Research Article: Conceptualizing Callous-Unemotional Traits in Chinese Preschoolers: Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance
Abstract:
With the increasing use of the Inventory of Callous Unemotional Traits (ICU) to examine callous-unemotional traits, few studies have explicitly tested the most appropriate ICU factor structures and measurement invariance in Chinese children at preschool age. This study was conducted with a large community sample of 2055 Chinese preschoolers (53.6% male, M age = 62.23 months, SD = 9.91) to test the most appropriate model of ICU and the measurement invariance across parent gender, child gender, as well as age. The confirmatory factor model suggested that the two-factor model with 11 items (ICU-11) is the best-fitting model for a Chinese preschool sample, which includes a callousness and an unemotional factor. The results from measurement invariance revealed that the factor structures were invariant across child gender, as well as child age and parental gender. The finding suggested that the ICU-11 may be a useful tool for evaluating CU traits in Chinese preschoolers.
Introduction:
Callous-unemotional (CU) traits reveal a unique subset of children at risk of severe conduct problems (CP), in addition to the risks associated with other early indicators of CP, such as oppositional-defiant behaviors [1]. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has recently included CU traits as a specifier for conduct disorder (CD) (i.e., “with Limited Prosocial Emotions”) [2,3]. CU traits refer to having low empathy and limited prosociality [1,3]. Studies have emphasized that CU…
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