Emotional reactivity in referred youth with disruptive behavior disorders: The role of the callous-unemotional traits

PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH

卷:220

Article

Masi, Gabriele¹  Milone, Annarita¹  Pisano, Simone²  Lenzi, Francesca^1,3  Muratori, Pietro¹  Gemo, Ilaria¹  Bianchi, Laura¹  Mazzone, Luigi⁴  Postorino, Valentina⁴  Sanges, Veronica⁴  Williams, Riccardo⁵  Vicari, Stefano⁴ 

[1] IRCCS Stella Maris, Sci Inst Child Neurol & Psychiat, Pisa, Italy

[2] Univ Naples 2, Child & Adolescent Psychiat Div, Dept Mental & Phys Hlth & Prevent Med, Naples, Italy

[3] Univ Messina, Clin Expt Dept Med & Pharmacol, I-98100 Messina, Italy

[4] IRCCS Childrens Hosp Bambino Gesu, Dept Neurosci, Child Neuropsychiat Unit, Rome, Italy

[5] Univ Roma La Sapienza, Dept Dynam & Clin Psychol, I-00185 Rome, Italy

关键词: Conduct disorder;    Oppositional defiant disorder;    Callous-unemotional traits;    Subjective emotional reactivity;    Antisocial behavior;    Psychopathy;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.psychres.2014.07.035

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Deficits in emotional reactivity are frequently reported in Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs). A deficit in prosocial emotions, namely the callous unemotional traits (CU), may be a mediator of emotional reactivity. Our aim is to investigate subjective emotional reactivity towards visual stimuli with different affective valence in youths with DBDs and healthy controls. The clinical sample included 62 youths with DBDs (51 males, 8 to 16 years, mean 11.3 +/- 2.1 years), the control group 53 subjects (36 males, 8 to 16 years, mean 10.8 +/- 1.5 years). The groups were compared using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU), and the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), which explores the affective (pleasant/unpleasant emotional reaction) and arousal (low/high intensity of emotion) dimensions. The DBD group presented higher scores in externalizing and internalizing CBCL scores, and in ICU callous and indifferent subscales. At the IAPS, DBD patients differed from controls in the affective valence of the images, rating less unpleasant neutral and negative images. The CU traits were the only predictor of emotional reactivity in the DBD sample. A less aversive way to interpret neutral and negative stimuli may explain why DBD patients are less responsive to negative reinforcements. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free