The Dual Role of Childhood Callous–Unemotional Traits in the Development of Triarchic Psychopathy: Early Risk Markers and Amplifiers of Stability

The present study examined the development of triarchic psychopathy using the Personality Inventory for DSM -5 Triarchic Scales (PID-5 Tri) within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5 ) Alternative Model of Personality Disorder (AMPD) framework. Data ( n = 174) included maternal reports of children’s Callous–Unemotional traits (T1, M age = 10.65) and self-reported triarchic psychopathy in adolescence (T2, M age = 15.59) and young adulthood (T3, M age = 20.86). Results supported partial longitudinal scalar invariance and moderate to high rank-order stability of triarchic psychopathy from mid-adolescence to young adulthood. Overall CU traits and Callousness and Uncaring predicted higher adolescent Disinhibition, whereas no associations with any triarchic trait emerged in young adulthood. Latent moderated structural equation models indicated that childhood Unemotionality and Callousness strengthened the stability of Meanness and Disinhibition, respectively. No moderation emerged for Boldness. These findings advance developmental validation of the triarchic model from an AMPD perspective and underscore the dual role of early affective deficits as precursors and amplifiers of psychopathic tendencies.