Citation

Nichols SR, Briggs-Gowan MJ, Estabrook R, Burns JL, Kestler J, Berman G, Henry DB, Wakschlag LS. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 2014; 43(6): 1011-1023.

Affiliation

Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 633 St. N. Clair St, 19th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10802-014-9950-1

PMID

25425187

Abstract

Impairment in learning from punishment ("punishment insensitivity") is an established feature of severe antisocial behavior in adults and youth but it has not been well studied as a developmental phenomenon. In early childhood, differentiating a normal: abnormal spectrum of punishment insensitivity is key for distinguishing normative misbehavior from atypical manifestations. This study employed a novel measure, the Multidimensional Assessment Profile of Disruptive Behavior (MAP-DB), to examine the distribution, dimensionality, and external validity of punishment insensitivity in a large, demographically diverse community sample of preschoolers (3-5 years) recruited from pediatric clinics (N = 1,855). Caregivers completed surveys from which a seven-item Punishment Insensitivity scale was derived.

FINDINGS indicated that Punishment Insensitivity behaviors are relatively common in young children, with at least 50 % of preschoolers exhibiting them sometimes. Item response theory analyses revealed a Punishment Insensitivity spectrum. Items varied along a severity continuum: most items needed to occur "Often" in order to be severe and behaviors that were qualitatively atypical or intense were more severe. Although there were item-level differences across sociodemographic groups, these were small. Construct, convergent, and divergent validity were demonstrated via association to low concern for others and noncompliance, motivational regulation, and a disruptive family context. Incremental clinical utility was demonstrated in relation to impairment. Early childhood punishment insensitivity varies along a severity continuum and is atypical when it predominates. Implications for understanding the phenomenology of emergent disruptive behavior are discussed.

Language: en