Evaluating Variant Callous-Unemotional Traits Among Noninstitutionalized Youth: Implications for Violence Research and Policy

Variants in the profile of youth with callous-emotional traits have been observed in juvenile and adult populations, and the presence of such traits has been repeatedly linked with violence. Although data on this issue are often culled from institutionalized populations, little is known about the heterogeneous nature of these psychopathic features in the population of youth at large. This research evaluates these variants in a national sample of youth while examining the intersection of violence-crime between those resembling the two subsets of primary and secondary psychopathy. Distinctions based on variant type and promise for more targeted intervention are also discussed.