The better of two evils? Evidence that children exhibiting continuous conduct problems high or low on callous-unemotional traits score on opposite directions on physiological and behavioral measures of fear
2016 — Fear/fearlessness and equifinality
Finding
Children with persistent CP and high CU traits showed a fearlessness profile, while children with persistent CP but low CU traits showed heightened fear, behavioral inhibition, and punishment sensitivity.
Why it matters
The paper gives physiological/behavioral content to equifinality: different internal pathways can produce a similar outward antisocial phenotype.
Inference boundary
Fearlessness differentiates groups in this sample; it is not established as a sufficient cause of persistent antisocial behavior.
