1. Major Lines of Research:
Developmental Pathways to Severe Antisocial and Aggressive Behavior
The vast majority of recent Developmental Psychopathology Lab research has focused on understanding the different developmental pathways through which children development severe conduct problems. This research operates from the basic developmental psychopathology assumption that the same outcome (e.g., antisocial behavior) can result from a number of different developmental processes. The goal of this research is to understand these diverse pathways through which children may develop severe antisocial behavior and aggression, including targeted assessment tools and to use this understanding to enhance preventive and treatment interventions for antisocial youth.
This research has documented a group of youth, those with callous-unemotional (CU) traits, who seem to show a number of distinct causal processes related to their antisocial behavior and who show a particularly severe and aggressive pattern of antisocial behavior. Representative publications are included below with PDF documentation when possible:
Kahn, R.E., Frick, P.J., Youngstrom, E., Findling, R.L., & Youngstrom, J.K. (2012). The effects of including a callous-unemotional specifier for the diagnosis of conduct disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 271-282.
Lawing, K., Frick, P.J., & Cruise, K.R. (2010). Differences in offending patterns between adolescent sex offenders high or low in callous-unemotional traits. Psychological Assessment, 22, 298-305.
Frick, P.J., & Viding, E.M. (2009). Antisocial behavior from a developmental
psychopathology perspective. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 1111-1131.
Frick, P.J. & White, S.F. (2008). The importance of callous-unemotional traits for the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 359-375.
Marsee, M.A., Silverthorn, P., & Frick, P.J. (2005). The association of psychopathic traits with aggression and delinquency in non-referred boys and girls. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 23, 803-817.
Vasay, M.W., Kotov, R., Frick, P.J., & Loney, B.R. (2005) . The latent structure of psychopathy in youth: A taxometric investigation. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 411-429.
Frick, P.J., & Morris, A.S. (2004). Temperament and developmental pathways to severe conduct problems. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 54-68.
Frick, P.J., Cornell, A.H., Barry, C.T., Bodin, S.D., & Dane, H.A. (2003). Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems in the prediction of conduct problem severity, aggression, and self-report of delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 457-470.
Frick, P.J., Cornell, A.H., Bodin, S.D., Dane, H.A., Barry, C.T., & Loney, B.R. (2003). Callous-Unemotional traits and developmental pathways to severe aggressive and antisocial behavior. Developmental Psychology, 39, 246-260. (pdf link)
Frick, P.J. Kimonis, E.R., Dandreaux, D.M., & Farrell, J.M. (2003). The four-year stability of psychopathic traits in non-referred youth. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 21, 713-736.
Updated 09/22/2012