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Ivanova-Serokhvostova A, Fanti K, Bonillo A, Supèr H, Corrales M, Pérez-Bonaventura I, Pamias M, Ramos-Quiroga AJ, Torrubia R, Nadal R, Frick PJ, Molinuevo B. Do Children with High Callous-Unemotional Traits Have Attentional Deficits to Emotional Stimuli? Evidence from a Multi-Method and Multi-Informant Study. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2024:10.1007/s10578-024-01739-6. [PMID: 39152275 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-024-01739-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/07/2024] [Indexed: 08/19/2024]
Abstract
Callous-unemotional (CU) traits in children and adolescents are linked to severe and persistent antisocial behavior. Based on past empirical research, several theoretical models have suggested that CU traits may be partly explained by difficulties in correctly identifying others' emotional states as well as their reduced attention to others' eyes, which could be important for both causal theory and treatment. This study tested the relationships among CU traits, emotion recognition of facial expressions and visual behavior in a sample of 52 boys referred to a clinic for conduct problems (Mage = 10.29 years; SD = 2.06). We conducted a multi-method and multi-informant assessment of CU traits through the Child Problematic Traits Inventory (CPTI), the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional (ICU), and the Clinical Assessment of Prosocial Emotions-Version 1.1 (CAPE). The primary goal of the study was to compare the utility of these methods for forming subgroups of youth that differ in their emotional processing abilities. An emotion recognition task assessed recognition accuracy (percentage of mistakes) and absolute dwell time on the eyes or mouth region for each emotion. Results from repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that low and high CU groups did not differ in emotion recognition accuracy, irrespective of the method of assessing CU traits. However, the high CU group showed reduced attention to the eyes of fearful and sad facial expressions (using the CPTI) or to all emotions (using the CAPE). The high CU group also showed a general increase in attention to the mouth area, but only when assessed by the CAPE. These findings provide evidence to support abnormalities in how those elevated on CU traits process emotional stimuli, especially when assessed by a clinical interview, which could guide appropriate assessment and more successful interventions for this group of youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasiya Ivanova-Serokhvostova
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.
| | - Kostas Fanti
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Albert Bonillo
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Hans Supèr
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, Department of Cognition, Development and Education Psychology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Montserrat Corrales
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
- Group of Psychiatry Mental Health and Addictions, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Iris Pérez-Bonaventura
- Department of Mental Health, Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Spain
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Montserrat Pamias
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Department of Mental Health, Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Antoni J Ramos-Quiroga
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
- Group of Psychiatry Mental Health and Addictions, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Rafael Torrubia
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Roser Nadal
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Paul J Frick
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA
| | - Beatriz Molinuevo
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
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Díaz-Vázquez B, López-Romero L, Romero E. Emotion Recognition Deficits in Children and Adolescents with Psychopathic Traits: A Systematic Review. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2024; 27:165-219. [PMID: 38240937 PMCID: PMC10920463 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-023-00466-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Children and adolescents with psychopathic traits show deficits in emotion recognition, but there is no consensus as to the extent of their generalizability or about the variables that may be moderating the process. The present Systematic Review brings together the existing scientific corpus on the subject and attempts to answer these questions through an exhaustive review of the existing literature according to PRISMA 2020 statement. Results confirmed the existence of pervasive deficits in emotion recognition and, more specifically, on distress emotions (e.g., fear), a deficit that transcends all modalities of emotion presentation and all emotional stimuli used. Moreover, they supported the key role of attention to relevant areas that provide emotional cues (e.g., eye-region) and point out differences according to the presence of disruptive behavior and based on the psychopathy dimension examined. This evidence could advance the current knowledge on developmental models of psychopathic traits. Yet, homogenization of the conditions of research in this area should be prioritized to be able to draw more robust and generalizable conclusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Díaz-Vázquez
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Facultade de Psicoloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Laura López-Romero
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Facultade de Psicoloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - Estrella Romero
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Facultade de Psicoloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
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