Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University.
Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida.
J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2024 Jul-Aug;53(4):595-606. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2022.2148531. Epub 2022 Nov 30.
The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) is a widely used, comprehensive measure of callous-unemotional (CU) traits. While the ICU total score is used frequently in research, the scale's factor structure remains highly debated. Inconsistencies in past factor structure research appear to be largely due to the use of small non-representative samples and failure to control for method variance (i.e., item wording direction).
The current study used a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approach that considers both trait and method variance to test the factor structure of a 22-item version of the self-report ICU in a multinational community sample of 4,683 adolescents (ages 11-17).
Results showed that a hierarchical four-factor model (i.e., one overarching CU factor, four latent trait factors) that controlled for method variance (i.e., by allowing residuals from positively worded items to covary) provided the best fit ( = 2797.307, = 160, RMSEA=.059, CFI=.922, TLI=.888, SRMR=.045).
After controlling for method variance, the best-fitting factor structure is consistent with how the ICU was developed and corresponds to the four symptoms of Limited Prosocial Emotions (LPE) specifier in the DSM-5 criteria for Conduct Disorder (CD). In addition, measurement invariance of this factor structure across age (i.e., younger versus older adolescents) and sex was supported. As a result, mean differences in ICU total score across age and sex can be interpreted as reflecting true variations in these traits. Further, we documented that boys generally scored higher than girls on the ICU, and this sex difference was larger in later adolescence.
“无情特质问卷”（Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits，ICU）是一种广泛使用的、全面的无情特质（callous-unemotional，CU）测评工具。尽管 ICU 总分在研究中经常被使用，但该量表的结构仍存在很大争议。过去关于结构的研究结果不一致，主要是因为使用了小的、非代表性的样本，以及未能控制方法偏差（即项目表述方向）。
本研究使用多特质-多方法（multitrait-multimethod，MTMM）验证性因子分析（confirmatory factor analysis，CFA）方法，该方法同时考虑特质和方法偏差，以测试包含 22 个项目的自我报告版 ICU 在一个多国社区样本（4683 名青少年，年龄 11-17 岁）中的因子结构。
结果表明，一个分层的四因子模型（即一个总体的 CU 因子，四个潜在特质因子），通过允许正向表述项目的残差共变来控制方法偏差，提供了最佳拟合（ = 2797.307， = 160，RMSEA=.059，CFI=.922，TLI=.888，SRMR=.045）。
在控制方法偏差后，最佳拟合的因子结构与 ICU 的开发方式一致，与 DSM-5 品行障碍（Conduct Disorder，CD）标准中有限的亲社会情绪（Limited Prosocial Emotions，LPE）特定症状的四个症状相对应。此外，该因子结构在年龄（即青少年和较年长青少年）和性别上的测量不变性得到支持。因此，ICU 总分在年龄和性别上的差异可以被解释为反映了这些特质的真实变化。此外，我们还记录到，男孩在 ICU 上的得分普遍高于女孩，而且这种性别差异在青春期后期更大。
