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Callous-unemotional (CU) traits in children and adolescents are linked to severe and persistent antisocial behavior. Based on past empirical research, several theoretical models have suggested that CU traits may be partly explained by difficulties in correctly identifying others' emotional states as well as their reduced attention to others' eyes, which could be important for both causal theory and treatment. This study tested the relationships among CU traits, emotion recognition of facial expressions and visual behavior in a sample of 52 boys referred to a clinic for conduct problems (Mage = 10.29 years; SD = 2.06). We conducted a multi-method and multi-informant assessment of CU traits through the Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI), the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional (ICU), and the Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions-Version 1.1 (CAPE). The primary goal of the study was to compare the utility of these methods for forming subgroups of youth that differ in their emotional processing abilities. An emotion recognition task assessed recognition accuracy (percentage of mistakes) and absolute dwell time on the eyes or mouth region for each emotion. Results from repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that low and high CU groups did not differ in emotion recognition accuracy, irrespective of the method of assessing CU traits. However, the high CU group showed reduced attention to the eyes of fearful and sad facial expressions (using the CPTI) or to all emotions (using the CAPE). The high CU group also showed a general increase in attention to the mouth area, but only when assessed by the CAPE. These findings provide evidence to support abnormalities in how those elevated on CU traits process emotional stimuli, especially when assessed by a clinical interview, which could guide appropriate assessment and more successful interventions for this group of youth., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: To examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between behavioral problems and weight status, considering body mass index (BMI) z-scores and overweight status, in a community sample of preschoolers., Methods: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents were administered to 611 parents. Adjusted general linear models and binary logistic regressions were used., Results: Children who were overweight and had a higher BMI were at increased risk of peer problems and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Prospective analyses showed that a higher BMI at the age of 3 years was predictive of peer problems at ages 4 and 5 years and hyperactivity and ADHD symptoms at the age of 4 years., Conclusion: This is the first study using a diagnostic-based instrument that shows a relationship between weight status and ADHD symptoms in preschoolers. Overweight children might benefit from screening for behavioral disorders and peer relationship problems., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aim: In a previous controlled study, the authors reported on the significant beneficial effects of a telephone intervention program for prevention of suicide attempts by patients for up to 1 year. This study reports the 5-year follow-up data. Outcomes were number of recurrences and time to recurrence., Method: The intervention was carried out on patients discharged from the emergency room (ER) following attempted suicide (Sabadell). It consisted of a systematic, 1-year telephone follow-up program: after 1 week, and thereafter at 1-, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month intervals to assess the risk of suicide and encourage adherence to treatment. The population in the control group (Terrassa) received treatment as usual after discharge, without additional telephone contact., Results: The effect of reattempt prevention observed in the first year was not maintained over the long term., Conclusion: A telephone management program for patients discharged from an ER after attempted suicide could be considered a useful strategy in delaying further suicide attempts and reducing the rate of reattempts in the first year. However, results showed that the beneficial effects were not maintained at the 5-year follow-up.