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1.
Bacaro, Valeria; Meneo, Debora; Curati, Sara; Buonanno, Carlo; Bartolo, Paola De; Riemann, Dieter; Mancini, Francesco; Martoni, Monica; Baglioni, Chiara
The impact of COVID-19 on Italian adolescents’ sleep and its association with psychological factors Journal Article
In: Journal of Sleep Research, vol. 1, no 8, 2022.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tag: adolescents, COVID-19, health, insomnia, psychology, sleep
@article{Bacaro2022,
title = {The impact of COVID-19 on Italian adolescents’ sleep and its association with psychological factors},
author = {Valeria Bacaro and Debora Meneo and Sara Curati and Carlo Buonanno and Paola De Bartolo and Dieter Riemann and Francesco Mancini and Monica Martoni and Chiara Baglioni},
editor = {Wiley Online Library},
url = {https://apc.it/2022-mancini-the-impact-of-covid%e2%80%9019-on-italian-adolescents-sleep-and-its-association-with-2/},
doi = {doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13689},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-07-13},
journal = {Journal of Sleep Research},
volume = {1},
number = {8},
abstract = {Insomnia and circadian dysregulation during adolescence represent important risk factors for emotional and psychological problems. Recent studies have shown that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been linked to a high prevalence of behavioural sleep problems in the general population. This study aimed to provide two pictures of two different time points of the pandemic regarding the prevalence of sleep problems in adolescents and their association with psychological health variables. Two different independent large samples of Italian adolescents aged 13–17 years were recruited at two pandemic time points. A total of 1,146 adolescents at Time 1 (T1; April 2020) and 1,406 at Time 2 (T2; April 2021) took part in the study. Measures of insomnia symptoms, sleep hygiene, chronotype, psychological distress and emotion regulation were collected. Prevalence of insomnia was 12.13% at T1 and 23.19% at T2. Furthermore, high levels of poor sleep habits (late bedtime, poor sleep hygiene, use of electronic devices at bedtime) were also detected at both time points. Insomnia symptoms strongly correlated with poor sleep hygiene, higher psychological distress, and emotional suppression at both time points. Results highlighted an alarming picture for two large samples at two different time points of the pandemic that showed a potential negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in both the first outbreak and in the later phase of the pandemic, on sleep habits, psychological distress and insomnia symptoms in adolescents. This strongly suggests the need for monitoring these variables and their interaction in the post-pandemic period and to develop and promote interventions for insomnia and circadian disturbances during adolescence.},
keywords = {adolescents, COVID-19, health, insomnia, psychology, sleep},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Insomnia and circadian dysregulation during adolescence represent important risk factors for emotional and psychological problems. Recent studies have shown that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been linked to a high prevalence of behavioural sleep problems in the general population. This study aimed to provide two pictures of two different time points of the pandemic regarding the prevalence of sleep problems in adolescents and their association with psychological health variables. Two different independent large samples of Italian adolescents aged 13–17 years were recruited at two pandemic time points. A total of 1,146 adolescents at Time 1 (T1; April 2020) and 1,406 at Time 2 (T2; April 2021) took part in the study. Measures of insomnia symptoms, sleep hygiene, chronotype, psychological distress and emotion regulation were collected. Prevalence of insomnia was 12.13% at T1 and 23.19% at T2. Furthermore, high levels of poor sleep habits (late bedtime, poor sleep hygiene, use of electronic devices at bedtime) were also detected at both time points. Insomnia symptoms strongly correlated with poor sleep hygiene, higher psychological distress, and emotional suppression at both time points. Results highlighted an alarming picture for two large samples at two different time points of the pandemic that showed a potential negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in both the first outbreak and in the later phase of the pandemic, on sleep habits, psychological distress and insomnia symptoms in adolescents. This strongly suggests the need for monitoring these variables and their interaction in the post-pandemic period and to develop and promote interventions for insomnia and circadian disturbances during adolescence.
2.
