Callous-Unemotional Traits among Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or Typical Development: Differences between Adolescents' and Parents' Views

Abstract

This study examined parent-adolescent agreement on the callous, uncaring, and unemotional dimensions of callous-unemotional (CU) traits and the differences in adolescent-reported and parent-reported CU traits among 126 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 207 adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and 203 typically developing (TD) adolescents. Adolescent-reported and parent-reported CU traits on the three dimensions of the Inventory of Callous and Unemotional Traits were obtained. The strength of CU traits and the differences between adolescent-reported and parent-reported traits were compared among the three groups using analysis of covariance. Parent-adolescent agreement was examined using intraclass correlation. The results reveal that both adolescent-reported and parent-reported callousness and uncaring traits in the ASD and ADHD groups were significantly stronger than those in the TD group. Parent-adolescent agreement on the uncaring trait was fair across the three groups, whereas that on callousness was poor across all three groups. Parent-adolescent agreement on unemotionality was fair in the TD group but poor in the ADHD and ASD groups. ASD and ADHD groups had significantly greater differences in scores reported by parents and adolescents on the callousness trait than the TD group. The parent-adolescent score differences in the uncaring trait were also larger in the ASD group than in the TD group. Thus, these results support the application of a multi-informant approach in CU trait assessment, especially for adolescents with ASD or ADHD.

Keywords: agreement; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; autism spectrum disorder; callous–unemotional traits.