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. 2023 Feb 6;70(7):1237-1244.
doi: 10.1080/20473869.2023.2171756. eCollection 2024.

Callous unemotional traits mediate the presence of challenging behaviors in adults with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability

María Álvarez-Couto  1 , Domingo García-Villamisar  1 , Araceli Del Pozo  1
Affiliations

Callous unemotional traits mediate the presence of challenging behaviors in adults with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability

María Álvarez-Couto et al. Int J Dev Disabil. .

Abstract

Background: Callous-unemotional traits (CUT) are an antisocial personality trait, which can be present in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), especially in relation to difficulties in empathy. These traits are related to challenging behaviors, such as aggressive behavior, which may occur in people with ASD. Method: This study aimed to expand the understanding of the role of CUT in adults with ASD and intellectual disability (ID). Eighty-three adults with a diagnosis of ASD and ID participated in the study. Results: Mediation analyses found that CUT indirectly mediated the relationship between ASD symptomatology and the frequency of self-injuries and stereotypies, but not aggression. Conclusions: It is considered that CUT may have a protective effect on the presence of individual challenging behaviors in adults with ASD and ID. The apparent relationship between CUT and executive functioning was discussed. CUT traits may be considered as a variable to contemplate in relation to interventions in challenging behaviors in the ASD population, especially in those individuals who show aggression-related behaviors and who have a higher executive level.

Keywords: Callous – unemotional traits; adults; autism spectrum disorder; challenging behaviors; mediation analyses.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Simple mediation model representation of CUT on the relationship of severity of ASD symptomatology and frequency of self-injuries controlling for ADHD symptomatology. Note: a1 = direct effect of severity of ASD symptomatology on CUT; b1 = direct effect of CUT on the frequency of self-injuries; f1 = effect of the covariate ADHD symptomatology on the mediating variable CUT; g1 = effect of the covariate ADHD symptomatology on the dependent variable frequency of self-injuries; c‘ = direct effect of severity of ASD symptomatology on the frequency of self-injuries; c = total effect; * p < .050; ** p < .010; *** p < .001.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Simple mediation model representation of CUT on the relationship of severity of ASD symptomatology and frequency of aggressions controlling for ADHD symptomatology. Note: a1 = direct effect of severity of ASD symptomatology on CUT; b1 = direct effect of CUT on the frequency of aggressions; f1 = effect of the covariate ADHD symptomatology on the mediating variable CUT; g1 = effect of the covariate ADHD symptomatology on the dependent variable frequency of aggressions; c‘ = direct effect of severity of ASD symptomatology on the frequency of aggressions; c = total effect; * p < .050; ** p < .010; *** p < .001.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Simple mediation model representation of CUT on the relationship of severity of ASD symptomatology and frequency of stereotypies controlling for ADHD symptomatology. Note: a1 = direct effect of severity of ASD symptomatology on CUT; b1 = direct effect of CUT on the frequency of stereotypies; f1 = effect of the covariate ADHD symptomatology on the mediating variable CUT; g1 = effect of the covariate ADHD symptomatology on the dependent variable frequency of stereotypies; c‘ = direct effect of severity of ASD symptomatology on the frequency of stereotypies; c = total effect; * p < .050; ** p < .010; *** p < .001.
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