Zaccari, Vittoria; D'Arienzo, Maria Chiara; Caiazzo, Tecla; Magno, Antonella; Amico, Graziella; Mancini, Francesco
Narrative Review of COVID-19 Impact on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Child, Adolescent and Adult Clinical Populations Journal Article
In: Psychopathology, 2021.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tag: adolescents, adults, children, coronavirus, COVID-19, narrative review, obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive symptoms
@article{Zaccari2021,
title = {Narrative Review of COVID-19 Impact on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Child, Adolescent and Adult Clinical Populations},
author = {Vittoria Zaccari and Maria Chiara D'Arienzo and Tecla Caiazzo and Antonella Magno and Graziella Amico and Francesco Mancini },
editor = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
url = {https://apc.it/zaccari-et-al-2021-narrative-review-of-covid-19/},
doi = {doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.673161},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-05-13},
urldate = {2021-05-13},
journal = {Psychopathology},
abstract = {Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine had a significant impact on mental health which resulted in an increase of anxiety and depression in adult, child and adolescent clinical populations. Less is known about the potential effect of pandemic on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) so there is a lack of review work to illustrate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on OCD.
Purpose: The main objective is to review all the empirical contributions published after March 2020 that dealt with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on OCD in adults, children and adolescents, investigating the state-of-the-art literature concerning the impact on OCD and detailing limitations.
Methods: The literature search was conducted using PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar. This review analyzed all studies from January 2020 to 8 January 2021, focusing on clinical populations of children, adolescents, and adults with OCD.
Results: A total of 102 articles were screened, resulting in the identification of 64 full-text articles to be further scrutinized. Upon closer examination, there was consensus that 39 articles met the study inclusion criteria and 14 of these were selected for study. Analysis of the results revealed that COVID-19 had an impact on OCD in both adults and young people and seems to have caused exacerbation of symptoms, especially of the contamination/washing subtypes. Eight studies in adult samples showed an increase in the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms; two studies underlined a minimal impact of COVID-19 on OCD patients and one study showed a slight improvement in symptoms. Two out of three studies on children and adolescents showed an exacerbation of OCD and a worsening even in the presence of an ongoing treatment.
Conclusions: The studies reviewed are few. There are more studies on adult OCD than on children and adolescents. The results are controversial: few studies examined OCD subtypes; in most studies the typology of treatment was not clear and the samples covered a wide age range; a large number of studies did not use the same monitoring period or quantitative measures, both of which make it difficult to compare or rely on the results.},
keywords = {adolescents, adults, children, coronavirus, COVID-19, narrative review, obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive symptoms},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine had a significant impact on mental health which resulted in an increase of anxiety and depression in adult, child and adolescent clinical populations. Less is known about the potential effect of pandemic on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) so there is a lack of review work to illustrate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on OCD.
Purpose: The main objective is to review all the empirical contributions published after March 2020 that dealt with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on OCD in adults, children and adolescents, investigating the state-of-the-art literature concerning the impact on OCD and detailing limitations.
Methods: The literature search was conducted using PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar. This review analyzed all studies from January 2020 to 8 January 2021, focusing on clinical populations of children, adolescents, and adults with OCD.
Results: A total of 102 articles were screened, resulting in the identification of 64 full-text articles to be further scrutinized. Upon closer examination, there was consensus that 39 articles met the study inclusion criteria and 14 of these were selected for study. Analysis of the results revealed that COVID-19 had an impact on OCD in both adults and young people and seems to have caused exacerbation of symptoms, especially of the contamination/washing subtypes. Eight studies in adult samples showed an increase in the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms; two studies underlined a minimal impact of COVID-19 on OCD patients and one study showed a slight improvement in symptoms. Two out of three studies on children and adolescents showed an exacerbation of OCD and a worsening even in the presence of an ongoing treatment.
Conclusions: The studies reviewed are few. There are more studies on adult OCD than on children and adolescents. The results are controversial: few studies examined OCD subtypes; in most studies the typology of treatment was not clear and the samples covered a wide age range; a large number of studies did not use the same monitoring period or quantitative measures, both of which make it difficult to compare or rely on the results.
