TY - JOUR
T1 - Investigating Sex Differences in Emotion Recognition, Learning, and Regulation among Youths with Conduct Disorder
AU - Kohls, Gregor
AU - Baumann, Sarah
AU - Gundlach, Malou
AU - Scharke, Wolfgang
AU - Bernhard, Anka
AU - Martinelli, Anne
AU - Ackermann, Katharina
AU - Kersten, Linda
AU - Prätzlich, Martin
AU - Oldenhof, Helena
AU - Jansen, Lucres
AU - van den Boogaard, Lisette
AU - Smaragdi, Areti
AU - Gonzalez-Madruga, Karen
AU - Cornwell, Harriet
AU - Rogers, Jack
AU - Pauli, Ruth
AU - Clanton, Roberta
AU - Baker, Rosalind
AU - Bigorra Gualba, Aitana
AU - Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate
AU - Fernández-Rivas, Aranzazu
AU - Popma, Arne
AU - Stadler, Christina
AU - De Brito, Stephane
AU - Blair, James
AU - Freitag, Christine M.
AU - Fairchild, Graeme
AU - Konrad, Kerstin
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - FemNAT-CD
KW - callous-unemotional traits
KW - conduct disorder
KW - emotion processing
KW - sex differences
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85071985460&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.04.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.04.003
M3 - Article
SN - 0890-8567
VL - 59
SP - 263
EP - 273
JO - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
JF - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
IS - 2
ER -
