The British Journal of Psychiatry (2007) 191: 265. doi: 10.1192/bjp.191.3.265
© 2007 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Callous–unemotional traits and autistic psychopathy
M. F. Fitzgerald
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Trinity College, Dublin,
Ireland. Email:
Fitzi{at}iol.ie
EDITED BY KIRIAKOS XENITIDIS and COLIN CAMPBELL
Viding et al (2007)
made no reference to autistic psychopathy
(Asperger, 1944) nor did any of
the other papers in Supplement 49 on assessment risk and outcome in severe
personality disorder. The severe unempathic conduct and aggression problems
were well recognised by Asperger
(1944) and overlap with what
Viding et al (2007)
describe as `more severe, aggressive, and stable pattern of antisocial
behaviour and a specific neurocognitive profile indicative of defects in
affect processing'. This is precisely what children (and adults) with autistic
psychopathy and antisocial behaviour demonstrate (Fitzgerald,
2001,
2003).
REFERENCES
- Asperger, H. (1944) Die`autistischen
Psychopathen' im Kindesalter. Archiv für Psychiatrie und
Nervenkrankheiten, 117, 76
-136.[CrossRef]
- Fitzgerald, M. (2001) Autistic psychopathy.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, 40, 870
.[CrossRef][Medline]
- Fitzgerald, M. (2003) Callous-unemotional
traits and Asperger's syndrome? Journal of the American Academy of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
42, 1011.[CrossRef][Medline]
- Viding, E., Frick, P. J. & Plomin, R.
(2007) Aetiology of the relationship between
callous–unemotional traits and conduct problems in childhood.
British Journal of Psychiatry,
190 (suppl. 49), s33
-s38.[Abstract/Free Full Text]