Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Child Abuse and Neglect, Callous-Unemotional Traits, and Substance Use Problems: the Moderating Role of Stress Response Reactivity

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Young adults who experienced child abuse and neglect (CAN) are at significant risk for callous-unemotional traits and substance use problems. Research shows that compromised self-regulation may increase risk for these maladaptive outcomes. In the present cross-sectional study, we examined the moderating role of self-regulation, indexed by heart rate variability reactivity, in the indirect link between CAN and alcohol and other drug use problems via callous-unemotional traits. We utilized a sample of mostly female undergraduate students (N = 130, 81% Female; Mage = 20.72). We hypothesized that (a) CAN and alcohol or other drug use problems would be associated indirectly via elevations in callous-unemotional traits, and (b) that this indirect association would be exacerbated by elevated heart rate variability reactivity. Results indicated that increased callous-unemotional traits underlain in the link between CAN and alcohol or other drug use problems. Further, this indirect link was exacerbated among youth with elevated heart rate variability reactivity. These findings have significant implications for prevention by demonstrating that physiological self-regulation is important to target in substance use prevention among collegiate samples.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Babor, T. F., Higgins-Biddle, J. C., Saunders, J. B., Monteiro, M. G., & Organization, W. H. (2001). AUDIT: The alcohol use disorders identification test: Guidelines for use in primary health care.

  • Beauchaine, T. P. (2015). Future directions in emotion dysregulation and youth psychopathology. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 44(5), 875–896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beauchaine, T. P., Gatzke-Kopp, L., & Mead, H. K. (2007). Polyvagal theory and developmental psychopathology: Emotion dysregulation and conduct problems from preschool to adolescence. Biological Psychology, 74(2), 174–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berman, A. H., Bergman, H., Palmstierna, T., & Schlyter, F. (2005). Evaluation of the drug use disorders identification test (DUDIT) in criminal justice and detoxification settings and in a Swedish population sample. European Addiction Research, 11(1), 22–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berntson, G. G., Quigley, K. S., Jang, J. F., & Boysen, S. T. (1990). An approach to artifact identification: Application to heart period data. Psychophysiology, 27(5), 586–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berntson, G. G., Cacioppo, J. T., & Fieldstone, A. (1996). Illusions, arithmetic, and the bidirectional modulation of vagal control of the heart. Biological Psychology, 44(1), 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berntson, G. G., Thomas Bigger, J., Eckberg, D. L., Grossman, P., Kaufmann, P. G., Malik, M., . . . Stone, P. H. (1997). Heart rate variability: Origins, methods, and interpretive caveats. Psychophysiology, 34(6), 623–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, R. J. R., Leibenluft, E., & Pine, D. S. (2014). Conduct disorder and callous–unemotional traits in youth. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(23), 2207–2216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. A. (2014). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: Guilford Publications.

  • Brown, T. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. Guilford Publications.

  • Carlson, M., Oshri, A., & Kwon, J. (2015). Child maltreatment and risk behaviors: The roles of callous/unemotional traits and conscientiousness. Child Abuse & Neglect, 50, 234–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dackis, M. N., Rogosch, F. A., & Cicchetti, D. (2015). Child maltreatment, callous–unemotional traits, and defensive responding in high-risk children: An investigation of emotion-modulated startle response. Development and Psychopathology, 27(4pt2), 1527–1545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Del Giudice, M., Ellis, B. J., & Shirtcliff, E. A. (2011). The adaptive calibration model of stress responsivity. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 35(7), 1562–1592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, B. J., Oldehinkel, A. J., & Nederhof, E. (2017). The adaptive calibration model of stress responsivity: An empirical test in the tracking Adolescents' individual lives survey study. Development and Psychopathology, 29(3), 1001–1021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ernst, J. M., Litvack, D. A., Lozano, D. L., Cacioppo, J. T., & Berntson, G. G. (1999). Impedance pneumography: Noise as signal in impedance cardiography. Psychophysiology, 36(3), 333–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang, X., & Corso, P. S. (2007). Child maltreatment, youth violence, and intimate partner violence: Developmental relationships. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(4), 281–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fanti, K. A., Demetriou, C. A., & Kimonis, E. R. (2013). Variants of callous-unemotional conduct problems in a community sample of adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(7), 964–979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fanti, K. A., Panayiotou, G., Lombardo, M. V., & Kyranides, M. N. (2016). Unemotional on all counts: Evidence of reduced affective responses in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits across emotion systems and valences. Social Neuroscience, 11(1), 72–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., . . . Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frick, P. J. (2004). The inventory of callous-unemotional traits. Unpublished rating scale.

