Refining Parent's Approach To Discipline - Disciplining the "Callous-Unemotional" Child

A study of child-management training programs at the University of New South Wales, Australia suggests that children exhibiting a "callous-unemotional" temperament respond poorly to typical approaches to discipline such as time-out. Focusing on a group of boys aged four to eight exhibiting CU-temperament, the study found that the traditional approach of increasing the severity of punishment is a mistake with such children. Says co-author Dr. David Hawes:

"They exhibit a low level of emotionality and are unresponsive to emotions in others, especially when it comes to aggression...These children appear to respond poorly to punishment, yet they respond well to incentives and rewards for good behaviour, such as praise and quality-time with parents."

By first identifying children with these characteristics, the study offers hope for developing new methods of dealing with affected children:

"The next step is to understand exactly how these traits limit the improvements that we usually achieve in treatment by looking at factors suchas how these traits may cause parents to treat to their children differently. By understanding more about these child traits, we can help parents to deal with this dilemma more effectively."