Conceptualizing Callous-Unemotional Traits in Preschool through Confirmatory Factor and Network Analysis.

Conceptualizing Callous-Unemotional Traits in Preschool through Confirmatory Factor and Network Analysis. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2020 Jan 03;: Authors: Bansal PS, Goh PK, Lee CA, Martel MM Abstract Callous - unemotional (CU) traits are a key factor in understanding the persistence and severity of conduct problems. Most research has used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the structure of CU traits; however, most CFA models have yielded marginally acceptable fit, and little research has examined the structure of CU traits in preschool. This gap highlights the need for a more nuanced approach in understanding the structure of CU traits during preschool via statistical examination of inter - item relationships (i.e., network analysis). Therefore, the current study used both CFA and network analysis in a sample of 104 preschool children (M age = 4.76). CFA results best supported a two - factor structure of the ICU, comprised of callous and uncaring factors, using 12 of the original 24 items from the ICU, although fit was only marginally acceptable. Network community analyses identified four clusters of items characterized as Uncaring, Lack of Remorse, Unconcerned, and Callous. Items identified as most central to the network were: Does not care who he/she hurts to get what they want, Does not care if he/she is in trouble, and Seems very cold and uncaring. Overall, network analysis suggests several important potential refinemen...
Source: Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: J Abnorm Child Psychol Source Type: research