Can callous-unemotional (CU) traits be acquired? Tests in a longitudinal sample

Objective. Callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., “Limited Prosocial Emotions”) characterize a severe group of antisocial youth. “Secondary” CU traits, as opposed to “primary” (characterized by low-fear), are marked by co-occurring anxiety and are theorized to reflect an acquired phenotype that develops through an interaction between emotional sensitivity and adversity exposure. The aim of this study was to test this pathway in a large, diverse sample spanning ages 8–16. Methods. Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, with youth (N = 11, 880; Mage = 10; 48% female) assessed annually over five timepoints. Retrospective and prospective analyses examined the effects of emotional sensitivity and adversity on the development of CU traits. Results. Retrospective analyses showed no main or interactive effects of emotional sensitivity and adversity during pre-adolescence in predicting secondary CU traits by adolescence. Instead, a significant interaction (B = .12, SE = 0.05, p < .01, OR = 1.13) was found for primary, not secondary, CU such that higher adversity and emotional sensitivity together increased risk. Prospective analyses among emotionally sensitive (≥90th percentile) youth with no CU traits (n = 365, age ~10) similarly showed no forms of cumulative adversity predicted increases in or the onset of CU traits after four years. Conclusions. Findings did not support a distinct adversity-linked pathway to secondary CU via emotional sensitivity. Instead, results were consistent with alternative models in which secondary CU reflects a comorbid profile marked by broader clinical severity or overlapping liabilities (e.g., negative affectivity, internalizing risk).