Purpose: The main objective is to review all the empirical contributions published after March 2020 that dealt with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on OCD in adults, children and adolescents, investigating the state-of-the-art literature concerning the impact on OCD and detailing limitations.
Methods: The literature search was conducted using PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar. This review analyzed all studies from January 2020 to 8 January 2021, focusing on clinical populations of children, adolescents, and adults with OCD.
Results: A total of 102 articles were screened, resulting in the identification of 64 full-text articles to be further scrutinized. Upon closer examination, there was consensus that 39 articles met the study inclusion criteria and 14 of these were selected for study. Analysis of the results revealed that COVID-19 had an impact on OCD in both adults and young people and seems to have caused exacerbation of symptoms, especially of the contamination/washing subtypes. Eight studies in adult samples showed an increase in the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms; two studies underlined a minimal impact of COVID-19 on OCD patients and one study showed a slight improvement in symptoms. Two out of three studies on children and adolescents showed an exacerbation of OCD and a worsening even in the presence of an ongoing treatment.
Conclusions: The studies reviewed are few. There are more studies on adult OCD than on children and adolescents. The results are controversial: few studies examined OCD subtypes; in most studies the typology of treatment was not clear and the samples covered a wide age range; a large number of studies did not use the same monitoring period or quantitative measures, both of which make it difficult to compare or rely on the results.
3.
Zaccari, Vittoria; Aceto, Marianna; Mancini, Francesco
A systematic review of instruments to assess guilt in children and adolescent Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Psychology , vol. 11, no 573488, 2020, ISSN: 1664-0640.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tag: adolescents, children, development, guilt, instrument, measure, systematic review
@article{Zaccari2020,
title = {A systematic review of instruments to assess guilt in children and adolescent},
author = {Vittoria Zaccari and Marianna Aceto and Francesco Mancini},
editor = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
url = {https://apc.it/2020-zaccari-et-al-a-systematic-review/},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.573488},
issn = {1664-0640},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-12-09},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology },
volume = {11},
number = {573488},
abstract = {Guilt feelings have received considerable attention in past psychological theory and research. Several studies have been conducted that represent a range of views and propose various implications of guilt in children and adolescents. Variations in theoretical definitions of guilt, emphasizing a lack of measurement convergence, make it difficult to derive a comprehensive definition of the construct in childhood and adolescence. Research shows substantial variability in instruments used to measure guilt in children and adolescents.
Purpose: The aim is to discuss existing contributions, illustrating the empirical validity of the available instruments used to measure guilt and identifying the nature of their theoretical backgrounds among children and adolescents.
Methods: A systematic search was conducted using the following databases: PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed (all years up to February 19, 2020). Search terms were compiled into three concepts for all databases: “measure,” “guilt,” and “childhood/adolescence.” In addition, a search was conducted to detect the gray literature.
Results: After removing the duplicates, a total of 1,408 records were screened, resulting in the identification of 166 full-text articles to be further scrutinized. Upon closer examination, there was consensus that 148 of those studies met the study inclusion criteria or were not retrieved. Twenty-five studies were included in the quality assessment. The data were organized on three main categories: (1) interpersonal or prosocial guilt; (2) intrapunitive guilt or that referring to an excessive sense of responsibility; (3) not specifying a theoretical construct. A great heterogeneity in psychometric evaluations and substantial variability in guilt construct emerged. The construct most represented and supported by valid instruments was interpersonal or prosocial guilt. Analysis of the gray literature showed that some instruments were not immediately available to the clinical and scientific communities.
Conclusions: The studies analyzed and selected for qualitative review employed various instruments to measure guilt. Results confirmed what is widely documented in the literature about substantial variability in instruments used to measure guilt. We argue the need to develop measures that assess currently overlooked dimensions of guilt and to provide further additional information about the psychometric proprieties of the available developed instruments.},
keywords = {adolescents, children, development, guilt, instrument, measure, systematic review},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Guilt feelings have received considerable attention in past psychological theory and research. Several studies have been conducted that represent a range of views and propose various implications of guilt in children and adolescents. Variations in theoretical definitions of guilt, emphasizing a lack of measurement convergence, make it difficult to derive a comprehensive definition of the construct in childhood and adolescence. Research shows substantial variability in instruments used to measure guilt in children and adolescents.
