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An innovative early intervention for antisocial children with callous-unemotional traits

An innovative early intervention for antisocial children with callous-unemotional traits: a randomised controlled trial

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN62822052
Enrollment
60
Registered
2011-08-22
Start date
2011-08-01
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2018-01-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Conduct and oppositional defiant disorder Mental and Behavioural Disorders Oppositional defiant disorder

Interventions

The study will compare standard parent training (PT) plus an emotional engagement (EE) adjunct to parent training plus a control adjunct (behavioural child play). PT comprises the Dadds and Hawes (2
that is, positive and negative aspects of the interaction are identified and goals are set for improvement. The parents are asked to ensure that these moments of close engagement with expressions of l

Sponsors

Guy's and St Thomas' Charity (UK)
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Child aged 3-8 years, either sex 2. Primary diagnosis of conduct or oppositional defiant disorder

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. No current diagnosis of psychosis, primary autism, developmental delay or major medical disorder 2. No concurrent medication or psychiatric treatment 3. Primary caregiver lack of fluency in English, severe psychiatric illness or addiction 4. Presence of a child protection plan

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
1. Clinician-based diagnoses and severity ratings will be provided using the Diagnostic Interview for Children, Adolescents and Parents: Parent version (Holland & Dadds, 1997) 2. Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems will be assessed using parent and teacher report on the Antisocial Process Screening Device and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Assessments will be conducted pre-treatment, post-treatment (1-2 weeks following the intervention) and at a 3-month follow-up

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Secondary outcomes will be assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment (1-2 weeks following treatment) and at a 3-month follow-up. The assessment protocol is multimethod, and includes questionnaires, tests, a computer-administered facial emotion recognition task, observational measures of parent-child interaction and biological measures. 1. Sociodemographic information 2. Child adjustment 2.1. Child Asperger Symptom Test 2.2. Spence Anxiety Scale 2.3. Affect Intensity Scale 3. Parental adjustment 3.1. Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 3.2. Psychopathic Profiles Inventory 4. Parenting practices 4.1. Alabama Parenting Questionnaire 4.2. Coping with Children?s Negative Emotions Scale 5. Child emotional competence 5.1. Griffith Empathy Measure 5.2. Faces: Age Categorised Emotional Stimuli 5.3. Test of Emotion Comprehension 5.4. Moral Story Stems Battery 6. Parent-child relationship quality 6.1.Self-Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire 6.2. I-Love-You 6.3. Parent-child free play 7. Family environment 7.1. Self-Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire 7.2. Quality of the Family Environment Scale 8. Child language 8.1. British Picture Vocabulary Scales 9. Feasibility and acceptance of adjuncts 9.1. Parent monitoring forms 9.2. Strategy rating form 9.3. Adjunct feedback forms 10. Biological measures 10.1. Child and biological parent DNA will be taken using cheek swabs 10.2. Child and parent heart rate will be monitored using a bioharness at baseline and during parent-child interaction

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026