About this paper symposium

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Panel information
Panel 6. Developmental Psychopathology

Paper #1
Parent-Reported Social Difficulties in Children with Callous-Unemotional Traits: Distinctions from ADHD and Conduct Problems
Author information	Role
Erin P. Vaughan, Louisiana State University & Penn State College of Medicine, United States	Presenting author
Daniel Waschbusch, Penn State College of Medicine, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
In addition to increased risk for antisocial behavior, youth with callous-unemotional (CU) traits are at greater risk for peer difficulties and social skills deficits. However, because CU traits are often accompanied by disruptive behavior (i.e., ADHD and conduct problems, which are also linked to social difficulties), it is important to identify the particular social behaviors that contribute to broad social deficits and are specific to CU traits. In a sample of 478 clinic-referred children (age 4-17 years, Mage = 8.18 years, 71% male, 82% White, 25% Hispanic), mothers/maternal caregivers reported their child’s levels of ADHD symptoms, conduct problems (oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder symptoms), and callous-unemotional traits, as well as the degree of difficulty their child displays in different domains of functioning. Social domains regarding interactions with peers included cooperation (sharing, taking turns), validation (complimenting, being friendly), communication (engaging in conversations, eye contact), participation (joining and staying in activities), interrupting, name calling, bossiness, physical aggression, cheating, complaining, sportsmanship, bragging, taking over activities, and ignoring teasing. Parents also rated their child’s overall social competence (i.e., the extent to which their child’s behavior toward peers was like other children their age). ADHD symptoms, conduct problems, and CU traits (along with demographic characteristics) were included as predictors in regression analyses predicting each social domain to investigate the unique associations with disruptive behavior and CU traits. Follow-up analyses investigated the ability of each social domain to mediate the association between disruptive behavior/CU traits and overall social competence. Results indicated that, compared to youth with similar levels of ADHD and conduct problems, youth with high CU traits had greater difficulty with cooperation (β = .23, p < .001), validation (β = .38, p < .001), communication (β = .37, p < .001), participation (β = .30, p < .001), and sportsmanship (β = .20, p < .001), and each of these domains explained significant variance in their overall parent-rated social competence. Youth with CU traits were rated as being better at ignoring teasing from peers (β = -.13, p < .05), but their other social difficulties outweighed this positive skill to result in overall worse social competence for youth with CU traits (β = .15, p < .01). This pattern of social difficulties stood in contrast to the difficulties displayed by youth with ADHD and conduct problems. For example, conduct problems were associated with greater problems in all social domains (βs = .20-.59) except communication and participation, supporting these two domains as potentially clinically significant in distinguishing between conduct problems and CU traits. Findings support social motivation and emotional warmth as distinct deficits for individuals with CU traits, suggesting that dysfunctional social processing and experiences are likely key aspects of their development. Results also highlight that individuals with ADHD, conduct problems, and CU traits display nuanced differences in social behavior, and these differences may be helpful for differential diagnosis.

Paper #2
Psychophysiological Antecedents to the Cascade of Children’s CU Traits and Later Psychological Adjustment
Author information	Role
Vanessa T. Cao, University of Rochester, United States	Presenting author
Patrick T. Davies, University of Rochester, United States	Non-presenting author
Morgan J. Thompson, Auburn University, United States	Non-presenting author
Mona El-Sheikh, Auburn University, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Although research has identified children’s development of callous-unemotional (CU) traits as a risk factor for subsequent externalizing problems and social difficulties, little is known about the physiological antecedents that may proceed CU trait development in this developmental cascade. Hypoarousal models of CU traits have specifically proposed that children’s dampened autonomic nervous system reactivity underpins the development of CU traits (Frick & Ellis, 1999; Blair, 2013). However, the predominant use of cross-sectional designs in the small body of studies cannot disentangle the unfolding processes linking children’s physiological reactivity to their CU traits and mental health outcomes (Wagner & Waller, 2020). Moreover, although dampened autonomic nervous system reactivity may be manifested in parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system, prior studies have largely focused on children’s respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA) reactivity to challenges as an indicator of PNS functioning. Thus, no prior studies have examined how the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system might work in tandem during stressors in predicting CU traits and consequently later behavioral and social problems for children. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine whether a mediational cascade involving children’s (RSA) reactivity to challenges, their CU traits, and psychological adjustment (i.e., externalizing symptoms and social functioning) was moderated by their cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) reactivity. Using a multi-method (i.e., survey, psychophysiology), multi-informant design (i.e., mother, teacher), 238 mothers and their pre-school children (Mage at Wave 1 = 4.38, 52% female; 68% White; 18% Black; 14% Multiracial or another race; and 16% Latinx) participated in three annual measurement occasions. The resulting analytic model provided a good fit with the data (see Figure 1). Consistent with hypoarousal models (Barry et al., 2000; Frick & Ellis, 1999; Lykken, 1995), primary structural paths indicated that children with lower RSA reactivity to a series of cognitive and social-evaluative tasks at Wave 1 exhibited residualized increases in CU traits at Wave 2, β = .16, p < .01. In turn, CU traits at Wave 2 significantly predicted residualized increases in children’s later externalizing symptoms, β = .35, p < .001 and decreases in social functioning, β = -.22, p < .01. Additionally, children’s PEP reactivity to the same series of tasks at Wave 1 moderated the first link of the mediational chain, where the interaction at Wave 1 between RSA reactivity and PEP reactivity significantly predicted residualized change in Wave 2 CU traits, β = .19, p < .01. Follow up regions of significance on Z (RoS on Z) analyses indicated that children’s dampened RSA reactivity (i.e., higher values) significantly predicted greater CU traits for children with had lower PEP reactivity (i.e., longer PEP). More specifically, children’s RSA reactivity significantly predicted CU traits for children who scored were above -.16 on PEP (i.e., dampened PEP shortening to challenge), which consisted of 40% of children in our sample. Findings will be discussed in relation to how they advance hypoarousal theories on the etiology of CU traits and inform translational efforts in identifying multiple points at which clinical and therapeutic work may be most effective.

Paper #3
What’s in a Name (or Face)? Callous-Unemotional Traits and Preference for Anthropomorphic Features
Author information	Role
Kristin Murtha, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Presenting author
Yael Paz, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Erin Brown, Child Mind Institute, United States	Non-presenting author
Rista Plate, Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, United States	Non-presenting author
Alexis Broussard, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Emily Perkins, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Rebecca Waller, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Anthropomorphism (i.e., assigning human characteristics to nonhuman objects) is a normative child behavior that supports the development of adaptive socioemotional functioning by facilitating fantasy play. Specific anthropomorphic features (e.g., face, name) can be highly salient to children, but sensitivity to such features may also vary by age or gender, which few studies have investigated in early childhood. Moreover, reduced sensitivity to anthropomorphic features may be associated with emerging forms of psychopathology. For example, callous-unemotional (CU) traits are characterized by emotion recognition difficulties (including for emotional faces), restricted empathy and guilt, and limited prosocial behavior. However, studies have yet to examine how CU traits relate to children’s sensitivity to anthropomorphic features, which could provide insight into the interpersonal mechanisms underlying the development of CU traits. The current study thus examined how the anthropomorphic features of a face and/or a name related to children’s preference for novel objects, and tested whether age, gender, or CU traits moderated these preferences. We recruited preschool-aged children from a Northeastern United States city (N=145, Mage=52.73 months, SDage=9.95; 72 female, 73 male; 8 Asian, 17 Black, 100 White, 25 “other/more than one race”). Children completed a new computerized task (Toy Object Name Game), choosing between two novel objects that had either a happy face, a name, both a happy face and a name, or neither (e.g., “Barbara the blicket” or a “blicket”) with two conditions (“play with” or “like better”). Object names (e.g., “blicket”) were selected from the Novel Object and Unusual Name Database. Anthropomorphic names (e.g., “Barbara”) were selected from the top 50 most popular names from 1930-1950. The combination of the four features (face/no Name, face/Name, no face/Name, no face/no Name) yielded 6 forced-choices, which were each repeated twice across a “play with” and “like better” condition (i.e., total, 24 trials). CU traits were assessed using parent-report on the 24-item Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that children were more likely to pick novel objects with a face (F(1,139)=122.51, p<.001) or a name (F(1,139)=16.35, p<.001), but the presence of both features did not increase preference rates. Simple main effects revealed that children were more likely to pick an object with a face regardless of whether an object had a name (F(1,1146)=35.158, p<.001) or no name (F(1,1146)=115.684, p<.001), but were more likely to pick an object with a name only when there was no face (F(1,1146)=29.818, p<.001). Further, a significant 2-way interaction revealed that the effect of face on object preference was stronger for children with low CU traits than children with high CU traits (F(1,1143)=5.753, p<.05). Findings inform developmental models of anthropomorphism, demonstrating that young children are highly sensitive to anthropomorphic features, including proper noun names. Results also point to future targets for interventions designed to increase empathy or prosocial behavior in young children with high CU traits, who may be less sensitive to anthropomorphic features.

