Incremental prediction of aggression from callous–unemotional (CU) traits is well established, but cross-cultural replication and studies of young children are needed. Little is understood about the contribution of CU traits in children who are already aggressive. We addressed these issues in prospective studies in the United Kingdom and Colombia. In a UK epidemiological cohort, CU traits and aggression were assessed at age 3.5 years, and aggression at 5.0 years by mothers (N = 687) and partners (N = 397). In a Colombian general population sample, CU traits were assessed at age 3.5 years and aggression at 3.5 and 5.0 years by mother report (N = 220). Analyses consistently showed prediction of age-5.0 aggression by age-3.5 CU traits controlling for age-3.5 aggression. Associations between age-3.5 CU traits and age-5.0 aggression were moderated by aggression at 3.5 years, with UK interaction terms, same informant, β = .07 p = .014 cross-informant, β = .14 p = .002, and in Colombia, β = .09 p = .128. The interactions arose from stronger associations between CU traits and later aggression in those already aggressive. Our findings with preschoolers replicated across culturally diverse settings imply a major role for CU traits in the maintenance and amplification of already established aggression, and cast doubt on their contribution to its origins.

对冷酷无情（CU）特征的攻击性进行增量预测已经很成熟，但需要跨文化复制和对幼儿的研究。人们对 CU 特征对于已经具有攻击性的儿童的贡献知之甚少。我们在英国和哥伦比亚的前瞻性研究中解决了这些问题。在英国的一个流行病学队列中，母亲 ( N = 687) 和伴侣 ( N = 397)在 3.5 岁时评估了 CU 特征和攻击性，并在 5.0 岁时评估了攻击性。在哥伦比亚一般人群样本中，根据母亲报告，在 3.5 岁时评估 CU 特征，并在 3.5 和 5.0 岁时评估攻击性（N = 220）。分析一致表明，通过控制 3.5 岁攻击行为的 3.5 岁 CU 特征来预测 5.0 岁攻击行为。3.5 岁 CU 特征与 5.0 岁攻击性之间的关联通过 3.5 岁时的攻击性进行调节，采用英国交互项，相同的信息提供者，β = .07 p = .014 交叉信息者，β = .14 p = .002，并且在哥伦比亚，β = .09 p = .128。这种相互作用源于 CU 特征与那些已经具有攻击性的人后来的攻击性之间更强的关联。我们对学龄前儿童在不同文化背景下的研究结果表明，CU 特征在维持和放大已经形成的攻击行为方面发挥着重要作用，并对它们对其起源的贡献产生了怀疑。