Linking Callous–Unemotional Traits to Social Withdrawal Among Young Chinese Left-Behind Children: Examining the Moderated Mediation Model
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. CU Traits and Social Withdrawal
1.2. The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation
1.3. The Moderating Role of Teacher–Child Relationship Quality
1.4. The Current Study
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants and Procedure
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. CU Traits
2.2.2. Emotional Regulation
2.2.3. Social Withdrawal
2.2.4. Teacher–Child Relationship Quality
2.3. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Preliminary Analyses
3.2. Testing for a Mediation Effect
3.3. Testing for a Moderated Mediation Effect
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Allen, J. J., Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2018). The general aggression model. Current Opinion in Psychology, 19, 75–80. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Allen, J. L., Bird, E., & Chhoa, C. Y. (2018). Bad boys and mean girls: Callous-unemotional traits, management of disruptive behavior in school, the teacher-student relationship and academic motivation. Frontiers in Education, 3, 108. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 27–51. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Baker, J. A., Grant, S., & Morlock, L. (2008). The teacher-student relationship as a developmental context for children with internalizing or externalizing behavior problems. School Psychology Quarterly, 23(1), 3–15. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Baroncelli, A., & Ciucci, E. (2020). Bidirectional effects between callous-unemotional traits and student-teacher relationship quality among middle school students. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 48(2), 277–288. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Baroncelli, A., Facci, C., Sica, L. S., Fusco, L., Di Palma, T., & Ciucci, E. (2024). Attachment to others and callous-unemotional traits in a sample of high school students. Current Psychology, 43(1), 179–191. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Barry, T. D., Barry, C. T., Deming, A. M., & Lochman, J. E. (2008). Stability of psychopathic characteristics in childhood: The influence of social relationships. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35(2), 244–262. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bennett, D. C., & Kerig, P. K. (2014). Investigating the construct of trauma-related acquired callousness among delinquent youth: Differences in emotion processing. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 27(4), 415–422. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Berry, D., & O’Connor, E. (2010). Behavioral risk, teacher–child relationships, and social skill development across middle childhood: A child-by-environment analysis of change. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 31(1), 1–14. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Blair, B. L., Perry, N. B., O’Brien, M., Calkins, S. D., Keane, S. P., & Shanahan, L. (2015). Identifying developmental cascades among differentiated dimensions of social competence and emotion regulation. Developmental Psychology, 51(8), 1062–1073. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In R. M. Lerner, & W. Damon (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (6th ed., pp. 793–828). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [Google Scholar]
- Calkins, S. D., & Fox, N. A. (2002). Self-regulatory processes in early personality development: A multilevel approach to the study of childhood social withdrawal and aggression. Development and Psychopathology, 14(3), 477–498. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Calkins, S. D., Gill, K. L., Johnson, M. C., & Smith, C. L. (1999). Emotional reactivity and emotional regulation strategies as predictors of social behavior with peers during toddlerhood. Social Development, 8(3), 310–334. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cao, X., Somerville, M. P., & Allen, J. L. (2023). Teachers’ perceptions of the school functioning of Chinese preschool children with callous-unemotional traits and disruptive behaviors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 123, 1–14. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Casini, E., Glemser, C., Premoli, M., Preti, E., & Richetin, J. (2022). The mediating role of emotion regulation strategies on the association between rejection sensitivity, aggression, withdrawal, and prosociality. Emotion, 22(7), 1505–1516. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Cassidy, J. (1994). Emotion regulation: Influences of attachment relationships. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3), 228–283. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Chen, B. B., & Santo, J. B. (2016). Mother–child attachment and social withdrawal in urban Chinese children. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 44(2), 233–245. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cicchetti, D., Ackerman, B. P., & Izard, C. E. (1995). Emotions and emotion regulation in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 7(1), 1–10. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Commodari, E. (2013). Preschool teacher attachment, school readiness and risk of learning difficulties. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(1), 123–133. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Coplan, R. J., Prakash, K., O’Neil, K., & Armer, M. (2004). Do you “want” to play? Distinguishing between conflicted shyness and social disinterest in early childhood. Developmental Psychology, 40(2), 244–258. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Coplan, R. J., Rose-Krasnor, L., Weeks, M., Kingsbury, A., Kingsbury, M., & Bullock, A. (2013). Alone is a crowd: Social motivations, social withdrawal, and socioemotional functioning in later childhood. Developmental Psychology, 49(5), 861–875. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Coplan, R. J., & Weeks, M. (2010). Unsociability and the preference for solitude in childhood. In K. H. Rubin, & R. J. Coplan (Eds.), The development of shyness and social withdrawal (pp. 64–83). The Guilford Press. [Google Scholar]
- Craig, S. G., Goulter, N., Andrade, B. F., & McMahon, R. J. (2023). Developmental precursors of primary and secondary callous-unemotional traits in youth. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 54(2), 582–596. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Craig, S. G., & Moretti, M. M. (2019). Profiles of primary and secondary callous-unemotional features in youth: The role of emotion regulation. Development and Psychopathology, 31(4), 1489–1500. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Crum, K. I., Waschbusch, D. A., & Willoughby, M. T. (2016). Callous-unemotional traits, behavior disorders, and the student–teacher relationship in elementary school students. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 24(1), 16–29. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Davis, H. A. (2003). Conceptualizing the role and influence of student-teacher relationships on children’s social and cognitive development. Educational Psychologist, 38(4), 207–234. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- De Caluwé, E., Verbeke, L., van Aken, M., van der Heijden, P. T., & De Clercq, B. (2019). The DSM-5 trait measure in a psychiatric sample of late adolescents and emerging adults: Structure, reliability, and validity. Journal of Personality Disorders, 33(1), 101–118. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Deng, Q. W., Ding, C. X., Liu, M. L., Deng, J. X., & Wang, M. C. (2016). Psychometric properties of the inventory of callous-unemotional in preschool students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 24(4), 663–666. [Google Scholar]
- Ding, X., Zhang, W., Ooi, L. L., Coplan, R. J., Zhu, X., & Sang, B. (2023). Relations between social withdrawal subtypes and socio-emotional adjustment among Chinese children and early adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 33(3), 774–785. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Elhusseini, S., Rawn, K., El-Sheikh, M., & Keller, P. S. (2023). Attachment and prosocial behavior in middle childhood: The role of emotion regulation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 225, 1–15. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Ezpeleta, L., Osa, N. d. l., Granero, R., Penelo, E., & Domènech, J. M. (2013). Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits in a community sample of preschoolers. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 42(1), 91–105. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Facci, C., Imbimbo, E., Stefanelli, F., Ciucci, E., Guazzini, A., Baroncelli, A., & Frick, P. J. (2023). The social correlates to callous-unemotional traits in a sample of high school students. Behavior Therapy, 54(3), 595–604. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Falcón, A. K., Dobbins, A. E., & Stickle, T. R. (2021). Gendered associations among callous-unemotional traits, emotion regulation, and antisocial behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 179, 110944. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Findlay, L. C., Girardi, A., & Coplan, R. J. (2006). Links between empathy, social behavior, and social understanding in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21(3), 347–359. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Foulkes, L., McCrory, E. J., Neumann, C. S., & Viding, E. (2014). Inverted social reward: Associations between psychopathic traits and self-report and experimental measures of social reward. PLoS ONE, 9(8), e106000. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Frick, P. J. (2003). The inventory of callous-unemotional traits [Unpublished rating scale]. University of New Orleans.
