Background: Early callous-unemotional behaviors identify children at risk for antisocial behavior. Recent work suggests that the high heritability of callous-unemotional behaviors is qualified by interactions with positive parenting.
Aims: Examine whether heritable temperamental dimensions of fearlessness and low affiliative behavior, are associated with early callous-unemotional behaviors and whether parenting moderates these associations. Method: Using an adoption sample (N=561), we examined pathways from biological mother self-reported fearlessness and low affiliative behavior to child callous-unemotional behaviors via observed child fearlessness and affiliative behavior, and whether adoptive parent observed positive parenting moderated pathways.
Results: Biological mother fearlessness predicted child callous-unemotional behaviors via earlier child fearlessness. Biological mother low affiliative behavior predicted child callous-unemotional behaviors, although not via child affiliative behaviors. Adoptive mother positive parenting moderated the fearlessness to callous unemotional behavior pathway.
Conclusions: Heritable fearlessness and low interpersonal affiliation traits contribute to the development of callous-unemotional behaviors. Positive parenting can buffer these risky pathways.