM, Plomin R (2013) Genetics of callous-unemotional behavior in children. PLoS ONE 8(7):e65789 Wagner NJ, Mills-Koonce WR, Propper CB, Willoughby MT, Rehder PD, Moore GA, Cox MJ (2016) Associations between infant behaviors during the face-to-face still-face paradigm and oppositional defiant and callous-unemotional behaviors in early childhood. J Abnorm Child Psychol 44:1439–1453 Waller R, Dishion TJ, Shaw DS, Gardner F, Wilson MN, Hyde LW (2016) Does early childhood callous-unemotional behavior uniquely predict behavior problems or callous-unemotional behavior in late childhood? Dev Psychol 52(11):1805 Waller R, Gardner F, Hyde LW (2013) What are the associations between parenting, callous–unemotional traits, and antisocial behavior in youth? A systematic review of evidence. Clin Psychol Rev 33(4):593–608 Waller R, Gardner F, Hyde LW, Shaw DS, Dishion TJ, Wilson MN (2012) Do harsh and positive parenting predict parent reports of deceitful-callous behavior in early childhood? J Child Psychol Psychiatry 53(9):946–953 Waller R, Gardner F, Shaw DS, Dishion TJ, Wilson MN, Hyde LW (2015) Callous-unemotional behavior and early-childhood onset of behavior problems: the role of parental harshness and warmth. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 44(4):655–667 Waller R, Gardner F, Viding E, Shaw DS, Dishion TJ, Wilson MN, Hyde LW (2014) Bidirectional associations between parental warmth, callous unemotional behavior, and behavior problems in high-risk preschoolers. J Abnorm Child Psychol 42(8):1275–1285 Waller R, Hyde LW, Klump KL, Burt SA (2018) Parenting is an environmental predictor of callous-unemotional traits and aggression: a monozygotic twin differences study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 57(12):955–963 Waller R, Powell T, Rodriguez Y, Corbett N, Perlstein S, White LK, Barzilay R, Wagner NJ (2021) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s conduct problems and callous-unemotional traits. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2:1–12 Waller R, Shaw DS, Hyde LW (2017) Observed fearlessness and positive parenting interact to predict childhood callous-unemotional behaviors among low-income boys. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 58(3):282–291 Waller R, Shaw DS, Neiderhiser JM, Ganiban JM, Natsuaki MN, Reiss D, Trentacosta CJ, Leve LD, Hyde LW (2017) Toward an understanding of the role of the environment in the development of early callous behavior. J Pers 85(1):90–103 Wells G, Shea B, O’connell D, Peterson J, Welch V, Losos M, Tugwell P (2018) The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomised studies in meta-analyses. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa Willoughby MT, Waschbusch DA, Moore GA, Propper CB (2011) Using the ASEBA to screen for callous unemotional traits in early childhood: Factor structure, temporal stability, and utility. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 33(1):19–30 Wright N, Hill J, Sharp H, Pickles A (2018) Maternal sensitivity to distress, attachment and the development of callous-unemotional traits in young children. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 59(7):790–800 Yang Y, Zhong C, Zhang X, Wang MC, Gao Y (2023) Longitudinal relations between maternal emotional expressivity and child callous-unemotional traits: the mediating role of parenting. Curr Psychol 4:1–11 Zhang G, Zhu Y (2023) The mediating role of callous–unemotional traits in the relationship between parental aggression and behavioral problems among Chinese preschoolers. Children 10(6):1054 Zumbach J, Rademacher A, Koglin U (2021) Conceptualizing callous-unemotional traits in preschoolers: Associations with social-emotional competencies and aggressive behavior. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 15(1):24