Purpose: The aim is to discuss existing contributions, illustrating the empirical validity of the available instruments used to measure guilt and identifying the nature of their theoretical backgrounds among children and adolescents.
Methods: A systematic search was conducted using the following databases: PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed (all years up to February 19, 2020). Search terms were compiled into three concepts for all databases: “measure,” “guilt,” and “childhood/adolescence.” In addition, a search was conducted to detect the gray literature.
Results: After removing the duplicates, a total of 1,408 records were screened, resulting in the identification of 166 full-text articles to be further scrutinized. Upon closer examination, there was consensus that 148 of those studies met the study inclusion criteria or were not retrieved. Twenty-five studies were included in the quality assessment. The data were organized on three main categories: (1) interpersonal or prosocial guilt; (2) intrapunitive guilt or that referring to an excessive sense of responsibility; (3) not specifying a theoretical construct. A great heterogeneity in psychometric evaluations and substantial variability in guilt construct emerged. The construct most represented and supported by valid instruments was interpersonal or prosocial guilt. Analysis of the gray literature showed that some instruments were not immediately available to the clinical and scientific communities.
Conclusions: The studies analyzed and selected for qualitative review employed various instruments to measure guilt. Results confirmed what is widely documented in the literature about substantial variability in instruments used to measure guilt. We argue the need to develop measures that assess currently overlooked dimensions of guilt and to provide further additional information about the psychometric proprieties of the available developed instruments.
Purpose: The aim is to discuss existing contributions, illustrating the empirical validity of the available instruments used to measure guilt and identifying the nature of their theoretical backgrounds among children and adolescents.
Methods: A systematic search was conducted using the following databases: PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed (all years up to February 19, 2020). Search terms were compiled into three concepts for all databases: “measure,” “guilt,” and “childhood/adolescence.” In addition, a search was conducted to detect the gray literature.
Results: After removing the duplicates, a total of 1,408 records were screened, resulting in the identification of 166 full-text articles to be further scrutinized. Upon closer examination, there was consensus that 148 of those studies met the study inclusion criteria or were not retrieved. Twenty-five studies were included in the quality assessment. The data were organized on three main categories: (1) interpersonal or prosocial guilt; (2) intrapunitive guilt or that referring to an excessive sense of responsibility; (3) not specifying a theoretical construct. A great heterogeneity in psychometric evaluations and substantial variability in guilt construct emerged. The construct most represented and supported by valid instruments was interpersonal or prosocial guilt. Analysis of the gray literature showed that some instruments were not immediately available to the clinical and scientific communities.
Conclusions: The studies analyzed and selected for qualitative review employed various instruments to measure guilt. Results confirmed what is widely documented in the literature about substantial variability in instruments used to measure guilt. We argue the need to develop measures that assess currently overlooked dimensions of guilt and to provide further additional information about the psychometric proprieties of the available developed instruments.
4.
Barcaccia, Barbara; Balestri, Viviana; Saliani, Angelo Maria; Baiocco, Roberto; Mancini, Francesco; Schneider, Barry Howard
Dysfunctional eating behaviors, anxiety, and depression in Italian boys and girls: the role of mass media Journal Article
In: Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 2017.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tag: adolescents, child psychiatry, eating disorders, gender differences, women
@article{Barcaccia2017,
title = {Dysfunctional eating behaviors, anxiety, and depression in Italian boys and girls: the role of mass media},
author = {Barbara Barcaccia and Viviana Balestri and Angelo Maria Saliani and Roberto Baiocco and Francesco Mancini and Barry Howard Schneider},
editor = {Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria},
url = {https://apc.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Dysfuntional-eating-behaviors-and-Media_Barcaccia-et-al.-2017-1.pdf},
doi = {doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2016-2200},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
urldate = {2017-01-01},
journal = {Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria},
abstract = {Extensive research has implicated identification with characters in mass media in the emergence of disordered eating behavior in adolescents. We explored the possible influence of the models offered by television (TV) on adolescents’ body image, body uneasiness, eating-disordered behavior, depression, and anxiety.
