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Utility of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Predicting Criminal Recidivism Among Detained Youth

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Abstract

The aim of the present study is to investigate the utility of The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) in predicting criminal recidivism among a sample of incarcerated male juvenile delinquents. Participants (N = 228, M = 16.38 years, SD = 1.26 years) from juvenile detention centers were followed during a two-year period and categorized as recidivists or non-recidivists. Area under the curve (AUC) results showed that the ICU total score and its Callousness and Uncaring dimensions significantly predicted general recidivism. However, binary logistic regression models controlling for age of first detention, past frequency of crimes, and conduct disorder symptoms found that neither the ICU total nor its dimensions predicted general or violent recidivism. Findings indicate that callous-unemotional traits as measured by the ICU self-report have limited incremental utility in terms of predicting recidivism among this sample of detained male youth offenders.

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Data is available upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the staff of the following Portuguese detention centers: Olivais, Santa Clara, Bela Vista, Mondego, Navarro Paiva, Santo António, and Padre Oliveira.

Funding

This study was partially conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM PSI/01662) School of Psychology, University of Minho, and was partially funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (UID/PSI/01662/2019) through the Portuguese State budget (UIDB/01662/2020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

    Pedro Pechorro & Rui Abrunhosa Gonçalves

  2. Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, W112 Lagomarcino Hall 901 Stange Rd., Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Monica Marsee

  3. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Iowa State University, 203A East Hall, Ames, IA, 50011-1070, USA

    Matt DeLisi

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  1. Pedro Pechorro
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  2. Monica Marsee
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  3. Matt DeLisi
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  4. Rui Abrunhosa Gonçalves
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Correspondence to Pedro Pechorro.

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Pedro Pechorro, Monica Marsee, Matt DeLisi, Rui Abrunhosa Gonçalves and declare there is no conflict of interest.

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Pechorro, P., Marsee, M., DeLisi, M. et al. Utility of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in Predicting Criminal Recidivism Among Detained Youth. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 44, 1090–1098 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-021-09904-0

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