Throwing caution to the wind: Callous-unemotional traits and risk-taking in adolescents

Developmental research suggests that adolescents may be highly influenced by their peers to take risks. Although youths with callous-unemotional (CU) traits engage in high-risk behaviors in the form of antisocial behavior and aggression, little is known about their decision making, particularly when their peers are present. Youths high on CU traits may be most susceptible to influence, especially when rewards are involved, or they may be highly rational relative to their low CU peers and less susceptible to social peer pressures. The present study used a gambling task with 675 youths (female n = 348), ages 16 to 20 years (M = 16.9, SD = .8). The majority were White British (64%). We experimentally manipulated whether youths made decisions in groups with peers or individually. All members of the group reported on their CU traits. Using multilevel modeling to control for group-level effects, youths with higher levels of CU traits were found to be less sensitive to accruing rewards on the gambling task than youths low on these traits. When in groups, male participants with higher levels of CU traits made quicker decisions to take risks than male participants lower on CU traits, particularly after punishment. Youths with CU traits are distinct in showing a lack of emotion and this may facilitate heightened rationality in responding to rewards. However, results suggest that male adolescents who are high on CU traits may react to the possible frustration of losing by attempting to gain back rewards quickly when their peers are watching

Recognition of pain as another deficit in young males with high callous-unemotional traits

Prior research on callous-unemotional (CU) traits supports a deficit in recognizing fear in faces and body postures. Difficulties recognising others’ emotions may impair the typical behavioural inhibition for violent behaviour. However, recent research has begun to examine other distress cues such as pain. The present study examined emotion recognition skills, including pain, of school-excluded boys aged 11–16 years (N = 50). Using dynamic faces and body poses, we examined the relation between emotion recognition and CU traits using the youth psychopathic traits inventory (YPI) and the inventory of CU traits. Violent delinquency was covaried in regression analyses. Although fearful facial and fearful bodily expressions were unrelated to CU traits, recognition of dynamic pain facial expressions was negatively related to CU traits using the YPI. The failure to replicate a fear and sad deficit are discussed in relation to previous research. Also, findings are discussed in support of a general empathy deficit for distress cues which may underlie the problem behaviour of young males with CU traits

Callous-Unemotional Traits and Fearlessness: A Cardiovascular Psychophysiological Perspective in Two Adolescent Samples using Virtual Reality

There has been a longstanding debate about the link between callous-unemotional traits and fearlessness. However, biological evidence for a relationship in adolescents is lacking. Using two adolescent samples, we measured emotional reactivity, and cardiac measures of sympathetic (pre-ejection period) and parasympathetic (respiratory sinus arrhythmia) reactivity during 3D TV and virtual reality fear induction. Study 1 included 62 community adolescents from a stratified sample. Study 2 included 60 adolescents from Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties schools. Results were consistent across both studies. Adolescents with high callous-unemotional traits showed coactivation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Consistent with these results, youths with callous-unemotional traits self-reported that they felt more in control after the fear induction. Thus, in both samples, youth with callous-unemotional traits displayed a physiological and emotional profile suggesting they maintained control during fear induction. Therefore, it is proposed here that a shift in thinking of youth with callous-unemotional traits as fearless to youth with callous-unemotional traits are better able to manage fearful situations, may be more appropriate

Identifying the Manipulative Mating Methods Associated with Psychopathic traits and BPD Features

Psychopathy and borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits are associated with coercion and manipulation within relationships. The authors investigated whether BPD traits were uniquely associated with manipulation for emotional closeness whereas psychopathy was used for the purpose of attaining physical closeness. A community sample (N = 164) reported on mating behaviors, psychopathic traits, and BPD traits. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to predict mating behaviors that would account for the overlap between psychopathy and BPD. Total psychopathic traits were associated with lower levels of relationship exclusivity, greater use of partner poaching, and perpetration of sexual coercion. Specifically, callousness and egocentricity were related to lower relationship exclusivity. BPD traits were associated with the use of mate retention strategies, mate poaching, and victimization in sexual coercion. These findings indicate that manipulative mating behaviors encompass tools to achieve sex and intimacy. Those with BPD traits use these tools for emotional closeness, whereas those with psychopathic traits use them to obtain physical closeness and gratification

Identifying the manipulative mating methods associated with psychopathic traits and BPD features.