  • Frick, P. J., & White, S. F. (2008). Research review: The importance of callous-unemotional traits for developmental models of aggressive and antisocial behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(4), 359–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frick, P. J., Ray, J. V., Thornton, L. C., & Kahn, R. E. (2014). Can callous-unemotional traits enhance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of serious conduct problems in children and adolescents? A comprehensive review. Psychological Bulletin, 140(1), 1–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawes, S. W., Waller, R., Thompson, W. K., Hyde, L. W., Byrd, A. L., Burt, S. A., . . . Gonzalez, R. (2019). Assessing callous-unemotional traits: Development of a brief, reliable measure in a large and diverse sample of preadolescent youth. Psychological Medicine, 1–9.

  • Hildebrand, M., & Noteborn, M. G. (2015). Exploration of the (interrater) reliability and latent factor structure of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) in a sample of Dutch probationers. Substance use & misuse, 50(10), 1294–1306

  • Humphreys, K. L., & Lee, S. S. (2011). Risk taking and sensitivity to punishment in children with ADHD, ODD, ADHD+ ODD, and controls. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 33(3), 299–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J., & Williams, S. (2009). Linking childhood maltreatment to substance use in college students: The mediating role of self-worth contingencies. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 18(1), 88–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimonis, E. R., Cross, B., Howard, A., & Donoghue, K. (2013a). Maternal care, maltreatment and callous-unemotional traits among urban male juvenile offenders. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(2), 165–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimonis, E. R., Fanti, K. A., Isoma, Z., & Donoghue, K. (2013b). Maltreatment profiles among incarcerated boys with callous-unemotional traits. Child Maltreatment, 18(2), 108–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimonis, E. R., Branch, J., Hagman, B., Graham, N., & Miller, C. (2013c). The psychometric properties of the Inventory of Callous–Unemotional Traits in an undergraduate sample. Psychological Assessment, 25(1), 84.

  • Kirschbaum, C., Pirke, K. M., & Hellhammer, D. H. (1993). The ‘Trier Social Stress Test’–a tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology, 28(1-2), 76–81.

  • Klein, A., & Moosbrugger, H. (2000). Maximum likelihood estimation of latent interaction effects with the LMS method. Psychometrika, 65(4), 457–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kokotailo, P. K., Egan, J., Gangnon, R., Brown, D., Mundt, M., & Fleming, M. (2004). Validity of the alcohol use disorders identification test in college students. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 28(6), 914–920.

  • Loney, B. R., Frick, P. J., Clements, C. B., Ellis, M. L., & Kerlin, K. (2003). Callous-unemotional traits, impulsivity, and emotional processing in adolescents with antisocial behavior problems. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32(1), 66–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, A. A., Finger, E. C., Mitchell, D. G., Reid, M. E., Sims, C., Kosson, D. S., . . . Blair, R. (2008). Reduced amygdala response to fearful expressions in children and adolescents with callous-unemotional traits and disruptive behavior disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(6), 712–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2010). Mplus User's Guide: Statistical Analysis with Latent Variables: User'ss Guide: Muthén & Muthén.

