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Greater fear reactivity and psychophysiological hyperactivity among infants with later conduct problems and

William R Mills-Koonce¹, Nicholas J Wagner, Michael T Willoughby

¹Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC, USA.

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines

|July 4, 2014

Insights

Infants later diagnosed with conduct problems (CP) and callous-unemotional (CU) traits show distinct fear and stress responses by 15 months. These early biobehavioral differences in CP+CU children may indicate a complex developmental pathway.

Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Child Psychiatry
Behavioral Neuroscience

Background:

Conduct problems (CP) affect one-third of children, with a subset exhibiting callous-unemotional (CU) traits.
Children with CP+CU traits face higher risks for severe, persistent antisocial behavior.
Previous research links older children with CP+CU to fearlessness and blunted stress responses.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate infant fear reactivity and stress psychophysiology in children later classified with CP+CU, CP only, or no CP.
To identify early biobehavioral markers differentiating these childhood behavioral trajectories.

Main Methods:

Longitudinal birth cohort study of 1,292 children from birth to first grade.
Assessed behavioral fear, heart period (HP), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and salivary cortisol at 6 and 15 months around a fear challenge.
Classified CP and CU based on maternal reports at first grade (top 10th percentile).

Main Results:

No significant group differences were found at 6 months.
At 15 months, children with later CP+CU exhibited heightened fear behavior.
CP+CU infants showed higher cortisol levels and lower HP and RSA compared to CP only and no CP groups.

Conclusions:

Early biobehavioral correlates of CP+CU in infancy differ from those in older individuals.
The developmental origins of the CP+CU phenotype appear more intricate than a simple maturation model.
These findings highlight the importance of early assessment of fear and stress reactivity in predicting later behavioral issues.

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Abstract

Background:

Approximately one third of children who meet criteria for conduct problems (CP) are also characterized by elevated callous-unemotional (CU) traits. This subgroup is at elevated risk for more pervasive and extreme levels of later antisocial behavior and has been characterized by a fearlessness temperament and blunted stress psychophysiology at older ages. The objective of this study was to examine group differences in fear reactivity and stress psychophysiology in infancy among children classified as having CP with CU (CP + CU), CP without CU (CP only), or no CP in later childhood.

Methods:

A birth cohort study (n = 1,292) was followed longitudinally from birth through first grade. Behavioral fear, baseline heart period (HP) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and pretask, 20-min posttask, and 40-min posttask salivary cortisol were assessed at 6 and 15 months of age around a fear challenge task. CP and CU were assessed by maternal report at first grade and children were classified into CP and CU groups if they scored in the upper 10(th) percentile of these ratings.

Results:

No group differences were observed in children at 6 months of age. However, at 15 months of age children with later CP + CU displayed greater high-intensity fear behavior, higher pretask and overall cortisol levels, and lower levels of HP and RSA compared to children with CP only and children with no CP.

Conclusions:

The discrepancy between the biobehavioral correlates of conduct problems with callous-unemotional traits in infancy and those reported from studies of older children and adults suggests that the etiology of this behavioral phenotype may be more complex than a simple genetic maturation model.

Keywords:

Fearlessness autonomic callous-unemotional traits conduct problems cortisol psychobiology

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