- Frick, P. J., Ray, J. V., Thornton, L. C., & Kahn, R. E. (2014). Can callous-unemotional traits enhance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of serious conduct problems in children and adolescents? A comprehensive review. Psychological Bulletin, 140(1), 1–57. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Garber, J., & Dodge, K. A. (Eds.). (1991). The development of emotion regulation and dysregulation. Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Glenn, A. L. (2019). Early life predictors of callous-unemotional and psychopathic traits. Infant Mental Health Journal, 40(1), 39–53. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26(1), 41–54. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Graziano, P. A., Landis, T., Maharaj, A., Ros-Demarize, R., Hart, K. C., & Garcia, A. (2022). Differentiating preschool children with conduct problems and callous-unemotional behaviors through emotion regulation and executive functioning. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 51(2), 170–182. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gross, J. J., & Jazaieri, H. (2014). Emotion, emotion regulation, and psychopathology: An affective science perspective. Clinical Psychological Science, 2(4), 387–401. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2002). Wise emotion regulation. In L. F. Barrett, & P. Salovey (Eds.), The wisdom in feeling: Psychological processes in emotional intelligence (pp. 297–319). The Guilford Press. [Google Scholar]
- Guedeney, A., Pingault, J.-B., Thorr, A., & Larroque, B. (2014). Social withdrawal at 1 year is associated with emotional and behavioural problems at 3 and 5 years: The Eden mother-child cohort study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 23(12), 1181–1188. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Haas, S. M., Becker, S. P., Epstein, J. N., & Frick, P. J. (2018). Callous-unemotional traits are uniquely associated with poorer peer functioning in school-Aged children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46(4), 781–793. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Haas, S. M., Waschbusch, D. A., King, S., & Walsh, T. M. (2015). Examining the role of callous-unemotional traits in the attributional styles and self competence evaluations of children with conduct problems and ADHD. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 37(2), 196–206. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hawes, D. J., Straiton, M., & Howie, P. (2019). The social dynamics of boys with callous and unemotional traits: Uncooperative and proud of it. Journal of Research in Personality, 79, 79–82. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Press. [Google Scholar]
- Holden, C. J., Roof, C. H., McCabe, G., & Zeigler-Hill, V. (2015). Detached and antagonistic: Pathological personality features and mate retention behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 83, 77–84. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hou, L. M., Luo, L. L., & Wu, H. Y. (2019). Relations between grandparental rearing patterns and problem behaviors of rural left-behind children: Moderated by teacher-child relationship. Studies in Early Childhood Education, 295(7), 54–68. [Google Scholar]
- Hughes, J. N., Wu, J.-Y., Kwok, O.-m., Villarreal, V., & Johnson, A. Y. (2012). Indirect effects of child reports of teacher–student relationship on achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), 350–365. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Jones, D. E., Greenberg, M., & Crowley, M. (2015). Early social-emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness. American Journal of Public Health, 105(11), 2283–2290. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Knudsen, E. I., Heckman, J. J., Cameron, J. L., & Shonkoff, J. P. (2006). Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America’s future workforce. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(27), 10155–10162. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kokkinos, C. M., & Voulgaridou, I. (2022). The indirect effects of pre-adolescents’ personality on shyness through emotion regulation. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20(2), 347–366. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kopala-Sibley, D. C., & Klein, D. N. (2017). Distinguishing types of social withdrawal in children: Internalizing and externalizing outcomes of conflicted shyness versus social disinterest across childhood. Journal of Research in Personality, 67, 27–35. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Kumpfer, K. L. (1999). Factors and processes contributing to resilience: The resilience framework. In M. D. Glantz, & J. L. Johnson (Eds.), Resilience and development: Positive life adaptations (pp. 179–224). Kluwer Academic Publishers. [Google Scholar]
- Lahey, B. B. (2014). What we need to know about callous-unemotional traits: Comment on Frick, Ray, Thornton, and Kahn (2014). Psychological Bulletin, 140(1), 58–63. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Levine, R. S., Smith, K., & Wagner, N. J. (2023). The impact of callous-unemotional traits on achievement, behaviors, and relationships in school: A systematic review. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 54(6), 1546–1566. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Li, Y., Zhu, J.-J., Coplan, R. J., Gao, Z.-Q., Xu, P., Li, L., & Zhang, H. (2016). Assessment and implications of social withdrawal subtypes in young Chinese children: The Chinese version of the child social preference scale. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 177(3), 97–101. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Li, Y. F. (2022). Reshaping the early growth environment: Promoting the psychological development of children aged 0~6 years. China Textile & Apparel Press. [Google Scholar]
