Longitudinal Links Between Callous-Unemotional Behaviors and Parenting in Early Childhood: A Genetically Informed Design

Objective: Most research on callous-unemotional behaviors (CU) and parenting does not focus on directions of effect, and work that does so has not been genetically informed. The present study is the first to examine potential reciprocal effects between parenting and CU in a community sample of early childhood. Use of a twin sample also allows us to distinguish child-based genetic effects from environmentally driven effects, which is necessary before translating this research to interventions. Method: The present study used biometric cross-lagged models to investigate the relation between CU and parenting in twins at 2 and 3 years of age (monozygotic = 145, dizygotic = 169 twin pairs). CU was assessed using the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5. Scores were residualized to control for conduct problems assessed on the Revised Rutter Parent Scale for Preschool Children. Parents' reports of negative and positive parenting were obtained using parent ratings of discipline and parent feelings from the Parent Feelings Questionnaire. Results: CU and negative parenting were significantly correlated at both ages. Cross-lagged analyses revealed a unidirectional effect with CU at age 2 years predicting negative parenting at age 3 years. These child-driven effects were primarily genetically mediated, although there were modest nonshared environmental contributions. CU and positive parenting were not consistently correlated, and further biometric analyses were not performed. Conclusion: Children's genetically influenced CU behaviors can have an impact on the parenting that they experience. Child-driven CU effects, although less examined in the literature, are important and should receive more attention in future work.