Recently, a study was published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology applying a network analysis approach to examine gender differences in conduct problems and callous unemotional traits in child populations from the United States and Spain. The study is the result of an international collaboration among researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Flinders University, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Florida International University, and the University of Santiago de Compostela (UNDERISK group).
The study combined data from the ELISA Project with data from the ABCD study, one of the largest and most influential longitudinal studies worldwide on child and adolescent development. The final sample included more than 13,000 girls and boys aged between 9 and 12 years. Patterns were largely similar across countries and genders, although some relevant differences emerged. Overall, boys showed higher levels of callous unemotional traits than girls, and a greater risk of conduct problems was observed among boys under 12 years of age compared with girls in the United States. Network analysis allowed the identification of key symptoms and consistent patterns of interconnections, highlighting greater centrality of relational aggression in girls and greater centrality of property destruction in the United States. These findings underscore the value of international collaboration for advancing the understanding of conduct problems during childhood and adolescence.