Methods: Three hundred and one adolescents (aged 14-19) from southern Italy participated. They completed a questionnaire on media exposure and body dissatisfaction, the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Body Uneasiness Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory – Form Y.
Results: The main factors contributing to females’ eating-disordered behaviors were their own desires to be similar to TV characters, the amount of reality and entertainment TV they watched, and the discrepancy between their perceptions of their bodies and those of TV characters. Friends’ desire to be similar to TV characters contributed most to depression, anxiety, body uneasiness, and eating disorders for both males and females.
Conclusion: Our data confirm that extensive watching of reality and entertainment TV correlates with eating-disordered behavior among females. Moreover, the well-known negative effects of the media on adolescents’ eating-disordered behaviors may also be indirectly transmitted by friends who share identification with TV characters},
keywords = {adolescents, child psychiatry, eating disorders, gender differences, women},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Extensive research has implicated identification with characters in mass media in the emergence of disordered eating behavior in adolescents. We explored the possible influence of the models offered by television (TV) on adolescents’ body image, body uneasiness, eating-disordered behavior, depression, and anxiety.
Methods: Three hundred and one adolescents (aged 14-19) from southern Italy participated. They completed a questionnaire on media exposure and body dissatisfaction, the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Body Uneasiness Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory – Form Y.
Results: The main factors contributing to females’ eating-disordered behaviors were their own desires to be similar to TV characters, the amount of reality and entertainment TV they watched, and the discrepancy between their perceptions of their bodies and those of TV characters. Friends’ desire to be similar to TV characters contributed most to depression, anxiety, body uneasiness, and eating disorders for both males and females.
Conclusion: Our data confirm that extensive watching of reality and entertainment TV correlates with eating-disordered behavior among females. Moreover, the well-known negative effects of the media on adolescents’ eating-disordered behaviors may also be indirectly transmitted by friends who share identification with TV characters
Methods: Three hundred and one adolescents (aged 14-19) from southern Italy participated. They completed a questionnaire on media exposure and body dissatisfaction, the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Body Uneasiness Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory – Form Y.
Results: The main factors contributing to females’ eating-disordered behaviors were their own desires to be similar to TV characters, the amount of reality and entertainment TV they watched, and the discrepancy between their perceptions of their bodies and those of TV characters. Friends’ desire to be similar to TV characters contributed most to depression, anxiety, body uneasiness, and eating disorders for both males and females.
Conclusion: Our data confirm that extensive watching of reality and entertainment TV correlates with eating-disordered behavior among females. Moreover, the well-known negative effects of the media on adolescents’ eating-disordered behaviors may also be indirectly transmitted by friends who share identification with TV characters
5.
Muratori, Pietro; Paciello, Marinella; Buonanno, Carlo; Milone, Annarita; Raglioni, Laura; Lochman, John E.; Masi, Gabriele
Moral disengagement and callous-unemotional traits: A longitudinal study of Italian adolescents with a disruptive behaviour disorder Journal Article
In: Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, vol. 27, no 5, 2016.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tag: adolescents, Disruptive Behaviour Disorder, moral disengagement
@article{Muratori2016,
title = {Moral disengagement and callous-unemotional traits: A longitudinal study of Italian adolescents with a disruptive behaviour disorder},
author = {Pietro Muratori and Marinella Paciello and Carlo Buonanno and Annarita Milone and Laura Raglioni and John E. Lochman and Gabriele Masi},
editor = {Wiley Online Library},
url = {https://apc.it/2016-buonanno-moral-disengagement/},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/cbm.2019},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-09-13},
journal = {Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health},
volume = {27},
number = {5},
abstract = {Background
Callous–unemotional traits have been proposed as risk factors for a poorer prognosis in young people with disruptive behaviour disorders. Identification of factors that may cause or maintain elevated levels of such traits could help in developing targeted therapeutic interventions. Some previous studies have investigated the role of moral cognitive mechanisms, such as moral disengagement, but these previous studies focused primarily on normal or ‘at‐risk’ samples.
