This chapter provides a summary of research on the use of callous-unemotional (CU) traits for designating a distinct and important subgroup of youth with serious conduct problems. The chapter starts by tying the construct of CU traits to research on the affective components of psychopathy, research on the normal development of conscience, and past attempts to find meaningful subtypes within children and adolescents with serious conduct problems. We then provide a review of research suggesting that CU traits designate a clinically important subgroup of antisocial youth who show more severe aggression and more severe and stable patterns of conduct problems. We also review research showing distinct genetic, biological, emotional, cognitive, family, and peer correlates to conduct problems in children with elevated CU traits and then provide a theoretical model for how these correlates may help to explain different causal pathways to serious conduct problems in youth with and without elevated CU traits. Finally, we conclude with the implications of this research on CU traits for diagnosis and treatment, focusing specifically on the new specifier the diagnosis of Conduct Disorder in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders called “with Limited Prosocial Emotions” that is defined by the presence of CU traits.