Psychopathy and borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits are associated with coercion and manipulation within relationships. The authors investigated whether BPD traits were uniquely associated with manipulation for emotional closeness whereas psychopathy was used for the purpose of attaining physical closeness. A community sample (N = 164) reported on mating behaviors, psychopathic traits, and BPD traits. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to predict mating behaviors that would account for the overlap between psychopathy and BPD. Total psychopathic traits were associated with lower levels of relationship exclusivity, greater use of partner poaching, and perpetration of sexual coercion. Specifically, callousness and egocentricity were related to lower relationship exclusivity. BPD traits were associated with the use of mate retention strategies, mate poaching, and victimization in sexual coercion. These findings indicate that manipulative mating behaviors encompass tools to achieve sex and intimacy. Those with BPD traits use these tools for emotional closeness, whereas those with psychopathic traits use them to obtain physical closeness and gratification

Driving under the influence of risky peers: An experimental study of adolescent risk taking

Both passive and active social influences may affect adolescents' dangerous driving. In this study, we used an experimental paradigm to delineate these two influences with actual peers. Adolescents completed a simulated driving task, and we measured risk preferences of each member of the peer group. We used hierarchical linear modeling to partition variance in risky decisions. Adolescents experienced many more crashes when they had “passengers” present who reported a strong preference for risk taking and who actively provided decision-making guidance. Although youth in the passive peer condition were also influenced by the riskiness of their peers, this relation was less strong relative to the active condition. We discuss the need for interventions focussing on active and passive peer influence

Innovation: Can it be an on-the-spot idea or must it be pre-planned?

This research investigates the importance of innovation; why we do it and, most significantly, how we do it. Research and teaching practice would inevitably suggest that a lesson must be planned – and this is not something with which we disagree. However, what this research aims to discover is whether we can be innovative within a session without it having being fully pre-planned. Can an ‘on the spot’ idea be as successful as something which is planned days or weeks before the session? Our research was carried out within UCLan. The pre-planned innovation was utilised in the Lancashire Law School (LLS) where students were required to ‘peer mark’ for a mock assignment at foundation level. This innovation asked students to engage with the marking criteria and apply it effectively to their colleague’s presentations. The results of this ‘experiment’ were encouraging. Feedback suggested that the students had a better understanding of the assessment criteria and, perhaps more importantly, although unintentional, an increased level of trust between student and tutor. We used what we shall term an ‘on the spot’ innovation in the Lancashire Business School (LBS). This asked students of systems’ development to engage with the diagramming techniques often used by systems’ analysts. This took place on the whiteboard at the front of the room and students were invited to add one relationship (connection) at a time. The tutor photographed each step and a PowerPoint presentation was made using each relationship to build the finished diagram. This was annotated and circulated to all students. Both innovative teaching techniques were effective in terms of the outcomes experienced by all participants. This research will identify that innovative teaching techniques do not need to be a wholly and succinctly pre-planned activity. Innovation within teaching strategies can be both a thought out process, and a more ad-hoc idea

Driving under the influence of risky peers : an experimental study of adolescent risk taking.

Both passive and active social influences may affect adolescents' dangerous driving. In this study, we used an experimental paradigm to delineate these two influences with actual peers. Adolescents completed a simulated driving task, and we measured risk preferences of each member of the peer group. We used hierarchical linear modeling to partition variance in risky decisions. Adolescents experienced many more crashes when they had “passengers” present who reported a strong preference for risk taking and who actively provided decision-making guidance. Although youth in the passive peer condition were also influenced by the riskiness of their peers, this relation was less strong relative to the active condition. We discuss the need for interventions focussing on active and passive peer influence

Profiles of the forms and functions of self-reported aggression in three adolescent samples

In the current study, we addressed several issues related to the forms (physical and relational) and functions (reactive and proactive) of aggression in community (n = 307), voluntary residential (n = 1,917) and involuntarily detained (n = 659) adolescents (ages 11 to 19 years). Across samples, boys self-reported more physical aggression and girls reported more relational aggression, with the exception of higher levels of both forms of aggression in detained girls. Further, few boys showed high rates of relational aggression without also showing high rates of physical aggression. In contrast, it was not uncommon for girls to show high rates of relational aggression alone and these girls tended to also have high levels of problem behavior (e.g., delinquency) and mental health problems (e.g., emotional dysregulation, callous-unemotional traits). Finally, for physical aggression in both boys and girls, and for relational aggression in girls, there was a clear pattern of aggressive behavior that emerged from cluster analyses across samples. Two aggression clusters emerged with one group showing moderately high reactive aggression and a second group showing both high reactive and high proactive aggression (combined group). On measures of severity (e.g., self-reported delinquency and arrests) and etiologically important variables (e.g., emotional regulation and callous-unemotional traits), the reactive aggression group was more severe than a non-aggressive cluster but less severe than the combined aggressive cluster