Family Environment, Child Temperament, and Callous-Unemotional Behaviors in Early Childhood
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Date
2021-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Callous-unemotional (C-U) behaviors include a lack of empathy, guilt, and emotion, and predict antisocial behaviors in adolescence and adulthood. By identifying C-U behaviors in early childhood, it is possible to pinpoint signs of future antisocial behaviors, intervene early, and therefore minimize the chances of the child growing up to engage in behaviors and illegal activities that are costly to society. Whether or not a child develops C-U behaviors is likely determined by an interplay of risk and protective factors. The goal of this study was to contribute to a better understanding of the origins of C-U behaviors by examining the contributions of child temperament and aspects of the family environment to C-U behaviors in early childhood. I recruited 86 mothers via Facebook groups who were the biological parents of children ages 4 to 7, and who were either married or cohabiting with their child's father. Participants completed an online survey that included validated measures of child temperament, mother-child relationship quality, coparenting relationship quality, and children's callous-unemotional behaviors. Correlation analyses confirmed hypothesized associations of greater child temperamental negative affectivity and lower effortful control with greater child C-U behaviors. In addition, higher conflict and lower positivity in the mother-child relationship, and greater undermining and less support in the coparenting relationship were also associated with greater C-U behaviors in children. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that coparenting relationship quality does contribute to child C-U behaviors above and beyond the child's temperament and mother-child relationship quality.