Callous-Unemotional Traits and Aggression: Maternal Parenting as a Developmental Moderator.
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
- 2Center for Gun Violence Research, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
- 3Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersy, USA.
- 4Norwegian Centre for Research on Violence and Traumatic Stress, Oslo, Norway.
- 5Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Abstract
Conduct Disorder (CD) is associated with persistent and severe forms of aggression, particularly among youth with callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Although CU traits are linked to proactive aggression, less is known about how environmental factors, such as parenting, shape these associations over time. The present study examined whether maternal and paternal warmth and hostility moderated the longitudinal associations between CU traits and proactive and reactive aggression in adolescents with CD. Participants included 148 youth with CD aged 12-17 years (Mage = 15.57, 69% male, 51% African American) assessed at baseline and 6 months. Hierarchical regression models tested moderation effects of maternal and paternal warmth and hostility between CU traits and aggression subtypes while controlling for baseline aggression. Maternal warmth and hostility significantly moderated the association between CU traits and proactive aggression, such that CU traits predicted increases in proactive aggression under conditions of low maternal warmth and high maternal hostility. No significant moderating effects were observed for reactive aggression or paternal parenting. Findings suggest that the influence of CU traits on aggression is context-dependent and varies across aggression subtypes, with maternal parenting playing a key role in shaping the development of proactive aggression. By highlighting the interaction between dispositional traits and caregiving environments, these results refine theoretical models of aggression and identify potential targets for intervention, suggesting that efforts to increase maternal warmth and reduce hostility may help mitigate risk for severe, goal-directed aggression in this high-risk population.
Related
- Developmental Trajectories and Transitions in Callous-Unemotional Traits Across Adolescence: The Role of Parenting and Emotion Dysregulation
- Parenting as a moderator of the neural mechanisms between irritability and inhibition in young children
- Genetic and contextual risks and developmental mechanisms underlying childhood aggression and young adult justice system involvement
- Context processing as a moderator of the association between posttraumatic stress symptoms and the adaptation of maternal sensitivity following stress related to separation.
- Latent Profiles of Maternal Parenting Stress Moderate the Relationship Between Overparenting and Young Children's Social-Emotional Competence.
BibTeX
@article{thomson2026callousunemotional,
title = {{Callous-Unemotional Traits and Aggression: Maternal Parenting as a Developmental Moderator.}},
author = {Nicholas D Thomson and Jessica J James and Abriana M Gresham and Sophie L Kjærvik and Brooklyn A Worthen and Kostas A Fanti},
journal = {Aggressive behavior},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/ab.70087},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42927647},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Callous-Unemotional Traits and Aggression: Maternal Parenting as a Developmental Moderator.
AU - Nicholas D Thomson
AU - Jessica J James
AU - Abriana M Gresham
AU - Sophie L Kjærvik
AU - Brooklyn A Worthen
AU - Kostas A Fanti
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Aggressive behavior
DO - 10.1002/ab.70087
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42927647
AB - Conduct Disorder (CD) is associated with persistent and severe forms of aggression, particularly among youth with callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Although CU traits are linked to proactive aggression, less is known about how environmental factors, such as parenting, shape these associations over time. The present study examined whether maternal and paternal warmth and hostility moderated the longitudinal associations between CU traits and proactive and reactive aggression in adolescents with CD. Participants included 148 youth with CD aged 12-17 years (Mage = 15.57, 69% male, 51% African American) assessed at baseline and 6 months. Hierarchical regression models tested moderation effects of maternal and paternal warmth and hostility between CU traits and aggression subtypes while controlling for baseline aggression. Maternal warmth and hostility significantly moderated the association between CU traits and proactive aggression, such that CU traits predicted increases in proactive aggression under conditions of low maternal warmth and high maternal hostility. No significant moderating effects were observed for reactive aggression or paternal parenting. Findings suggest that the influence of CU traits on aggression is context-dependent and varies across aggression subtypes, with maternal parenting playing a key role in shaping the development of proactive aggression. By highlighting the interaction between dispositional traits and caregiving environments, these results refine theoretical models of aggression and identify potential targets for intervention, suggesting that efforts to increase maternal warmth and reduce hostility may help mitigate risk for severe, goal-directed aggression in this high-risk population.
SN - 0096-140X
SN - 1098-2337
ER -