Paper #4
Hearing a Feeling: Music Emotion Recognition and Callous-Unemotional Traits in Early Childhood
Author information	Role
Dr. Yael Paz, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, United States	Presenting author
Sydney Sun, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Michaela Flum, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Yuheiry Rodriguez, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Erin Brown, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Rista Plate, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Rebecca Waller, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Recognizing and responding appropriately to emotions is vital for social functioning. Music is a powerful medium to convey emotions, as it evokes an embodied sense of emotion in listeners that can bypass culture and experience. While adults and older children can recognize emotions in music, evidence is mixed for preschool-aged children. Emotional knowledge in early childhood is crucial for later social competence. Difficulties in emotion recognition and resonance are particularly relevant to understanding the development of callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., low empathy, restricted prosociality), which put children at risk for severe externalizing problems and socioemotional difficulties. The current study explored the performance of 145 children aged 3-5 years old (50.6% female; 71.6% White, 10.5% Black, 13.6% Asian) during a brief online task of music emotion recognition. The children listened to 20 brief music clips representing four emotions (five clips each: fear, sadness, happiness, and calmness). These emotions corresponded to the four quadrants of the circumplex model of emotions, divided along two axes: valence (positive and negative) and arousal (low and high). After each clip, the children chose one of four drawings of emotional faces that matched the emotion conveyed in the music. Children's responses were coded to reflect different degrees of accuracy: fully correct, valence-only, or incorrect). First, children recognized all four emotions at above chance level (range t = 2.84–6.84, df = 144, p < .01). Ordinal mixed-effects regression demonstrated that children were significantly better at recognizing high (i.e., happy and fear) versus low (i.e., sad and calm) arousal music (B = .33, SE = .07, OR = 1.40, p < .001). Second, there was also a significant interaction between age and arousal (B = .25, SE = .07, OR = 1.28, p < .001), such that with increasing age, children became more accurate for high (β = .41, p < .001) versus low (β = .17, p < .01) arousal music (Figure 1). Third, higher CU traits were associated with poorer emotion recognition (B = -.19, SE = .06, OR = .83, p < .01), including just in identifying the valence of the music. An interaction with valence (B = -.15, SE = .07, OR = .86, p = .039; Figure 2), demonstrated that higher CU traits were related to worse emotion recognition specifically for positive emotions (simple slope: β = -.26, p < .001) but not for negative emotions (β = -.11, p = .11). Findings support the role of music as a tool to communicate emotion independently of verbalization or facial expressions, though younger children appear to require greater arousal in those cues to support accurate recognition. Notably, recognizing positive-valence music, often linked to social bonding and cooperative activities (e.g., dancing, singing) was particularly challenging for children with high CU traits, further emphasizing the potential mechanistic role of affiliative difficulties in the etiology of CU traits.

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