- Liu, Y., Li, X., Chen, L., & Qu, Z. (2015). Perceived positive teacher–student relationship as a protective factor for Chinese left-behind children’s emotional and behavioural adjustment. International Journal of Psychology, 50(5), 354–362. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Longman, T., Hawes, D. J., & Kohlhoff, J. (2016). Callous–unemotional traits as markers for conduct problem severity in early childhood: A meta-analysis. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 47(2), 326–334. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lopes, P. N., Salovey, P., Côté, S., & Beers, M. (2005). Emotion regulation abilities and the quality of social interaction. Emotion, 5(1), 113–118. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ma, L., Dou, H., Wu, S., Shi, Z., & Li, Z. (2022). Rural development pressure and “three-stay” response: A case of Jinchang City in the Hexi Corridor, China. Journal of Rural Studies, 91, 34–46. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Maas, J., Laan, A., & Vingerhoets, A. (2011). Attachment, emotion regulation and adult crying. In I. Nykliček, A. Vingerhoets, & M. Zeelenberg (Eds.), Emotion regulation and well-being (pp. 181–195). Springer Science+Business Media. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Meehan, B. T., Hughes, J. N., & Cavell, T. A. (2003). Teacher-student relationships as compensatory resources for aggressive children. Child Development, 74(4), 1145–1157. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Milne, L., Greenway, P., Guedeney, A., & Larroque, B. (2009). Long term developmental impact of social withdrawal in infants. Infant Behavior & Development, 32(2), 159–166. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Miron, C. D., Satlof-Bedrick, E., & Waller, R. (2020). Longitudinal association between callous-unemotional traits and friendship quality among adjudicated adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 81, 19–26. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., Myers, S. S., & Robinson, L. R. (2007). The role of the family context in the development of emotion regulation. Social Development, 16(2), 361–388. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Paes, T. M., Duncan, R., Purpura, D. J., & Schmitt, S. A. (2023). The relations between teacher-child relationships in preschool and children’s outcomes in kindergarten. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 86, 1–11. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pianta, R. C. (1999). Enhancing relationships between children and teachers. American Psychological Association. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pianta, R. C., Nimetz, S. L., & Bennett, E. (1997). Mother–child relationships, teacher–child relationships, and school outcomes in preschool and kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12(3), 263–280. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pianta, R. C., & Steinberg, M. (1992). Teacher–child relationships and the process of adjusting to school. In R. C. Pianta (Ed.), Beyond the parent: The role of other adults in children’s lives (pp. 61–80). Jossey-Bass. [Google Scholar]
- Pianta, R. C., & Stuhlman, M. W. (2004). Teacher-Child Relationships and Children’s Success in the First Years of School. School Psychology Review, 33(3), 444–458. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Porcelli, S., Van Der Wee, N., van der Werff, S., Aghajani, M., Glennon, J. C., van Heukelum, S., Mogavero, F., Lobo, A., Olivera, F. J., Lobo, E., Posadas, M., Dukart, J., Kozak, R., Arce, E., Ikram, A., Vorstman, J., Bilderbeck, A., Saris, I., Kas, M. J., . . . Serretti, A. (2019). Social brain, social dysfunction and social withdrawal. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 97, 10–33. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Qu, X., Wang, X., Huang, X., Ashish, K. C., Yang, Y., Huang, Y., Chen, C., Gao, Y., Wang, Y., & Zhou, H. (2020). Socio-emotional challenges and development of children left behind by migrant mothers. Journal of Global Health, 10(1), 010806. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Raver, C. C., Blackburn, E. K., Bancroft, M., & Torp, N. (1999). Relations between effective emotional self-regulation, attentional control, and low-income preschoolers’ social competence with peers. Early Education and Development, 10(3), 333–350. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rubin, K. H., & Chronis-Tuscano, A. (2021). Perspectives on social withdrawal in childhood: Past, present, and prospects. Child Development Perspectives, 15(3), 160–167. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rubin, K. H., Coplan, R. J., & Bowker, J. C. (2009). Social withdrawal in childhood. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 141–171. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Rubin, K. H., Coplan, R. J., Fox, N. A., & Calkins, S. D. (1995). Emotionality, emotion regulation, and preschoolers’ social adaptation. Development and Psychopathology, 7(1), 49–62. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Shao, L., & Zhang, D. H. (2021). Behavioral responses to ostracism: A perspective from the general aggression model. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 29(6), 1163–1171. [Google Scholar]
- Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1997). Emotion regulation among school-age children: The development and validation of a new criterion Q-sort scale. Developmental Psychology, 33(6), 906–916. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Shuang, M., Yiqing, W., Ling, J., Guanzhen, O., Jing, G., Zhiyong, Q., & Xiaohua, W. (2022). Relationship between parent–child attachment and depression among migrant children and left-behind children in China. Public Health, 204, 1–8. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Squillaci, M., & Benoit, V. (2021). Role of Callous and Unemotional (CU) Traits on the development of youth with behavioral disorders: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4712. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Stoppelbein, L., McRae, E., & Smith, S. (2021). Examining student–teacher relationship and callous–unemotional traits in children with adverse childhood experiences. School Mental Health, 13(1), 129–142. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tan, R., Guo, X., Chen, S., He, G., & Wu, X. (2023). Callous-unemotional traits and externalizing problem behaviors in left-behind preschool children: The role of emotional lability/negativity and positive teacher-child relationship. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental health, 17(1), 82. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Thompson, R. A. (1994). Emotion regulation: A theme in search of definition. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3), 25–52. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Van den Akker, A. L., Deković, M., Asscher, J., & Prinzie, P. (2014). Mean-level personality development across childhood and adolescence: A temporary defiance of the maturity principle and bidirectional associations with parenting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107(4), 736–750. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Sagi, A., & Lambermon, M. W. E. (1992). The multiple caretaker paradox: Data from Holland and Israel. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 1992(57), 5–24. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Verschueren, K., & Koomen, H. M. Y. (2012). Teacher–child relationships from an attachment perspective. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 205–211. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Voss, F. (2022). The relationship between social withdrawal and callous-unemotional traits: Influences of sex and age. Tilburg University. Available online: https://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=161598 (accessed on 24 February 2025).
- Wagner, N. J., Bowker, J. C., & Rubin, K. H. (2020). Associations between callous-unemotional traits and peer-rated social-behavioral outcomes in elementary and middle school. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 48(6), 757–769. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Waller, R., Hyde, L. W., Klump, K. L., & Burt, S. A. (2018). Parenting is an environmental predictor of callous-unemotional traits and aggression: A monozygotic twin differences study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(12), 955–963. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Waller, R., & Wagner, N. (2019). The Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward (STAR) model and the development of callous-unemotional traits. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 107, 656–671. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Wang, L., Wu, W., Qu, G., Tang, X., & Sun, Y. (2019). The personality traits of left-behind children in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 24(3), 253–268. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wen, M., & Lin, D. (2012). Child development in rural China: Children left behind by their migrant parents and children of nonmigrant families. Child Development, 83(1), 120–136. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Wu, Z., Hu, B. Y., Fan, X., Zhang, X., & Zhang, J. (2018). The associations between social skills and teacher-child relationships: A longitudinal study among Chinese preschool children. Children and Youth Services Review, 88, 582–590. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Xiang, D., Qin, G., & Zheng, X. (2022). The influence of student-teacher relationship on school-age children’s empathy: The mediating role of emotional intelligence. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 15, 2735–2744. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Xu, H., Jiang, Q., Zhang, C., & Ahmad, S. (2023). Left-behind experience and children’s multidimensional poverty: Evidence from rural China. Child Indicators Research, 16(1), 199–225. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yang, N., Qi, Y., Lu, J., Hu, J., & Ren, Y. (2021). Teacher-child relationships, self-concept, resilience, and social withdrawal among Chinese left-behind children: A moderated mediation model. Children and Youth Services Review, 129, 106182. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ye, J., & Lu, P. (2011). Differentiated childhoods: Impacts of rural labor migration on left-behind children in China. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 38(2), 355–377. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zatto, B. R. L., & Hoglund, W. L. G. (2019). Children’s internalizing problems and teacher–child relationship quality across preschool. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 49, 28–39. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zeng, Y. B. (2020). An investigation on the status quo of emotion regulation development in preschool children. Sichuan Normal University. [Google Scholar]