Aim
We aimed to evaluate associations and possible interactions between moral disengagement as a cognitive dimension and callous–unemotional traits as an affective dimension in adolescents with disruptive behaviour disorders.
Method
We recruited 55 adolescents with a disruptive behaviour disorder from a community care hospital in Pisa. They were evaluated at baseline and after one year with measures that included a moral disengagement scale, the Antisocial Process Screening Device, to assess callous traits, and the Youth Self‐Report, to explore externalising behaviour problems.
Results
Structural equation modelling showed that higher initial moral disengagement scores were associated with later higher levels of callous–unemotional traits in adolescents and vice versa, even after, respectively, controlling for previous levels of callous traits and moral disengagement.
Conclusion
As impairments in either cognitive or affective traits may predispose to problematic development of the other, our findings would suggest that screening at the earliest opportunity possible for both moral disengagement and callous–unemotional traits among children with disruptive behaviour disorders could help to map natural outcome pathways and thus tailor more accurate interventions for prevention of antisocial or criminal behaviour. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.},
keywords = {adolescents, Disruptive Behaviour Disorder, moral disengagement},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Background
Callous–unemotional traits have been proposed as risk factors for a poorer prognosis in young people with disruptive behaviour disorders. Identification of factors that may cause or maintain elevated levels of such traits could help in developing targeted therapeutic interventions. Some previous studies have investigated the role of moral cognitive mechanisms, such as moral disengagement, but these previous studies focused primarily on normal or ‘at‐risk’ samples.
Aim
We aimed to evaluate associations and possible interactions between moral disengagement as a cognitive dimension and callous–unemotional traits as an affective dimension in adolescents with disruptive behaviour disorders.
Method
We recruited 55 adolescents with a disruptive behaviour disorder from a community care hospital in Pisa. They were evaluated at baseline and after one year with measures that included a moral disengagement scale, the Antisocial Process Screening Device, to assess callous traits, and the Youth Self‐Report, to explore externalising behaviour problems.
Results
Structural equation modelling showed that higher initial moral disengagement scores were associated with later higher levels of callous–unemotional traits in adolescents and vice versa, even after, respectively, controlling for previous levels of callous traits and moral disengagement.
Conclusion
As impairments in either cognitive or affective traits may predispose to problematic development of the other, our findings would suggest that screening at the earliest opportunity possible for both moral disengagement and callous–unemotional traits among children with disruptive behaviour disorders could help to map natural outcome pathways and thus tailor more accurate interventions for prevention of antisocial or criminal behaviour. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Callous–unemotional traits have been proposed as risk factors for a poorer prognosis in young people with disruptive behaviour disorders. Identification of factors that may cause or maintain elevated levels of such traits could help in developing targeted therapeutic interventions. Some previous studies have investigated the role of moral cognitive mechanisms, such as moral disengagement, but these previous studies focused primarily on normal or ‘at‐risk’ samples.
Aim
We aimed to evaluate associations and possible interactions between moral disengagement as a cognitive dimension and callous–unemotional traits as an affective dimension in adolescents with disruptive behaviour disorders.
Method
We recruited 55 adolescents with a disruptive behaviour disorder from a community care hospital in Pisa. They were evaluated at baseline and after one year with measures that included a moral disengagement scale, the Antisocial Process Screening Device, to assess callous traits, and the Youth Self‐Report, to explore externalising behaviour problems.
Results
Structural equation modelling showed that higher initial moral disengagement scores were associated with later higher levels of callous–unemotional traits in adolescents and vice versa, even after, respectively, controlling for previous levels of callous traits and moral disengagement.
Conclusion
As impairments in either cognitive or affective traits may predispose to problematic development of the other, our findings would suggest that screening at the earliest opportunity possible for both moral disengagement and callous–unemotional traits among children with disruptive behaviour disorders could help to map natural outcome pathways and thus tailor more accurate interventions for prevention of antisocial or criminal behaviour. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.