Gao Yu, Raine Adrian
Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11210, USA.
The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Children (Basel). 2024 Mar 19;11(3):359. doi: 10.3390/children11030359.
Callous-unemotional (CU) traits refer to a cluster of characteristics such as low empathy, lack of remorse, and insensitivity to the emotions of others, delineating a group of youth at high risk for severe antisocial behavior. Two variants-primary and secondary CU-have been theorized to have different underlying mechanisms, although mixed findings have been reported. The current study examined if the variants differ in their level of anticipatory fear in 92 youths from the community (mean age = 14.2 years, range = 12.3-16.4 years; 43.5% female). Participants completed a countdown task while their heart rate and skin conductance responses were recorded. Parents and youths completed the inventory of callous-unemotional traits and the child behavior checklist. Compared to the control group (low CU/low anxiety), the primary CU group (high CU/low anxiety) showed prolonged heart rate deceleration in anticipation of the impending aversive stimulus. The secondary CU group (high CU/high anxiety) did not differ from the other two groups on heart rate or skin conductance responses. This prolonged heart rate deceleration in the primary CU group is interpreted in the context of the passive vagal coping theory of antisocial behavior which hypothesizes that an over-engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system reduces the impact of a socializing punishment, which in turn predisposes individuals to antisocial behavior. Findings provide further support for the distinct etiology of two variants of CU traits.
冷酷无情（CU）特质指的是一系列特征，如低同理心、缺乏悔恨感以及对他人情绪不敏感，这些特征描绘了一群有严重反社会行为高风险的青少年。尽管有混合的研究结果报道，但理论上认为两种变体——原发性和继发性CU——具有不同的潜在机制。本研究调查了92名来自社区的青少年（平均年龄 = 14.2岁，范围 = 12.3 - 16.4岁；43.5%为女性）中这两种变体在预期恐惧水平上是否存在差异。参与者在完成倒计时任务时，记录他们的心率和皮肤电导率反应。父母和青少年完成了冷酷无情特质量表和儿童行为检查表。与对照组（低CU/低焦虑）相比，原发性CU组（高CU/低焦虑）在预期即将到来的厌恶刺激时表现出心率减速延长。继发性CU组（高CU/高焦虑）在心率或皮肤电导率反应上与其他两组没有差异。原发性CU组中这种延长的心率减速是在反社会行为的被动迷走神经应对理论背景下进行解释的，该理论假设副交感神经系统的过度参与会降低社交惩罚的影响，这反过来又使个体易患反社会行为。研究结果为CU特质的两种变体的不同病因提供了进一步的支持。
