Early starting, aggressive, and/or callous-unemotional? Examining the overlap and predictive utility of antisocial behavior subtypes.

ABSTRACT: Antisocial behavior (AB) in adolescence predicts problematic outcomes in adulthood. However, researchers have noted marked heterogeneity within the broad group of youth engaging in these destructive behaviors and have attempted to identify those with distinct etiologies and different trajectories of symptoms. In the present study, we evaluate 3 prominent AB subtyping approaches: age of onset, presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and aggressive versus rule-breaking symptoms. We examined the overlap of these subtypes and their predictive validity in a diverse sample of 268 low-income young men followed prospectively from adolescence into emerging adulthood. We found that those with early starting AB were uniquely high on aggressive symptoms but not on CU traits. Early starting AB and

SUBMITTER: Hyde LW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4428963 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature