title: The Moderating Role of Anxiety in the Associations of Callous-Unemotional Traits with Self-Report and Laboratory Measures of Affective and Cognitive Empathy.
abstract: In a sample of detained male adolescents (n = 107; Mean age = 15.50; SD = 1.30), we tested whether anxiety moderated the association of CU traits with self-report and computerized measures of affective (emotional reactivity) and cognitive (affective facial recognition and Theory of Mind [ToM]) empathy. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that CU traits were negatively associated with self-reports of affective empathy and this association was not moderated by level of anxiety. Significant interactions revealed that CU traits were negatively associated with cognitive empathy (self-report) only at high levels of anxiety, whereas CU traits were positively associated with cognitive empathy on the ToM task only at low levels of anxiety. CU traits were also associated with greater fear recognition accuracy at low levels of anxiety. Implications for understanding and treating different variants of CU traits (i.e., primary and secondary) are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, 301 Troy Drive, Bld 14, Madison, WI, 14, USA. rachel.kahn@wisconsin.gov.
authors.forename: Rachel E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Kahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.|Learning Sciences Institute of Australia, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Frick
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Farrah N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Golmaryami
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
authors.forename: Monica A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Marsee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D000066499:Facial Recognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Adolescence; Affective empathy; Callous-unemotional traits; Cognitive empathy; Theory of mind