  • Obradović, J. (2012). How can the study of physiological reactivity contribute to our understanding of adversity and resilience processes in development? Development and Psychopathology, 24(02), 371–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obradović, J., Bush, N. R., Stamperdahl, J., Adler, N. E., & Boyce, W. T. (2010). Biological sensitivity to context: The interactive effects of stress reactivity and family adversity on socioemotional behavior and school readiness. Child development, 81(1), 270–289.

  • Oshri, A., Rogosch, F. A., Burnette, M. L., & Cicchetti, D. (2011). Developmental pathways to adolescent cannabis abuse and dependence: Child maltreatment, emerging personality, and internalizing versus externalizing psychopathology. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 25(4), 634–644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oshri, A., Rogosch, F. A., & Cicchetti, D. (2013). Child maltreatment and mediating influences of childhood personality types on the development of adolescent psychopathology. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 42(3), 287–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oshri, A., Sutton, T. E., Clay-Warner, J., & Miller, J. D. (2015). Child maltreatment types and risk behaviors: Associations with attachment style and emotion regulation dimensions. Personality and Individual Differences, 73, 127–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oshri, A., Liu, S., Duprey, E. B., & MacKillop, J. (2018). Child maltreatment, delayed reward discounting, and alcohol and other drug use problems: The moderating role of heart rate variability. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 42(10), 2033–2046.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pardini, D. A., Lochman, J. E., & Frick, P. J. (2003). Callous/unemotional traits and social-cognitive processes in adjudicated youths. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(3), 364–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porges, S. W. (1995). Orienting in a defensive world: Mammalian modifications of our evolutionary heritage. A polyvagal theory. Psychophysiology, 32(4), 301–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porges, S. W., Doussard-Roosevelt, J. A., Portales, A. L., & Greenspan, S. I. (1996). Infant regulation of the vagal “brake” predicts child behavior problems: A psychobiological model of social behavior. Developmental Psychobiology, 29(8), 697–712.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., Curran, P. J., & Bauer, D. J. (2006). Computational tools for probing interactions in multiple linear regression, multilevel modeling, and latent curve analysis. Journal of educational and behavioral statistics, 31(4), 437–448.

  • Rogosch, F. A., & Cicchetti, D. (2004). Child maltreatment and emergent personality organization: Perspectives from the five-factor model. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32(2), 123–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2009). Claude Bernard and the heart–brain connection: Further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 33(2), 81–88.

  • Tofighi, D., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2011). RMediation: An R package for mediation analysis confidence intervals. Behavior Research Methods, 43(3), 692–700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zapolski, T. C., Cyders, M. A., & Smith, G. T. (2009). Positive urgency predicts illegal drug use and risky sexual behavior. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(2), 348–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Funding: This work was partially supported by NIH through NIDA (5K01DA045219-02) grant awarded to Dr. Assaf Oshri.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Youth Development Institute, Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, 105 Foster Rd, Pound Hall 208, Athens, GA, 30606, USA

    Assaf Oshri, Erinn Bernstein Duprey, Sihong Liu & Landry Goodgame Huffman

  2. The Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Georgia, Tucker Hall Rm. 422, 310 E Campus Rd., Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Assaf Oshri & Landry Goodgame Huffman

  3. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center on Children, Families, and the Law, Lincoln, NE, USA

    Mathew William Carlson

  4. University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Erinn Bernstein Duprey

  5. Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, 1095 College Station Road, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Steven M. Kogan

Authors
  1. Assaf Oshri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mathew William Carlson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Erinn Bernstein Duprey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sihong Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Landry Goodgame Huffman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Steven M. Kogan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Assaf Oshri.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee, and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual adult participants included in the study; assent was obtained from children.

Conflict of Interest

All authors of the manuscript declare that they have no potential conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Oshri, A., Carlson, M.W., Duprey, E.B. et al. Child Abuse and Neglect, Callous-Unemotional Traits, and Substance Use Problems: the Moderating Role of Stress Response Reactivity. Journ Child Adol Trauma 13, 389–398 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-019-00291-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-019-00291-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation