Callous-Unemotionality in a Sample of Justice-Involved Adolescents: Distinct Associations With Attachment Avoidance and Attachment Anxiety

Attachment insecurity is associated with callous-unemotionality (CU), but few studies have considered whether specific dimensions of insecurity are differentially associated with CU. The first aim of this preregistered study was to test whether attachment avoidance and anxiety were differentially associated with CU. The second aim was to examine whether specific emotion regulation strategies explain these associations. The third aim was to evaluate the moderating effect of trauma exposure. Participants included 316 justice-involved adolescents (M = 16 years, 20% female, 39% White/non-Hispanic) who self-reported attachment avoidance and anxiety, emotion regulation strategies, trauma exposure, and CU. As predicted, CU was positively associated with attachment avoidance and negatively associated with attachment anxiety. There was limited evidence that these associations were accounted for by emotion regulation strategies or moderated by trauma exposure. These findings align with the proposition that specific forms of attachment insecurity are differentially associated with CU among high-risk youth.

(Publisher abstract provided.)