Bad boys and mean girls: Disruptive behaviour problems and callous-unemotional (CU) traits in children in schools

This talk includes findings a research programme examining child callous-unemotional (CU) traits and disruptive behaviour problems and school-related outcomes in the United Kingdom, China and South Korea, using a variety of study designs and methods. A series of qualitative studies indicated that teachers view children high in CU traits as less responsive to reward and discipline strategies than children low in CU traits. Teachers also reported lower school engagement, poorer quality teacher-child relationships and absent/conflictual relationships with caregivers for children high in CU traits. Cross-sectional quantitative research in the UK secondary school students (N = 437) also showed that CU traits were related to significantly lower grades, with boys at higher risk for low Science grades. Insensitivity to teacher discipline was identified as a mechanism explaining the link between CU traits and low grades. Longitudinal research in South Korean primary school children (N = 218) indicated that CU traits appeared to drive reductions in teachers’ use of rewards across the school year, and that CU traits conferred resilience to the demotivating effects of teacher harsh discipline. CU traits elicited decreased affiliation in teacher-child relationships which was in turn related to increased CU traits. Finally, the results of a classroom observation study in Chinese preschool children (N = 116) showed that CU traits were related to more frequent 1:1 teacher-child interaction. In all, findings suggest that risk pathways for poor school outcomes across behavioural, social and academic domains may differ for children with disruptive behaviour depending on levels of CU traits, and emphasize the need to carefully select, modify and implement existing evidence-based classroom management strategies with children based on their unique temperament profile.