title: The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) in Children: Reliability and Heritability.
abstract: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits comprise the core symptoms of psychopathy, yet no study has estimated the heritability of CU traits in a community sample of children using an instrument designed solely to assess CU traits. The current study uses data from 339 twin pairs aged 9-14 to examine the reliability and heritability of the parent-report Inventory of Callous-unemotional Traits (ICU) at two assessments approximately 3 weeks apart. Time-specific measurement error was taken into account to obtain a more accurate estimate of the heritability reflecting the latent liability to CU traits. Test-retest reliability was 0.84 and heritability at visit 1 was 39%. The heritability of the latent liability to CU traits was 47%. This latent liability contributed 79% of the variance in ICU score at visit 1 and visit 2. This is the first study to account for measurement error while examining the heritability of CU traits, furthering our understanding of psychopathy in children.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 980489, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA. mooreaa2@vcu.edu.|Center for Clinical and Translational Research, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA. mooreaa2@vcu.edu.
authors.forename: Ashlee A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 980489, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA.
authors.forename: Dever
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carney
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moroney
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Machlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Towbin
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Brotman
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Pine
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leibenluft
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 980489, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Roxann
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roberson-Nay
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 980489, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hettema
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000235:genetics; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D004645:Empathy / Q000235:genetics*; D019260:Expressed Emotion / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D014427:Twins / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Callous-unemotional traits; Heritability; Measurement model; Reliability; Twins