Parental Attributions, Callous-Unemotional Traits and Early Chidhood Conduct Problems

Abstract

Childhood conduct problems (CP) are associated with significant impairment and disruption for the individual and their environment, and account for the greatest cost to psychological services of all childhood psychopathologies. It is now well established that the most chronic and severe patterns of antisocial behaviour are initiated early in life. Harsh and coercive discipline has been identified as one of the strongest risk factors for the development of early CP. Across a range of psychopathologies, parental causal attributions have been found to contribute to these negative parenting practices. In spite of growing evidence regarding the importance of parental attributions, no research has examined attributions in relation to CU traits. High callous-unemotional (CU) traits represent a risk pathway for particularly severe CP among children with early-onset antisocial behaviours. A meta-analysis of studies examining CU traits in children prior to five years of age demonstrated a significant positive relationship between CU traits and conduct problem severity, in the order of a large effect size. Research is needed to understand the contributions of parenting risk processes to early childhood conduct problems and CU traits. The aim of the current study was to examine parental attributions concerning conduct problems and CU traits among parents of children referred for conduct problems in early childhood. Eighty parents and their children participated in the research project. Participation required the completion of a number of questionnaires measuring parental attributions, negative parenting, parent depression, child temperament and child behaviour. Observational data of interactions between the parent and child were also coded to assess the emotional quality of the parent child relationship. Hypotheses concerning associations between parental attributions, parental responses and conduct problems were partially supported. CP severity was associated with internal attributions, negative affective responses and overreactive discipline. While internal and controllable attributions were associated with parent negative affect, no significant interactions were found between parental attributions and parental responses in the prediction of CP. Hypotheses concerning associations between parental attributions, parental responses and CU traits were not supported. CU traits were not associated with any parenting variable. It was found however, that parent generated negative attributions were associated with harsher parenting towards CU traits. The finding that parent generated negative attributions were higher for CP than CU traits was consistent with the suggestion that a child’s age may be a protective factor against negative attributions towards CU traits. The results of the current study suggest that while parental attributions may not play an important role in the development of early childhood CP and CU traits, they may influence how parents respond to particular child behaviours. Hence, exploring parents’ causal reasoning for child behaviour may provide important insights into dysfunctional parenting processes. The thesis highlights that the presence of CU traits is a marker for particularly severe conduct problems beginning in early childhood, and that greater understanding is needed of the parent child dynamics that shape early developmental trajectories associated with CU traits.