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A behavioral genetic analysis of callous-unemotional traits and Big Five personality in adolescence.

ABSTRACT: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits, such as lacking empathy and emotional insensitivity, predict the onset, severity, and persistence of antisocial behavior. CU traits are heritable, and genetic influences on CU traits contribute to antisocial behavior. This study examines genetic overlap between CU traits and general domains of personality. We measured CU traits using the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) and Big Five personality using the Big Five Inventory in a sample of adolescent twins from the Texas Twin Project. Genetic influences on the Big Five personality dimensions could account for the entirety of genetic influences on CU traits. Item Response Theory results indicate that the Inventory of Callous and Unemotional Traits is better at detecting clinically relevant personality variation at lower extremes of personality trait continua, particularly low agreeableness and low conscientiousness. The proximate biological mechanisms that mediate genetic liabilities for CU traits remain an open question. The results of the current study suggest that understanding the development of normal personality may inform understanding of the genetic underpinnings of callous and unemotional behavior.

SUBMITTER: Mann FD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5225906 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A behavioral genetic analysis of callous-unemotional traits and Big Five personality in adolescence.

Mann Frank D FD Briley Daniel A DA Tucker-Drob Elliot M EM Harden K Paige KP

Journal of abnormal psychology 20151101 4

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits, such as lacking empathy and emotional insensitivity, predict the onset, severity, and persistence of antisocial behavior. CU traits are heritable, and genetic influences on CU traits contribute to antisocial behavior. This study examines genetic overlap between CU traits and general domains of personality. We measured CU traits using the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) and Big Five personality using the Big Five Inventory in a sample of adolescent t ...[more]

PMID: 26595476

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Project description:Youth behavior changes and their relationships to personality have generally been investigated using self-report studies, which are subject to reporting biases and confounding variables. Supplementing these with objective measures, like GPS location data, and twin-based research designs, which help control for confounding genetic and environmental influences, may allow for more rigorous, causally informative research on adolescent behavior patterns. To investigate this possibility, this study aimed to (1) investigate whether behavior changes during the transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood are evident in changing mobility patterns, (2) estimate the influence of adolescent personality on mobility patterns, and (3) estimate genetic and environmental influences on mobility, personality, and the relationship between them. Twins aged Fourteen to twenty-two (N=709, 55% female) provided a baseline personality measure, the Big Five Inventory, and multiple years of smartphone GPS data from June 2016 - December 2019. Mobility, as measured by daily locations visited and distance travelled, was found via mixed effects models to increase during adolescence before declining slightly in emerging adulthood. Mobility was positively associated with Extraversion and Conscientiousness (r of 0.17 - 0.25, r of 0.10 - 0.16) and negatively with Openness (r of -0.11 - -0.13). ACE models found large genetic (A = 0.56 - 0.81) and small-moderate environmental (C of 0.12 - 0.28, E of 0.07 - 0.15) influences on mobility. A and E influences were highly shared across mobility measures (rg = 0.70, re= 0.58). Associations between mobility and personality were partially explained by mutual genetic influences (rg of -0.27 - 0.53). Results show that as autonomy increases during adolescence and emerging adulthood, we see corresponding increases in youth mobility. Furthermore, the heritability of mobility patterns and their relationship to personality demonstrate that mobility patterns are informative, psychologically meaningful behaviors worthy of continued interest in psychology.

Dataset Information

A behavioral genetic analysis of callous-unemotional traits and Big Five personality in adolescence.

Publications

A behavioral genetic analysis of callous-unemotional traits and Big Five personality in adolescence.

Similar Datasets

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