OBJECTIVE: Conduct disorder (CD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder marked by notably higher prevalence rates for boys than girls. Converging evidence suggests that CD is associated with impairments in emotion recognition, learning, and regulation. However, it is not known whether there are sex differences in the relationship between CD and emotion dysfunction. Prior studies on emotion functioning in CD have so far been underpowered for investigating sex differences. Therefore, our primary aim was to characterize emotion processing skills in a large sample of girls and boys with CD compared to typically developing controls (TDCs) using a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. METHOD: We included 542 youths with CD (317 girls) and 710 TDCs (479 girls), 9 to 18 years of age, from a European multisite study (FemNAT-CD). Participants completed three experimental tasks assessing emotion recognition, learning, and regulation, respectively. Data were analyzed to test for effects of group and sex, and group-by-sex interactions, while controlling for potentially confounding factors. RESULTS: Relative to TDCs, youths with CD showed impaired emotion recognition (that was related to more physical and proactive aggression, and higher CU traits), emotional learning (specifically from punishment), and emotion regulation. Boys and girls with CD, however, displayed similar impairments in emotion processing. CONCLUSION: This study provides compelling evidence for a relationship between CD and deficient neurocognitive functioning across three emotional domains that have previously been linked to CD etiology. However, there was no support for sex-specific profiles of emotion dysfunction, suggesting that current neurocognitive models of CD apply equally to both sexes.
OBJECTIVE:Conduct disorder (CD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder marked by notably higher prevalence rates for boys than girls. Converging evidence suggests that CD is associated with impairments in emotion recognition, learning, and regulation. However, it is not known whether there are sex differences in the relationship between CD and emotion dysfunction. Prior studies on emotion functioning in CD have so far been underpowered for investigating sex differences. Therefore, our primary aim was to characterize emotion processing skills in a large sample of girls and boys with CD compared to typically developing controls (TDCs) using a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. METHOD: We included 542 youths with CD (317 girls) and 710 TDCs (479 girls), 9 to 18 years of age, from a European multisite study (FemNAT-CD). Participants completed three experimental tasks assessing emotion recognition, learning, and regulation, respectively. Data were analyzed to test for effects of group and sex, and group-by-sex interactions, while controlling for potentially confounding factors. RESULTS: Relative to TDCs, youths with CD showed impaired emotion recognition (that was related to more physical and proactive aggression, and higher CU traits), emotional learning (specifically from punishment), and emotion regulation. Boys and girls with CD, however, displayed similar impairments in emotion processing. CONCLUSION: This study provides compelling evidence for a relationship between CD and deficient neurocognitive functioning across three emotional domains that have previously been linked to CD etiology. However, there was no support for sex-specific profiles of emotion dysfunction, suggesting that current neurocognitive models of CD apply equally to both sexes.
Authors: Renee Kleine Deters; Jilly Naaijen; Nathalie E Holz; Tobias Banaschewski; Ulrike M E Schulze; Arjun Sethi; Michael C Craig; Ilyas Sagar-Ouriaghli; Paramala Santosh; Mireia Rosa; Josefina Castro-Fornieles; María José Penzol; Celso Arango; Daniel Brandeis; Barbara Franke; Jeffrey C Glennon; Jan K Buitelaar; Pieter J Hoekstra; Andrea Dietrich Journal: Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2022-09-20 Impact factor: 5.349
Authors: Gregor Kohls; Graeme Fairchild; Anka Bernhard; Anne Martinelli; Areti Smaragdi; Karen Gonzalez-Madruga; Amy Wells; Jack C Rogers; Ruth Pauli; Helena Oldenhof; Lucres Jansen; Arthur van Rhijn; Linda Kersten; Janine Alfano; Sarah Baumann; Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann; Agnes Vetro; Helen Lazaratou; Amaia Hervas; Aranzazu Fernández-Rivas; Arne Popma; Christina Stadler; Stephane A De Brito; Christine M Freitag; Kerstin Konrad Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2020-12-22 Impact factor: 4.157