- Zhan, S., Yang, N., & Zhao, B. (2021). Receptive language skills and social withdrawal among Chinese left-behind preschool children: A moderated mediation model. Psychological Development and Education, 37(06), 834–844. [Google Scholar]
- Zhang, J., Yan, L., Qiu, H., & Dai, B. (2018). Social adaptation of Chinese left-behind children: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 95, 308–315. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, L., Chen, Y. L., Hong, X. W., Zhao, M. Y., Fan, H., & Liu, S. (2023). The Relationship between callous-unemotional traits and school bullying of junior high school students: A moderated mediation model. Psychological Development and Education, 39(2), 266–275. [Google Scholar]
- Zhang, W., Wang, M., & Ying, L. (2019). Parental mindfulness and preschool children’s emotion regulation: The role of mindful parenting and secure parent-child attachment. Mindfulness, 10(12), 2481–2491. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, X. (2011). Parent–child and teacher–child relationships in Chinese preschoolers: The moderating role of preschool experiences and the mediating role of social competence. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26(02), 192–204. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhou, F., Huang, P., Wei, X., Guo, Y., Lu, J., Feng, L., Lu, M., Liu, X., Tu, S., Deprez, A., Guedeney, A., Shen, S., & Qiu, X. (2021). Prevalence and characteristics of social withdrawal tendency among 3–24 months in China: A pilot study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 537411. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Zhu, J. J., Shu, X., Zou, S. Y., & Li, Y. (2023). Reliability and validity of the inventory of callous-unemotional traits (teacher version) to Chinese preschoolers. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31(3), 620–624. [Google Scholar]
- Zhu, J. J., Xie, Q. B., Li, Y., Coplan, R. J., Xu, P., & Li, Q. (2017). Application of child social preference scale to Chinese preschoolers. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 25(2), 268–271. [Google Scholar]
- Zhu, J. J., Yan, Y. C., Yang, T. T., Zhu, L., Wu, M., Wang, Y. J., & Li, Y. (2020). Reliability and validity of the emotion regulation checklist to Chinese preschoolers. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28(6), 1186–1189. [Google Scholar]
Variables | M | SD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. CU traits | 2.06 | 0.41 | — | |||||
2. Emotion regulation | 2.66 | 0.57 | 0.45 *** | — | ||||
3. Social withdrawal | 2.10 | 0.69 | 0.49 *** | 0.39 *** | — | |||
4. Teacher–child relationship quality | 3.87 | 0.61 | 0.68 *** | 0.47 *** | 0.59 *** | — | ||
5. Gender | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.09 * | −0.05 | −0.01 | −0.09 | — | |
6. Age | 4.20 | 0.84 | −0.08 | 0.08 | −0.04 | 0.004 | 0.10 | — |
Emotion Regulation | Social Withdrawal | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β | SE | t | 95% CI | β | SE | t | 95% CI | |
CU traits | −0.31 | 0.07 | −4.28 *** | [−0.45, −0.16] | 0.66 | 0.07 | 9.25 *** | [0.37, 0.52] |
TCRQ | 0.30 | 0.05 | 6.25 *** | [0.21, 0.40] | ||||
CU traits × TCRQ | −0.25 | 0.08 | −3.22 ** | [−0.40, −0.10] | ||||
Emotion regulation | −0.27 | 0.05 | −5.18 *** | [−0.37, −0.17] | ||||
Gender | 0.004 | 0.04 | 0.91 | [−0.08, 0.09] | −0.08 | 0.05 | −1.46 | [−0.18, 0.03] |
Age | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.16 | [−0.01, 0.09] | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.33 | [−0.05, 0.07] |
R2 | 0.27 | 0.28 | ||||||
F | 38.35 *** | 48.82 *** |
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Tan, R.; Chen, S.; Guo, X.; Chen, H.; He, G. Linking Callous–Unemotional Traits to Social Withdrawal Among Young Chinese Left-Behind Children: Examining the Moderated Mediation Model. Behav. Sci. 2025, 15, 296. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15030296
Tan R, Chen S, Guo X, Chen H, He G. Linking Callous–Unemotional Traits to Social Withdrawal Among Young Chinese Left-Behind Children: Examining the Moderated Mediation Model. Behavioral Sciences. 2025; 15(3):296. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15030296
Chicago/Turabian StyleTan, Ruifeng, Suiqing Chen, Xinying Guo, Huiyin Chen, and Guixian He. 2025. "Linking Callous–Unemotional Traits to Social Withdrawal Among Young Chinese Left-Behind Children: Examining the Moderated Mediation Model" Behavioral Sciences 15, no. 3: 296. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15030296
APA StyleTan, R., Chen, S., Guo, X., Chen, H., & He, G. (2025). Linking Callous–Unemotional Traits to Social Withdrawal Among Young Chinese Left-Behind Children: Examining the Moderated Mediation Model. Behavioral Sciences, 15(3), 296. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15030296