Doctorate in Clinical Psychology: Main Research Portfolio

: 1) Do cultural group differences moderate the relationship between callous-unemotional traits and later antisocial behaviour, alcohol use and punishment and reward sensitivity in adolescents? ; 2) Evaluating the equity of access to the Complex Psychological Intervention service for BAME and non-BAME service users; 3) When being bad feels good: A systematic review exploring the relationship between positive emotion and antisocial behaviour in children and adolescents.

Abstract

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits predict antisocial behaviour, alcohol use and risk-taking in later childhood and adolescence. However, most of this literature has been conducted in Western populations, with little attention paid to potential cultural group differences. The present study examined the construct validity and measurement invariance of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) and investigated whether cultural group differences moderate the relationship between CU traits and its risk correlates. Data from the fifth and sixth sweeps of the Millenium Cohort Study was used. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated the 3-item ICU was a better fit to our sample of white, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi, and Black children than the 4-item ICU. CU traits were positively related to delinquency, conduct problems and reward sensitivity, but negatively related to punishment sensitivity. Ethnicity significantly predicted the odds of higher delinquency scores, alcohol use, risk-taking and risk-adjustment, but did not predict the odds of higher conduct problems. Ethnicity did not moderate the relationships between CU traits and its risk correlates. Limitations of the study may explain these findings. Nevertheless, the study highlights the need for culturally sensitive assessments, formulations, and treatments for children from diverse backgrounds. Our findings need to be replicated in other nations.

Keywords: callous-unemotional, cultural differences, antisocial behaviour, risk correlates, adolescents.

Date of Award	22 Sept 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Jennifer Allen (Supervisor)