Treating Severe Child Conduct Problems
We are currently testing an adapted version of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy that addresses the unique treatment needs of young children with conduct problems and limited prosocial emotions.
Young children with limited prosocial emotions benefit from parenting interventions, but do not improve as much as children with appropriately developed prosocial emotions. Prosocial emotions refer to experiences of empathy, guilt, and motivation to do well that are at a level expected for the child’s age and developmental level. The enhanced intervention was developed to address problems with emotional processing common to children with limited prosocial emotions.
If you’re interested in learning more about this treatment trial, or finding out whether you or your child are eligible, contact us.
Mediators of Treatment-Induced Change in Young Children with Callous-Unemotional (CU) Traits
Callous-unemotional (CU) traits describe a group of children who show severe behavioral problems, marked by a lack of empathy, remorse, and a typical fear response (Frick et al., 2003). These traits can be identified as early as three years old and predict severe conduct problems that often do not normalize with standard treatment (Goulter et al., 2017; Neo & Kimonis, 2021; Perlstein et al., 2023).
Research suggests that three key factors contribute to the development of CU traits in young children: low levels of parental warmth, child insensitivity to punishment, and child emotional deficits (Kimonis et al., 2017; Fleming, 2023; Dadds & Salmon, 2003; Levantini et al., 2022). While some interventions have shown promise, especially when delivered early, there has been limited study on whether interventions change these three specific risk factors.
Our research aims to test whether these three risk factors—low parental warmth, punishment insensitivity, and emotional attention—differ in children with high versus low levels of CU traits, how they change in response to targeted interventions, and if these changes lead to improvements in conduct problems and CU traits.
This study will provide a comprehensive understanding of the contextual (parental warmth) and dispositional (punishment insensitivity and emotional deficits) factors contributing to CU traits in early childhood. Using advanced mobile eye-tracking technology, computerized tasks, and various measurement methods, we will assess real-world interactions to quantify these factors. By studying these factors over time in families receiving treatment, we hope to discover whether and how these risk factors are modified using targeted interventions.
Our goal is to refine treatments for children with CU traits by understanding how changes in these key factors can lead to better outcomes. This research is expected to have significant implications for improving interventions and supporting children with CU traits and their families.